The Three Styles of Fragment I of the 'Canterbury Tales'

Author / Editor
Fisher, John H.

Title
The Three Styles of Fragment I of the 'Canterbury Tales'

Published
Chaucer Review 8.2 (1973): 119-27.

Description
Shows how the first three tales in CT can be seen to align with the discussion of three rhetorical styles in John of Garland's "Poetria"--courtly, civic, and rustic. Particularly applicable is Garland's commentary on his rectangular chart of stylistic qualities (rather than the better known wheel of Virgil). Gauges Chaucer's familiarity with John of Garland and comments on where other evidence of his influence can be found in Chaucer's works.

Chaucer Subjects
Style and Versification
Knight and His Tale
Miller and His Tale
Reeve and His Tale
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations