Chaucer critics Flashcards
John Burrow on Irony: “The reader …
“The reader is forced to visualise … to grasp its human reality.”
John Burrow on Irony: “The ironic contrast …
“The ironic contrast between the dream and the reality, the self-centred insecure ‘heigh fantasye’ of the old knight and the predictable course of his marriage”
John Burrow on Irony: “He turns proverbial …
“He turns proverbial and biblical lore inside out”
Hebrom on Marriage: “Genesis …
Genesis creation suggests “marriage is chiefly for procreation”
The Wife of Bath on Marriage
“to speke of wo that is in mariage”
Hebrom on Marriage: “Church fathers …
Church fathers “established a negative portrayal of women in marriage that had a wide influence”
Barthard-Smith on deception: “[the merchant] draws …
“[the merchant] draws attention to that universal trait of women: their ability to deceive”
Barthard-Smith on deception: “The tale relies …
“The tale relies heavily on the tradition of bawdy Fabliau, in which deception is a principle theme”
Barthard-Smith on deception: “[Januarie’s] self-deception …
“[Janaury’s] self-deception lessens our sympathy towards him”
Jane Barthard-Smith on deception: “The motif of …
“The motif of a deceitful woman is familiar and Chaucer’s enjoyment and exploitation of it is wonderful entertainment”
Holman on Courtly Love: “The people are …
“the people are a collection of lost souls who would destroy any institution no matter how excellent.”
Holman on Courtly Love: “the older subjects …
“the older subjects [of courtly love] are not abandoned; they have merely been altered.”
Holman on Courtly Love: “The employment he …
“The employment he gave courtly love convention in the Merchant’s tale indicates a criticism of or some distaste for courtly love”
Holman on Courtly Love: “This is rich …
“this is rich poetry of the finest order, and yet it serves to illuminate a dark, cynical and unlovely tale.”
Holman on Courtly Love: “Januarie is a …
“January is a perversion of marriage, whose motives are sensual and who converts what his era considered a venial sin into a deadly one”
