Placing the Canterbury Tales in the context of the crisis in English society in the fourteenth century, this guide examines the social diversity of Chaucer's pilgrims, the stylistic range of their tales and psychological richness of their interaction. It emphasizes the language of the poem, as well as the role of Chaucer in literary tradition, and devotes an entire chapter to the General Prologue widely studied in undergraduate courses. Finally, the volume includes a chronology of the period and an invaluable guide to further reading.
Philosophical Chaucer: Love, Sex, and Agency in the Canterbury Tales
Mark Miller's innovative study argues that Chaucer's Canterbury Tales represent an extended mediation on agency, autonomy and practical reason. This philosophical aspect of Chaucer's interests can help us understand what is both sophisticated and disturbing about his explorations of love, sex and gender.
Geoffrey Chaucer is widely considered the father of English literature. This introduction begins with a review of his life and the cultural milieu of fourteenth-century England and then expands into analyses of such major works as The Parliament of Fowls, Troilus and Criseyde , and, of course, the Canterbury Tales , examining them alongside a selection of lesser known verses. One of the early hurdles faced by students of Chaucer is achieving ease and fluency with Middle English, but Tison Pugh provides a clear and concise pronunciation guide and a glossary to help novice readers navigate Chaucer's literature in its original language.
Placing the Canterbury Tales in the context of the crisis in English society in the fourteenth century, this guide examines the social diversity of Chaucer's pilgrims, the stylistic range of their tales and psychological richness of their interaction. It emphasizes the language of the poem, as well as the role of Chaucer in literary tradition, and devotes an entire chapter to the General Prologue widely studied in undergraduate courses. Finally, the volume includes a chronology of the period and an invaluable guide to further reading.
This book makes the compelling argument that Chaucer, the Perle-poet, and The Cloud of Unknowing author exploited analogue and metaphor for marking out the pedagogical gap between science and the imagination.
