'Piers Plowman' and the Ricardian Age in Literature
- Author / Editor
- Medcalf, Stephen.
'Piers Plowman' and the Ricardian Age in Literature
- Published
- David Daiches and Anthony Thorlby, eds. Medieval World. Literature and Western Civilization, [no. 2] (London: Aldus, 1973), pp. 643-96.
- Series
- Literature and Western Civilization, no. 2.
- Description
- Describes the emergence of "something very like a Ricardian literary movement," focusing on the ability of Langland, Chaucer, and the "Pearl" poet to accept the mundane world completely and yet remain detached from it. Connects this ability with the influence of Dante, and explores how, especially in Chaucer, the combination encourages detachment in the reader. Comments on a wide range of works.
- Reprinted in Brian Cummings and Gabriel Josipovici, eds. The Spirit of England: Selected Essays of Stephen Medcalf (London: Modern Humanities Research Association and Maney Publishing, 2010), pp. 91-130.
- Alternative Title
- Medieval World.
- Spirit of England: Selected Essays of Stephen Medcalf.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations