Constructing Chaucer: Author and Autofiction in the Critical Tradition

ISBN-13: 9781403976437 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 286 str.

Geoffrey Gust

Opis

Constructing Chaucer examines the scholarly appropriation and manipulation of Geoffrey Chaucer since his death in 1400 and seeks to enhance the theoretical dialogue on the famous author's reception history by challenging long-standing assumptions about the "Father of English Poetry." In response to the academy's recent disregard for the narrative persona-construct that was especially prominent in medieval literatures, this book offers a new and historically-based version of persona-theory and applies the paradigm to the reception of key texts where Chaucer's use of the persona is most acute. This method is centered upon the fresh concept of "autofiction," which is offered in order to recuperate and revitalize the persona as a critical tool. By applying the theory of autofiction to Chaucer's verse, Gust questions age-old traditions, presents a series of provocative new interpretations, and fosters a more complete understanding of the ideologies of Chaucer criticism.

Spis treści

Persona and Personalities: Medieval Lineage, Modern Legacy Getting a Life: Biographical Constructions of Chaucer the Man Chaucer Speaks: Memoirs of the Man? Lives of Their Own: The Wife of Bath, the Pardoner, and Critical (Dis)Approval Claiming the 'Popet': Ethics, Evasion, and the Pilgrim's Progress

O autorze

GEOFFERY GUST is Assistant Professor and Faculty Associate Researcher of Medieval Studies at Arizona University, USA.