Abstract This paper discusses how although Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde" can be considered another classic love story, the main characters seem to break away from their expected gender roles and take on characteristics more commonly associated with the opposite sex. It looks at how indeed, both characters, Troilus and Criseyde, strike the reader as acting outside of their expected gender roles in terms of their behavior when they are under love's spell.
From the Paper "Perhaps the best way to understand the ways in which Troilus and Criseyde differ from what is expected of them during the 14th century is to examine just what is expected of a chivalrous knight like Troilus and a fair lady like Criseyde. One thing the reader must keep in mind is that the paramount creed for a knight is that he is honorable and chivalrous in the name of God in all things he does. While this is not specific by any means to his romantic life, it might suggest that the way he handles himself be lofty and with his pride and dignity in tact. A literary source entitled "Chaucer: Sources and Backgrounds" includes an excerpt in it from Ramon Lull's "The Book of the Order of Chivalry," essentially a set of guidelines highlighting just how a knight should conduct himself. "
Abstract The writer employs Freudian ideas in the textual analysis of "Troilus and Criseyde", allowing for a wealth of exploration of overt sexual imagery amid the poem's romantic elements. The paper explores the dream scenes in the poem, noting the ways in which the characters predict their tragic destinies.
From the Paper "Criseyde is the first to have a dream that reflects Troilus's damaging need for gratification, as well as her fear of the commitment of marriage. After learning of Troilus's interest in her, she declares, "I am myn owne woman, well at ease/ . . . Shall noon housbonde seyen to me, 'checkmate!??(76). Although Criseyde is justifiably worried about the constraints that accompany a relationship, she is oblivious to the effect Troilus already has on her. Indeed, not long after her proclamation of independence, Criseyde, thinking about Troilus more and more, begins to question her steadfastness: "Sholde I now love, and put in jupartye/My sikerness, and thrallen libertee??(77). Yet, after much deliberation, when she does relinquish her resolve and devote her love to Troilus, her subconscious assails her with a terrifying dream. Lulled to sleep by a nightingale's song, Criseyde dreams..."
Abstract This six-page undergraduate paper explores the recurrence of the image of the house in "Troilus and Criseyde". Chaucer has several purposes for this image, the main one being to situate characters in the society.
Abstract The writer looks at the background that pre-dated Chaucer's writing, leading to the creation of "Troilus and Criseyde". The paper then shifts the focus to "The Canterbury Tales", taking a closer look at this work. The paper brings examples from the text to illustrate the analysis of Chaucer's writing style.
From the Paper "The Canterbury Tales, started sometime between 1347 and 1400. This work is considered Chaucer's masterpiece. It is organized as a collection of stories told by a group of travelers on pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The Canterbury Tales reflects the diversity of fourteenth-century English life while reflecting the full-range of medieval society with the pilgrims sharing tales that span the medieval literary spectrum. Here critics concur that Chaucer brings each character to life and creates truly memorable individuals. Within the framework of the Canterbury Tales are ten parts which appear in different order in different manuscripts. Critics believe that Chaucer's final plan for this work was never realized because he either stopped working on the piece or died before he could place the sections in sequence."
Tags: poetry, English, character, medieval, literature
Abstract This paper asserts that "Troilus and Criseyde" by Geoffrey Chaucer is a treatise on Boethian philosophy more than an epic romance. The narrator is treated as a character whose purpose is to emphasize the deterioration of the poetic structure by displacing the audience, even as the hero simultaneously contends with his own emotional conflict and ultimate demise.
From the Paper "Because Pandarus is created in Chaucer's own image (Waswo 10), he serves a pivotal role as a vehicle for Chaucerian irony in the narration scheme itself. Pandarus embodies the pacing of the narration and the emotion of the narrator himself. Both Pandarus and the narrator claim that their actions are fueled by compassion for the lovers, yet they both exhibit bizarre personal gratification in the services they perform. Some critics have even observed how the narrator "participates with delight in Pandarus' machinations to bring the lovers together. In Books II and III, as Pandarus dashes from place to place arranging the lovers' meetings, the narration itself speeds up" (Waswo 10)."
This paper explores Geoffrey Chaucer's life and writings as well as the influences that aided the author in penning his most famous novel "The Canterbury Tales."
Abstract This paper examines famed author Geoffrey Chaucer's works as well as the various occupations, travels and experiences which provided the author with a keen insight into human nature which greatly influenced his writing style. This paper also reviews and discusses several of Chaucer's novels including: "The Canterbury Tales" and "Troilus and Criseyde."
From the Paper "If Chaucer hadn't broken free of the auspicious life that he was born
to, being son of a wealthy vintner and trained to be a diplomat and civil servant, his writing of such characters, as in the Wife of Bath and The Pardoner, would not have had the life-like qualities they do. It was in his later life that Chaucer gained first-hand knowledge of the the corruption in the medieval church and the often times unscrupulous affairs in court and the high-handed ways of merchants."
Abstract This paper discusses the way gender is used in "Troilus and Criseyde" by Geoffrey Chaucer, with reference to the way John Lydgate raises Chaucer in "Troy Book". It notes how Cressida is depicted as manipulative and self-serving, while Troilus is the victim who really loves her and who is betrayed by her when she shifts her love to the Greek Diomede and leaves Troilus to be killed.
From the Paper "The story of Troilus and Cressida has been told from various points of view in Homer, Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, and others. Chaucer's version of Troilus and Criseyde presents the story of the siege of Troy and events surrounding it through characters who very much reflect the ideas and attitudes of his own time, with the main characters being two young people who embody the traits of the Middle Ages. These traits include ideas about gender, based on the gender stereotypes of the day, which serve as defining characteristics for the characters and which explain many of their motivations for these characters. In the Troy Book of John Lydgate, the poet offers a Chaucerian work that gives more power to ideals than to real people and that treats gender as one aspect of tradition. Karl Federn describes the views of women that prevailed in the Middle Ages and discusses their sources."
Abstract This paper discusses Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Book of the Duchess" and "Troilus and Criseyde." It describes their two young lovers, smitten by the blows of fortune - the Black Knight and Troilus, respectively and looks at the different references to fortune in each of the texts. The paper then relates the two texts to Boethian philosophy, namely that found in Boethius' "The Consolation of Philosophy."
From the Paper "Unlike in The Book of the Duchess, however, there are a number of individuals in Troilus and Criseyde who are responsible for the events that led both up to Troilus' affair with Criseyde, as well as the separation of the lovers and the betrayal of Troilus: without Calchas' betrayal of Troy, Criseyde wouldn't have been in the vulnerable position that preceded her affair with Troilus; without Pandarus and Troilus' elaborate scheming, deceit and manipulation of Criseyde, there would have been no affair; without Criseyde's betrayal and persistent deceit of Troilus, Troilus' pain would have been lessened, and they could have stolen away together as Criseyde kept considering to do. Here, it surely is not Fortune who is false, but Calchas, Pandarus, Troilus, and Criseyde. Therefore, one could argue that the role of Fortune, in Troilus and Criseyde, is to relieve these individuals for the moral responsibility for their actions as well as the consequences of those actions. They also seem to relieve Troilus of the responsibility to himself to continue his life actively. He seems to feel that if he has no hand in his fate or fortune, then he can just lie in bed all day, that it won't make a difference; a very distorted, although convenient, interpretation of Boethius' philosophy of Fate and Fortune."
Abstract This paper details Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most acclaimed poets of all time. It includes a historical biography on Geoffrey Chaucer and analyzes his works 'The Canterbury Tales', 'Book of Duchess', 'House of Fame' and many more. The author finds that Chaucer definitely changed English literature as he brought it to an entirely new and much higher level and therefore he has been called a master and the father of English poetry.
From the Paper "In his lifetime Geoffrey Chaucer was hailed as the greatest poet of his age. And today, after more than five and a half centuries, during which the warmth, color, humor, and humanity of his poetry have endeared him to his reader, his name stands in the annals of English literature second only to Shakespeare", Dunn, page 1). Chaucer, by his nature was a poet, but he was also a civil servant to earn a living. He was born in approximately 1343 to a wealthy, bourgeoisie family. He probably attended a law school known as the Inner Temple in London. At a young age he served as a pageboy to Elizabeth of Ulster, the daughter-in-law to King Edward III. His duties were modest. He had to do such chores as making the beds and looking after clothing. However, he did get to travel with Elizabeth throughout England and Ireland. In 1366 he married Philippa Roet, a lady in waiting to Queen Philippa and later to John of Gaunt. Chaucer had three children by this marriage, two sons and a daughter. From about 1368 on he served as a royal diplomatic agent in France and Italy. In 1374 King Edward appointed him controller of customs. In 1385 he moved to the county of Kent where he was a justice of the peace and served one session as representative of the county in Parliament. It's apparent that his wife died in 1387 and in 1389 he returned to London to supervise construction and repairs around Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle. He rented a house in the gardens of Westminster Abbey in 1399 and in 1400 died. He was buried in the Abbey in a section now known as the Poet's Corner."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of Lochrie's book, how it is organized, the evidential sources used by the author, and an assessment of how the book was received critically. The book's placement in the context of class is followed by biographical information about the author. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.
From the Paper "From both feminist and poststructuralist perspectives, human sexuality has increasingly come to be seen not as biological but as a cultural construction, subject to fashioning and redefinition under pressure from social forces and juridico-political power (Nederman & True 1996). According to Carolyn Dinshaw (1999), gender violation, or the violation of active-passive roles, underwrites the condemnation of female sex acts without men as the worst problem among humankind; the hierarchical importance of gender over sexuality found in the castigation of female perversion is consistent with other representations of female-female homoeroticism found in the long literary tradition from Artemidorus to Ptolemy to Caelius Aurelianus to Cino da Pistoia to Shakespeare: "Only sexual acts between women that violate gender hierarchy emerge into visibility; they are consistently represented in relation to masculinization, facts suggesting that gender rules are regarded as much more serious than rules for sexual behavior insofar as they can be separated" (Dinshaw 1999)."
