Details

Subject(s)

• Chaucer, Geoffrey -1400—Criticism and interpretation [Browse]
• Authors, English—Middle English, 1100-1500—Biography [Browse]
• Civilization, Medieval—14th century [Browse]

Library of Congress genre(s)

• Biographies [Browse]

Series

• Oxford world's classics (Oxford University Press). Authors in context [More in this series]
• Oxford world's classics [More in this series]
• Oxford world's classics. Authors in context [More in this series]

Summary note

• This book examines Chaucer's life and poetry through the lens of his cultural experience. It offers a wide-ranging account of the medieval society from which his works sprang, and examines the works in detail. It considers the intellectual and philosophical contexts, and the modern reception of Chaucer in film and television.
• Chaucer lived through a period of extraordinary upheaval: a protracted war with France, devastating plague, the peasants' revolt, religious controversy, and the overthrow of the king. Compact and comprehensive, this book offers a wide-ranging account of the medieval society from which works such as The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde sprang, and shows how these and other works manifest that society in fictional form. Significant aspects of the literary scene, such as patronage, audience, and performance, help to place Chaucer's practices in their historical framework, and his treatment of love, paganism, and reality are framed within their intellectual and philosophical contexts. The modern reception of Chaucer in film and television adaptations is also examined. Seen through the lens of his cultural experience, this is the perfect critical companion to Chaucer's life and poetry. The book includes a chronology of Chaucer's life and time, suggestions for further reading, websites, illustrations, and a comprehensive index.--Cover.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-235) and index.

Action note

Committed to retain in perpetuity — ReCAP Shared Collection (HUL)

Contents

• The life of Geoffrey Chaucer
• The social body
• The literary scene
• Society and politics
• Intellectual ideas
• Science and technology
• New contexts.

Show 4 more Contents items

ISBN

• 9780192804297
• 0192804294

OCLC

748819478

RCP

H - S

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