The Music of the Spheres and 'The Parlement of Foules'

Author / Editor
Chamberlain, David

Title
The Music of the Spheres and 'The Parlement of Foules'

Published
Chaucer Review 5.1 (1970): 32-56.

Description
Argues that Chaucer "weaves through the structure and themes of [PF] all four medieval species of music, and numerous subspecies, in a way that emphasizes the failing of the eagles" and "that the [planetary] spheres are . . . the cause of almost all this abundant music, including the very form itself of the poem, its meter, stanza, and length." Considers Chaucer's uses of Boethius's "De Musica" and "Consolation."

Chaucer Subjects
Parliament of Fowls
Style and Versification
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations