Read more
These thirteen essays by distinguished Chaucerians deal with the most neglected genre of the
Canterbury Tales, the religious tales. Although the prose works are also discussed, the primary focus of the volume is on Chaucer's four poems in rhyme royal: the
Clerk's Tale, the
Man of Law's Tale, the
Second Nun's Tale and the
Prioress's Tale.
Almost all of Chaucer's tales are religious in some sense, but these four works deal specifically and deeply with faith and spiritual transcendence. They appeal to qualities, such as pathos, not now in critical fashion, but at the same time they seem extraordinarily contemporary in their special interest inwomen and feminist issues. The time is appropriate to recognise their importance in Chaucer's canon, for he is a religious poet as surely as he is a poet of comedy and secular love. These essays survey past criticism on the religious tales and offer new approaches.
Contributors: C. DAVID BENSON, ELIZABETH ROBINSON, DEREK PEARSALL, BARBARA NOLAN, ROBERT WORTH FRANK, LINDA GEORGIANNA, CHARLOTTE C. MORSE, A.S.G. EDWARDS, CAROLYN COLETTE, ELIZABETHD. KIRK, GEORGE R. KEISER, JANE COWGILL.
List of contents
Introduction
Chaucer's Religious Tales: A Question of Genre
Chaucer's Tales of Transcendence: Rhyme Royal and Christian Prayer in the
Canterbury TalesPathos in Chaucer's Religious Tales
The Protestant Chaucer
Critical Approaches to the
Clerk's TaleCritical Approaches to the
Man of Law's TaleCritical Approaches to the
Prioress's Tale and the
Second Nun's TaleNominalism and the Dynamics of the
Clerk's Tale:
Homo Viator as Woman
The Spiritual Heroism of Chaucer's Custance
Poetic Variety in the
Man of Law's and the
Clerk's TalesAspects of Female Piety in the
Prioress's TaleThe
Second Nun's TalePatterns of Feminine and Masculine Persuasion in the
Melibee and the
Parson's Tale
About the author
C. David Benson, Elizabeth Robertson
