A Reading of the Canterbury Tales

by Trevor Whittock

Overview

In this 1968 study, Dr Whittock argues that there is greater unity in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales than has been supposed. He sees the Canterbury Tales as as great religious poem, a Christian work of art in which certain topics deliberately recur, so that the Tales in sequence take on the nature of a debate on death, the role of women, marriage, the truth or deception of art, the function of evil in the Creator's plan, temporal imperfection, and the hidden mystery of God's being. The author illustrates his theme through a detailed examination of each of the Tales in turn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521095570
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/01/1968
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: on reading Chaucer; The Canterbury Tales: 1. The Knight's Tale; 2. The Miller's Tale; 3. The Reeve's Tale; 4. The Man of Law's Tale; 5. The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale; 6. The Friar and the Summoner; 7. The Clerk's Tale; 8. The Merchant's Tale; 9. The Squire's Tale; 10. The Franklin's Tale; 11. The Physician's Tale; 12. The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale; 13. The Shipman's Tale; 14. The Prioress's Tale; 15. The Tales of Sir Thopas and Melibeus; 16. The Monk's Tale; 17. The Nun's Priest's Tale; 18. The Second Nun's Tale; 19. The Canon's Yeoman's Tale; 20. The Manciple's Tale and the Parson's Tale; Bibliography; Index.