Chaucer the Alchemist: Physics, Mutability, and the Medieval Imagination.
- Author / Editor
- Gabrovsky, Alexander N.
Chaucer the Alchemist: Physics, Mutability, and the Medieval Imagination.
- Published
- New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
- Physical Description
- xviii, 291 pp.
- Series
- The New Middle Ages
- Description
- Considers Chaucer's fascination with contemporary theories of change, both in readily visible physical form and also less visible self-reform. The book is divided into three sections: Physics, Alchemy, and Logic. The Physics section discusses HF as a thought experiment "where the possibilities of physical phenomena are pushed to extremes." The Alchemy section examines alchemical allegory in FranT with special attention to Dorigen as a "catalyst for wisdom," and allegorical imagery throughout TC, culminating in Troilus's "mercurial transformation." The volume concludes with mutability in
logic, particularly counterfactual "if . . . then" statements in PF.
- Chaucer Subjects
- House of Fame
Franklin and His Tale
Troilus and Criseyde
Parliament of Fowls