30 great myths about Chaucer / / Thomas A. Prendergast and Stephanie Trigg

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910678059603321
• Autore: Prendergast Thomas A (Thomas Augustine)
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Hoboken, New Jersey ; ; Chichester, West Sussex, England : , : Wiley-Blackwell, , [2020]; ©2020
• ISBN: 1-119-19407-5; 1-119-19406-7; 1-119-19408-3
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (xiii, 212 pages)
• Disciplina: 821.1
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Introduction: Mythical Chaucer -- Chaucer is the father of English literature -- Chaucer was the first English poet -- Chaucer suffered an unrequited love -- Chaucer's marriage was unhappy -- Chaucer's son Thomas was John of Gaunt's bastard -- Chaucer's language is too difficult for modern readers -- The Canterbury pilgrims represent all social classes and character types -- The Canterbury pilgrims are based on real people -- The Canterbury pilgrims form a "merry company" -- Chaucer was a feminist -- Chaucer was guilty of rape -- Chaucer had a falling out with his best friend -- Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages -- Chaucer was a proto-Protestant -- Chaucer was antisemitic -- Chaucer was a spy -- Chaucer was a crook -- Chaucer was a political opportunist -- The Wife of Bath murdered her husbands -- Chaucer "outs" the Pardoner -- Chaucer never finished the Canterbury Tales -- Chaucer is obscene -- Chaucer was skeptical of chivalry -- Chaucer described himself in his works -- Chaucer wrote the first psychological novel in English -- Chaucer was in danger of being thrown in debtor's prison -- Chaucer renounced his works on his deathbed -- Chaucer is buried in his own tomb -- Chaucer was the first poet laureate -- Contemporary literary theory is irrelevant to Chaucer.
• Sommario/riassunto: "Chaucer is regularly named as the father of English poetry, the father of English literature, the father of English literary history, the father of the English language, even the father of England itself. This first "myth," with all these associations, is probably the most foundational one for this book, as it sits behind many of the conceptions and emotional investments readers have in the familiar figure of Geoffrey Chaucer. It is also the myth that exemplifies the ways in which this concept in literary history is both instructive and yet also potentially confusing. The idea of fatherhood over a literary tradition is a powerful metaphor that is intimately tied up with ideas of nationalism, but we can fruitfully unpack its significance and its history. We may also observe that this kind of praise can be a mixed blessing in the changing fashions of literary study"--