Chaucer

This lively student compendium presents a comprehensive selection of the key critical views of Chaucer in the twentieth century. Stimulating introductions and editorial comment enable students to enter into dialogue with critical opinion, and thereby with Chaucer′s writings, whilst the juxtaposition of past and present criticism equips them with a sense of historical perspective. A preliminary chapter addresses the growth of Chaucer criticism over the centuries, and the main developments of the twentieth century, incorporating a range of brief extracts. The structure of the volume then reflects the three major divisions of Chaucer′s writing: The Dream Vision poetry Troilus and Criseyde The Canterbury Tales Linking discussions introduce the main themes and critical issues of these works. Each section then presents different seminal approaches. For the Canterbury Tales , for example, students can chart their paths through early allegorical readings, iconographic studies, New Historical approaches, and gender theory. In this way, the volume furnishes the reader with a broader critical repertoire and encourages independence of thought, but also offers a unified discussion of Chaucer′s work.

Introduction. Part I: The Development of Chaucer Criticism:. Chaucer′s Reading and Audience: Critical Extracts. ′The English and European Literary Traditions′: Derek Brewer:. Introduction. Reading. From ′Chaucer: The Teller and the Tale′: Gabriel Joipovici:. Introduction. Reading. From ′Audience′: Paul Strohm:. Introduction. Reading. PArt II: Dream Vision Poetry:. Dream Vision Poetry: Critical Extracts. ′The Lady White and the White Tablet: The Book of the Duchess ′: Judith Ferster:. Introduction. Reading. ′ "The Dido Episode," in The House of Fame ′: Wolfgang Clemen. Introduction. Reading. ′Chaucer′s Fame and Her World: The Poem′: Piero Boitani:. Introduction. Reading. ′Park of Paradise and Garden of Love′: J. A. W. Bennett:. Introduction. Reading. ′The Parliament of Fowls′: A. C. Spearing:. Introduction. Reading. ′The Narrator as Translator′: Donald W. Rowe:. Introduction. Reading. ′Chaucer′s Classical Legendary′: Lisa J. Kiser:. Introduction. Reading. Part III: Troilus and Criseyde:. Troilus and Criseyde : Critical Extracts. From ′The Ending of Troilus′: E. Talbot Donaldson:. Introduction. Reading. From ′The Heart and the Chain′: John Leyerle:. Introduction. Reading. From ′Criseyde: Woman in Medieval Society′: David Aers:. Introduction. Reading. ′Coda: The Narrator′: B David Benson:. Introduction. Reading. ′History versus Romance′: Lee Patterson. PArt IV: The Canterbury Tales:. The Canterbury Tales : Critical Extracts. From ′The Unity of the Canterbury Tales′: Robert M. Jordan:. Introduction. Reading. ′The Esthetics of this Form′: Donald R. Howard:. Introduction. Reading. ′An Encyclopedia of Kinds′: Helen Cooper:. Introduction. Reading. From ′ The Night′s Tale and Its Settings′: V. A. Kolve:. Introduction. Reading. ′Fabliau, Confession, Satire′: W. A. Davenport:. Introduction. Reading. ′Gems of Chastity′: Ian Bishop:. Introduction. Reading. From ′Antifeminism′: Jill Mann:. Introduction. Reading. From ′The Franklin′s Tale′: Angela Jane Weisl:. Introduction. Reading. From ′Glose/Bele Chose: The Wife of Bath and Her Glossators′ and ′Eunuch Hermeneutics′: Carolyn Dinshaw:. Introduction. Reading. Bibliography.

Corinne Saunders is Lecturer at the University of Durham. Her previous publications include Forest of Medieval Romance (1993) and Rape and Ravishment in the Literature of Medieval England (2001).

"The acuteness of Corinne Saunders′s analyses makes this volume considerably more than a collection of critical extracts; it manages to be at once illuminating about Chaucer, Chaucerian criticism, and twentieth–century criticism in general, its range, its concerns, its disagreements, and its radical insights." Medium Aevum LXXI/2002 "Saunders′s Chaucer is a thought–inspiring and highly recommended coursebook to use beside The Riverside Chaucer. " English Studies