Justice: A Unifying Thread Within the House of Fame

<p>The question asked by John Manly in his article "What Is Chaucer's 'House of Fame?'"1 is one which is still being asked and will, no doubt, continue to be asked. The fact that there have been so many interpretive theories put forth concerning the House of Fame is evidence enough that there is something uncertain about the poem. No one denies that there are many wonderful things in the work hut a problem arises when scholars try to put these things together to discover what Chauoer had in mind when he wrote the poem. Most scholars would agree with Camton's words on the subject when he said that Chaucer:</p> <p>Towchyth… right grete wysedom & substyll understondying… for he wrytteth no voyde words/but all hys mater is ful of hye and quycke sentence.</p> <p>After this, the agreement ceases and the search begins.</p> <p>The exact date of the work is still subject to conjecture. Legouis states that the short couplet and lightness of style indicate an early date. Baum feels that any date between 1379 and 1384 would be satisfactory because during thime Chaucer was concerned with the French love-vision. The work, in his opinion, can not be put at an early date because of the many sources involved in it. Tatlock holds for a date sometime after 1379 and before 1383. He thinks that the mention of Lollius in Book III may indicate a date after the Troilus. Sypherd would date the poem around 1379. According to Professor Robinson the only certain fact we have about the date of the work is Chaucer’s own reference to the "rekonings" he took. This would limit the time of composition to the period between 1374 and 1385 when Chaucer held the position of controller of customs. The poem is usually put after the Book of the Duchess and designated as the first work in the Italian period.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Humanities

Year

1968

Author dc:creator

• Colt, Edith Mary

• Humanities
• Arts and Humanities

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/125

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.dominican.edu:humanities-print-theses-1124