Costume Comedy: Sir Thopas's 'Courtly' Dress

Author / Editor
Hodges, Laura

Title
Costume Comedy: Sir Thopas's 'Courtly' Dress

Published
Susan Yager and Elise E. Morse-Gagné, eds. Interpretation and Performance: Essays for Alan Gaylord (Provo, UT: Chaucer Studio Press, 2013), pp. 171-83.

Description
Alone among Chaucer's knights, Thopas receives a full costume description, but it defies readers' expectations of a top-to-toe effictio. Th also juxtaposes cheap and costly materials, mentions unattractive colors, and omits expected details, all for comic effect. These costume details would be emphasized in oral performance.

Alternative Title
Interpretation and Performance: Essays for Alan Gaylord.

Chaucer Subjects
Tale of Sir Thopas