In the following essay, Dinshaw maintains that in his works Chaucer figuratively associates literary activity with the human body. This association, argues Dinshaw, may be seen in the poem “Adam Scriveyn,” as well as in a number of Chaucer's other works. Dinshaw further contends that for Chaucer all literary activity is gendered, and that the characters in his works who control language are associated with masculine power in patriarchal society.

In the following essay, Bloch points out that apparent discrepancies exist between the motivation and actions of the characters in Chaucer's “The Physician's Tale.” The key to making sense of such disparity, Bloch maintains, is understanding how the character Virginia's virginity would have been understood by medieval readers. Bloch explains how the Church Fathers of the time would have viewed the story, noting that once Virginia is looked upon with desire by Appius, she ...

Lowes is noted for his essays and lectures on poetry and is the author of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Development of His Genius. In the following excerpt from one of his published lectures, Lowes provides cultural, biographical, and literary sources for Chaucer's works.

In the following essay, Donaldson examines the way in which Chaucer “simultaneously” describes events from a number of different viewpoints while apparently seeing them from a singular point of view. In particular, Donaldson focuses on four of the women who become the object of the narrator's discussion: Emily (“The Knight's Tale”), May (“The Merchant's Tale”), Criseyde (Troilus and Criseyde), and the Prioress (“The Prioress's Tal...

In the following excerpt from an essay originally published in 1958. Donaldson presents the theme of Troilus and Criseyde as a paradoxical statement in which Chaucer asserts both the importance and the transitory nature of human values.

Minnis is a scholar of Medieval Literature and the author of many notable works including Chaucer and the Pagan Antiquity and Chaucer's Boece and the Medieval Tradition of Boethius. In the following excerpt, Minnis uses historical information and analyses of verse form, rhetoric, and style to praise Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess.

In the following essay, Martin assesses the way in which Chaucer's heroines use both speech and silence to their advantage. Additionally, Martin demonstrates the correlation between the biblical archetypes of Eve and Mary—as representatives of “improper” and “proper” female behavior—and Chaucer's heroines, such as the Wife of Bath and the Prioress.

In the following excerpt, Heffernan analyzes the narrator of the Book of the Duchess in terms of medieval concepts of depression.

In the following essay, Cooke argues that in “The Merchant's Tale” the naming of the characters Januarie and May is more obscure than many critics have previously allowed. Cooke demonstrates the error many have made in calculating the ages of the characters, and discusses the significance of this miscalculation.

Taylor is the author of Chaucer's Chain of Love. In the following essay, he examines Chaucer's portrayal of flawed knighthood by analyzing the "Franklin's Tale," the "Physician's Tale," the "Wife of Bath's Tale," and the "Merchant's Tale."

In the following excerpt, Josipovici explains the function of the game motif as a method of resolving immoral aspects of the "Miller's Tale" and "The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale," and as a method of ironic self-revelation that reveals the folly of the pilgrims.

Kittredge is renowned as the editor of the Complete Works of Shakespeare (with Irving Ribner) and for his collections of English and Scottish ballads as well as for his studies of Chaucer, including Observations on the Language of Chaucer's Troilus and Chaucer and His Poetry from which the following excerpt is taken. In this passage, Kittredge summarizes the situation and action of Troilus and Criseyde and argues that it is a superlative love tragedy.

Blake is perhaps the most esteemed English poet and artist of the Romantic period. In the following excerpt from his 1809 "Descriptive Catalogue" of his paintings and drawings, he describes Chaucer's Canterbury pilgrims as examples of "universal human life. "

F. N. Robinson is the editor of the widely used The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer noted for its extensive textual notes and introductions to Chaucer's works. In the following essay originally published in 1933, Robinson discusses the Legend of Good Women in relation to its sources and other works by Chaucer.

Emerson, an influential literary figure and philosopher during the nineteenth century, founded the American Transcendental movement. In the following excerpt from a lecture delivered in 1835, he places Chaucer in the English literary tradition, praising him for his delightful and authentic literary portraits.