Marshall W. Stearns, "Chaucer's Attitude Toward Love"

Chaucer's Attitude Toward Love

Marshall W. Stearns

Speculum, Vol. 17, No. 4. (Oct., 1942), pp. 570-574.

Found on JSTOR

Stearns uses passages from The Book of the Duchess and Troilus and Criseyde to develop a personal understanding of the poet behind these works. The focus is on an allusion within the poetry to Chaucer's eight year long love-sickness, and its historical relevance in relation to his published work. This article only goes into surface detail on Chaucer as a failed lover, but the information would be useful for continued research. It also catalogues the multiple avenues for understanding what Chaucer thinks about courtly love, and perhaps more importantly, Chaucer's self-image as an authority on loving. Stearns believes Chaucer may have thought: "Can a 'clerc' of love really teach anything, if he believes himself to be unfeeling-blind and unable to judge hues in this manner?"

Priapus and the Parlement of Foulys

Emerson Brown, Jr. "Priapus and the Parlement of Foulys." Studies in Philology. V. 72. 1975. pp. 258-74.

Brown begins by addressing criticism of Chaucer's borrowings from Ovid, Boccaccio, and other source texts in an attempt to validate Chaucer's adaptation and treatment of the material to his dream vision the Parliament of Fowls. Brown proposes that, although the stanzas in Boccaccio and in Chaucer allude to the story from Ovid (the phallic god Priapus is near to penetrating a Naiad when an ass intrudes), Chaucer's incorporation of the event into Parliament presents "a more bawdy possibility, created by the syntactical unity of the last phrase," which is more suited to the theme of Love. Brown objects that these three lines, which, as he reads them, depict men trying to crown Priapus's phallus with garland of flowers, are padding; and suggests that they symoblize a lack of sexual gratification. Brown goes on to engage other criticisms which purport that the presence of Priapus shuts down any theories that Chaucer is "subordinationg" sensuality. Brown illustrates his claim by conflating the intrusion of the ass witht the lack of success in the men's attempt to crown the phallus: "the voluptuousness of Priapus is inhibited," and therefore comical (Brown's italics). Brown also seems determined to address another extreme of criticism of Priapus, which reads the phallic god "as representing everything the interpreter finds opposed to the moral center of the poem," by reading the actual parliament of birds as adhering to the code of courtly love. Brown, however, finds the scene of the parliament as another instance of delayed sexual gratification, claiming the act of choosing is in anticipation of the sex act. He concludes the article by stating that readers are not asking the right questions when trying to see Priapus in a good or bad light: they should consider that Chaucer "may have seen some aspects of life and art in a less morally absolute way," and that Priapus might be just an object of folly "softened by the recognition that what is so amusing and ridiculous in others may be within our own hearts."

This was a frustrating read because Brown has a very vague thesis, in which he basically states that he will examine Priapus' role in the poem. He does not slant it in any way, which was confusing when reading what at first seemed generalizations throughout the article. However, it does maintain a consistent discussion on whether Priapus should be viewed as a positive representation of sexuality or a negative one. In the end, Brown opts for a compromised reading, as can be seen from the quotes above. On the other hand, there are next to no articles devoted to the subject of Priapus, so Brown's essay is valuable in that respect.

Interesting if one is focusing on the the topic of sexuality in the Parliament.

Seductive Violence and Three Chaucerian Women

O’Brien, Timothy D. Seductive violence and three Chaucerian Women. College Literature (West Chester University, PA) (Spring 2001) p 178-196

O’Brien takes a look at the Wife of Bath, the wife in the Shipman’s tale, and the Prioress, with the argument that all three of them portray themselves as objects of violence in order to provoke sexual desire in men. By far, the most interesting argument he puts forth is that each woman in the tales, tailors how she portrays herself as on object of violence to the man she’s trying to seduce. Alison, in the Wife of Bath’s Tale, uses a dream to seduce Jenkyn, which O’Brien argues is working within how education worked in the time- beatings were given to beat out the feminine qualities and instill a sense of masculinity when lessons weren’t learned- lessons which were often tied to violence around women, and where rape was often treated as a way for men to become one with their masculinity. The wife in the Shipman’s Tale is trying to seduce a monk, and with the language of how she refers to herself, is reminiscent of the bodily violence and torture perpetrated onto female saints of the time. Where O’Brien’s argument becomes confusing and difficult to follow is when he’s attempting to explain the medieval mindset about how women are inherently violent and unclean to explain Alison’s dream. He also argues that the Prioress romanticizes violence, and by doing so creates herself as a romance object, her need to be desired more general than the other two women he talks about. This argument is vague and glossed over. The points about how the women in the stories are constructing the men as the powerful party by placing themselves in violent seductive positions, is interesting and worth reading. The most interesting part of the article however was the discussion of how violence, and specifically violence towards women, was an integral part of the education of males in the medieval ages.

Available on LION

"Why the Devil Wears Green" by W.D. Robertson Jr.

Robertson Jr., W.D. “Why the Devil Wears Green.” Modern Language Notes, Vol. 69, No. 7. (Nov., 1954), pp. 470-472.

This article gives two explanations as to why the fact that the fiend in the Friar’s Tale is dressed in green should be a warning as to his true identity. Firstly, the color green is highly associated with the Celtic underworld, although this explanation presumes that Chaucer and his audience was aware of the connection. A second argument for the devil being dressed in green is based off of the work of a mid-fourteenth century humanist Pierre Bersuire, who wrote an entire chapter on the color green in his encyclopedia. This work suggests that the devil, a master hunter, dresses in green because beasts like the color and are attracted to it and he wishes to make himself appear pleasant and not forewarn those he wishes to trap. The fiend in the Friar’s tale wishes to attract his fellow worker, the summoner. Unlike the first explanation, where the color green is a direct warning to all characters involved, the second is only a warning to the reader rather than to those within the tale.

This article can be found on JSTOR.

Haldeen Braddy, "Chaucer's Comic Valentine"

Chaucer's Comic Valentine
Haldeen Braddy
Modern Language Notes

Braddy uses evidence from Chaucer’s historical background to support his argument that Parliament of Fowles is meant to be read as comedy. He argues (rather weakly) that because animals are portrayed as talking personalities, the poem is humorous in basic framework. His are claims originate from Gardiner Stillwell’s critical work “Unity and Comedy in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules.” Braddy doesn’t sufficiently resolve the question of irony in the poem, yet considers his argument true. Aside from the general argument, this short article has plenty of useful bibliographical data, and a short paragraph on Chaucer’s participation in the negotiations of betrothing Prince Richard and Princess Marie.

Available on JSTOR

Tony Hahn

Pilgrimage by Johnation Sumption

Pilgrimage

By Jonathan Sumption

Ich thinke it bothe mete and righte that thou shalt rede this grete boke. I loved this book. If you are interested in how the medieval cult of saints arose, how relics were venerated and dispersed, the laws surrounding pilgrimage, and the sexual and class politics of pilgrimage, this book is the place to turn. You will learn under what circumstances a pilgrimage would be required (criminals from Liege were sent to Rome and were required to climb the steps of the Lateran Basilica their knees and remain kneeling for the duration of five masses; in 1186, arson could be punished by a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; at Maastricht, murderers were allowed to buy their way out of the pilgrimages they were ordered to make), the documentation one could receive to prove one had completed one’s penance, and the laws governing pilgrims on the road. Chapters you shouldn’t miss include: The Cult of Relics,” “The Saints and Their Relics,” “The Pursuit of the Miraculous,” “The Growth of a Cult,” and a chapter entitled “Light-Minded and Inquisitive Persons.” Many Chaucer references throughout.

Available at Seymour Library (BR 252 .S92)

John Bowers, "Dronkenesse is Ful of Stryvyng": Alcoholism and Ritual Violence in Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale"

Bowers, John M. “Dronkenesse is Ful of Stryvyng”: Alcoholism and Ritual Violence in Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale. ELH, Vol. 57, No. 4. (Winter, 1990), pp.757-784

John M. Bowers explains Chaucer’s Pardoner by suggesting that some – if not all – of the Pardoner’s behavior and characteristics (including his emasculation) may be understood by his apparent alcoholism. The article is divided neatly in sections, each beginning with a line from the text, followed by a number of paragraphs of explication. The article is perhaps at its best when Bowers notes the prevalent attitudes of Chaucer’s time period, and Bowers cites many period texts which may be of research value. Where it seems less strong to me are at the instances in which the article relies heavily on modern theories of psychology and alcoholism, including numerous citations from texts produced by Alcoholics Anonymous. Ultimately, if a reader is able to suspend disbelief at what may seem like anachronistic moments in the argument, I think he or she will be rewarded with an illuminating and novel explanation of the Pardoner.

– Available on JSTOR
Lisa Goetz