Product Description

The Cambridge Chaucer Companion contains a series of essays by internationally known Chaucer experts, designed to provide a challenging introduction to the poet. The collection is divided between pieces which concentrate squarely on one or more of Chaucer’s major poems, identifying themes, styles, moods and tones, and pieces of wider scope which give more general information about Chaucer’s literary sources and historical background, or study his experiments with style and structure over a range of poems, or set his works in the context of medieval genres and literary traditions. While introducing a work or works to the reader, these essays also adopt fresh and rigorous lines of critical enquiry which will encourage him or her to develop and place his or her own interpretations. Taken as a whole, the collection establishes a context for Chaucer, discusses the significance of his position within it, and applies to his poetry detailed and frequently innovative analysis. These three functions combine to provide what should become a standard work of reference for students as well as readers who already have some familiarity with Chaucer but wish to achieve a greater understanding of this major English poet and his oeuvre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #383697 in Books
• Published on: 1986-11-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
‘An impressive volume forming a compendium of authoritative critical opinion on a range of topics and texts.’ Literature and History

Customer Reviews

excellent introduction to chaucer's work
the collection offers an excellent introduction to chaucer's work and valuable background information on chaucer's life and times as well as insights into his relationship with his sources. the chapter on the dream visions is particularly informative, containing a wealth of detail on the sources and is creatively written (a necessity when writing on such a popular subject). anyone after closer textual analysis may be slightly disapointed but the collection provides a good starting point, particularly for university undergraduates.