Geoffrey Chaucer has long been considered by the critics as the father of English poetry. However, this notion not only tends to forget a huge part of the history of Anglo-Saxon literature but also to ignore the specificities of Chaucer's style. Indeed, Chaucer's decision to write in Middle English, in a time when the hegemony of Latin and Old French was undisputed (especially at the court of Edward III and Richard II), was consistent with an intellectual movement that was trying to give back to European vernaculars the prestige necessary to a genuine cultural production, which eventually led to the emergence of romance and of the modern novel. As a result, if Chaucer cannot be thought of as the father of English poetry, he is, however, the father of English prose and one of the main artisans of what Mikhail Bakhtin called the polyphonic novel.
Author(s): Jonathan Fruoco
Series: Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture, 29. Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Culture, 75
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 242
City: Berlin
Preface
Notes on the Texts and Translations
Abbreviations of Chaucer’s Works
Introduction
Chapter 1. Polyphony and Multilingualism in Medieval England
Chapter 2. 'Fin’amor', 'Stil Novo': Chaucer’s Early Influences
Chapter 3. Narrative Evolution and New Discursive Strategies
Chapter 4. 'Troilus and Criseyde' and the Ambiguity of Double Enunciation
Chapter 5. Hybridization and the Legend of Chaucer’s Inventiveness
Chapter 6. Extradiegetic Dialogue in 'The Canterbury Tales'
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
