Critical Essays on Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" Book

This book offers a collection of reprinted essays and extracts on the "Canterbury Tales". Its purpose is twofold; both to make available a selection of influential and stimulating interpretations, and to facilitate appreciation of the the evolving tradition of critical writing on Chaucer's elusive work. Essays and extracts have been chosen not only for their intrinsic quality but also to illustrate the range and variety of criticism on the "Canterbury Tales". Some essays - above all those of G.L.Kittredge on "Chaucer's Discussion of Marriage" and E.Talbot Donaldson on "Chaucer the Pilgrim" - are included because they have proved exceptionally influential; others - like those of Gerhard Joseph on "Chaucerian "Game" - "Ernest" and the "Argument of Herbergage"" and Hope Phyllis Weissman on "Antifeminism and Chaucer's Characterization of Women" - may well be unfamiliar and may perhaps now receive the attention they deserve. Though the earliest piece, by William Blake, dates from 1809 and all major phases of criticism are represented, there is a deliberate emphasis on material published during the last 30 years. Some of this reflects the growing importance of approaches and methodologies such as women's studies and literary theory, and suggests the potential for future developments in critical writing on the "Canterbury Tales". The collection as a whole bears witness not only to the richness and subtlety of the text but also to the diversity of interpretative responses to it.Read More