Chaucer: key themes + critics Flashcards
entertaining ribaldry or problematically cynical?
one of…….unlovely…..all literature
- J. T
one of the most surprising pieces of unlovely virtuosity in all literature
- JSP. Tatlock
the s……of…….
- T. C
the spirit of satirical fun
- TW Craik
……most savagely…… angrily………..unsmiling……in our…..
- H. H
one of the most savagely obscene, angrily embittered, pessimistic, and unsmiling tales in our language
- Hugh Holman
it pro…… a and a, rather………………
- J. B
it provokes malicious amusement and appreciation, rather than open and honest laughter
- JD Burnley
misogynistic or proto-feminist?
this port………..on side of……
- G. A
this portrayal of married love is on the side of the female
- Gail Ashton
tr……….rail….
- R. J
traditional anti-feminist raillery
- Robert Jordan
May: victim or cunning manipulator?
Januarie’s r…….is i….
he thinks……..but…………….s..v.. is …… her
- T. W
Januarie’s ‘rape’ of May is ironic even: he thinks he is the sexually dominant partner, but we are made to know that all the sexual vitality is possessed by her
- Trevor Whitlock
Januarie: sympathy or disgust?
…. is a p…. of m…..
- H. H
Januarie is a perversion of marriage
- Hugh Holman
one likes ……. to see…. grossly……
- N. C
One likes Januarie too much to see him grossly betrayed
- Nevill Coghill
…… could be s……. due to……, but…….so r….. he evokes u……………….
- M. H
Januarie could be sympathetic due to some of his traits, but he is so repulsive he evokes universal contempt
- Maurice Hussey
Knights, Chivalry and Gentils: satirical or aspirational?
the…..ex….. the h…… k………….
- R. F
the tale… exposes the hollowness behind knightly pride
- Rosalind Field
this tale is……… dressed…….
…… elements in…… deb…… by the………………
- H. C
this tale is a fabliaux dressed up as a romance… romance elements in the story are debased by the way they are handled
- Helen Cooper
the aspirational merchant class: satirical or celebratory?
the… of ex……..as……………….arouses as much….. as the………… of being……………….
- H. P
…the evil of exploiting others as objects, commodities or dupes, arouses as much moral horror as the spiritual personal evil of being absorbed in money
- Helen Phillips
even…………. shares………with……
the………offers is o………………….. and his whole a…………. centred…………
- D. A
even Justinus… actually shares many commonplace assumptions with the old knight. the counsel he offers is obsessed with material possession and his whole approach to marriage is centred on his acceptance that it is another business transaction
- David Aers
relationship between tale and teller
presentation of love and marriage
deception
appearance and reality
comedy
use of animal imagery
genre
irony
satire
text structure
