Chaucer and the Psychology of Fear: Troilus in Book V

Author / Editor
Hatcher, Elizabeth R.

Title
Chaucer and the Psychology of Fear: Troilus in Book V

Published
ELH 40 (1973): 307-24.

Description
Examines the "psychological realities" of Troilus's fear of losing Criseyde after she departs from Troy, comparing Chaucer's and Boccaccio's versions to show how, in TC, the hero's "immoderate fear distorts perception" and causes him to judge Criseyde more harshly than she deserves. Focuses on Troilus's dream of the boar and the ironies of Troilus's reactions to it.

Chaucer Subjects
Troilus and Criseyde
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations