I was firmly impressed by the strenght of Fowler's method. Her analysis often leads her from literary criticism to philosophy, theology, economics, history, and law; she says that her license to do this stems from her 'interest in following questions when they lead out of their usual sphere of business'.... Chaucer, Langland, Skelton, and Spenser were all certainly concerned not only with literary character, but also with the social concerns of their periods. Using Fowler's method offers us a new, refreshing way to go about discovering for ourselves what those concerns were, how they were changing, and how these authors utilized the tools of poetry to create literary characters built upon them.
"Fowler (Univ. of Virginia) explores the workings of 'social persons' in four texts: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Piers Plowman, John Skelton's "The Tunnying of Elynour Rummynge," and Spenser's Faerie Qeene. . .Fowler has striking and pertinent observations about each of her authors. She is at her best when demonstrating how a poet crosscuts one kind of language with another to generate social critique. . . The many sharp insights, along with the rich quoted matter and annotation throughout, make Fowler's a volume that will reward those pursuing the study of English Medieval and Renaissance literature. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty."—Choice, March 2004
"I was firmly impressed by the strenght of Fowler's method. Her analysis often leads her from literary criticism to philosophy, theology, economics, history, and law; she says that her license to do this stems from her 'interest in following questions when they lead out of their usual sphere of business'. . . . Chaucer, Langland, Skelton, and Spenser were all certainly concerned not only with literary character, but also with the social concerns of their periods. Using Fowler's method offers us a new, refreshing way to go about discovering for ourselves what those concerns were, how they were changing, and how these authors utilized the tools of poetry to create literary characters built opon them."—Liam Felsen, Indiana University Southeast, Comitatus Vol 35 2004
"The range of material Fowler brings to bear on her analyses is vast and impressive—from civil and canon law, political philosophy, theology and philosophy, economics, history, and of course medieval and early modern literature. . . The multi-disciplinary richness and subtle versatility of her theory proves itself in readings that are fresh, surprising, provocative, and frequently dazlling—across a range of characters as different from one another in literary depth and texture as they can be. . . . One does not have to agree with every detail of every reading to feel that what she is doing is right—and important."—Seherron E. Knopp, Williams College, Meduin Aevum #2 2004
"Elizabeth Fowler's book presents a convincing new method for analyzing literary character, and by extension many of the social fictions in terms of which we understand one another. Her discussion is historically sound, rooted in the careful examination of important texts from Chaucer, Langland, Spenser, and others, and this book should soon find its way onto the short shelf of essential books on interpretative methods."—Mary Carruthers, New York University
"Elizabeth Fowler's learned and penetrating book on 'social persons' and a set of literary texts is a dazzling performance, from its individual comments to its rich understanding of how 'person' can relate to intentionality, will, and subjectivity."—Anne Lake Prescott, Barnard College
"Elizabeth Fowler's concept of the 'social person' harbors remarkable interpretative and explanatory power. Drawing on legal and other discourses, it sponsors dramatic progress in the ongoing effort to bridge apparent chasms between texts, textual categories, and the ordinary social world of the reader. Her enriched analysis of characterization and figuration additionally transcends, and in fact obliterates, another specious division that has not ceased to trouble us, between 'medieval' and 'early modern' views of the world."—Paul Strohm, author of Theory and the Premodern Text
