The Compositional Structure of 'The Book of the Duchess'
- Author / Editor
- Jordan, Robert M.
The Compositional Structure of 'The Book of the Duchess'
- Published
- Chaucer Review 9 (1974): 99-117
- Description
- Analyzes the gothic, inorganic structure of BD, commenting on the poem's status as a lament, an elegy, and a consolation; its clear articulation of various parts; and its consistency with the compositional advice given by rhetorician Geoffrey of Vinsauf. Characterizations of the narrator and of the Black Knight are less important to understanding the poem than are its powerful juxtapositions.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Book of the Duchess