Chaucer's Literary Tradition

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses recurring themes through three of Chaucer's works: "Parliament of Fowles", "The Book of the Duchesse", and "The House of Fame". The distinctions being made are that Chaucer actually devises a literary tradition in these three works and that it is modeled after the religious experience of his time. The three qualities of craft/knowledge, guide/teacher, and dream/fantasy state are discussed.

From the Paper:

"Chaucer's use of the sleep/dream motif as vehicle to introduce his unique brand of fantasy has been well-documented. In some senses that analysis is as tired as his Canterbury Tales, in so far as the motif has been critically analyzed. More interesting to the reader is Chaucer's preface of dream states or fantasies, which form the central portion of many of his works, with textual reference to the art or craft of living, or of being alive, and how this particular discipline is intermixed with study, reading, and knowledge of some form. It is referenced best when, in "Parliament of Fowles," the speaker says, "...the craft so long to lerne" (1)."

More papers on Chaucer's Literary Tradition:

• Analytical Essay # 3272 : "Chaucer: Covert Critique of the Church"
• Essay # 88773 : "Chaucer's Early Narrators"
• Analytical Essay # 118152 : "Females in Medieval Literature"

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