The Everyman History of English Literature

Description: A history of English literature that emphasizes the continuity of ongoing forms and thematic concerns. Two chapters pertain to Chaucer: "Chaucerian Epic and Romance" and "Chaucer, Langland and the Treachery of the Text." The first traces how Chaucer "mimes epic's defeat by romance," a mirror of western literary tradition, with attention to GP, KnT, MilT, RvT, and TC; the second explores how Chaucer (in contrast to Langland) disguises his abandonment of truth for fabulation, especially through various personae: the Wife of Bath, the Pardoner, and Chauntecleer in CT and Pandarus in TC. Throughout the volume, Conrad comments on Chaucer's reception and influence.; A revised edition, with an additional chapter on postmodern literature, was published as "Cassell's History of English Literature (London: Cassell, 2003).

Chaucer Subjects: Background and General Criticism; Chaucer's Influence and Later Allusion; Canterbury Tales--General; Troilus and Criseyde; Knight and His Tale; Miller and His Tale; Reeve and His Tale; Wife of Bath and Her Tale; Pardoner and His Tale; Nun's Priest and His Tale