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Rebels and Rivals: The Contestive Spirit in the Canterbury Tales
Contributor(s): Fein, Susanna Greer (Editor), Raybin, David (Editor), Braeger, Peter C. (Editor)
ISBN: 0918720419     ISBN-13: 9780918720412
Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications
OUR PRICE:   $18.95  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: July 1991
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Poetry | European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
- Literary Criticism | Medieval
Dewey: 821.1
LCCN: 90027626
Physical Information: (1.02 lbs) 293 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453)
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Strife occurs everywhere among characters in The Canterbury Tales, in the stories as well as the links between them. Characters seem always ready to dispute, contradict, declaim, and contend about almost anything. A competitive spirit suffuses the work, from the tale-telling among pilgrims and the personal rivalries that develop on the pilgrimage to the conflicts, beguilings, and one-uppings that go on in the tales. By understanding the rivalries of the Canterbury world, we may then recognize why Chaucer so insists on the individuality of the characters he creates, why so many characters (rightly or wrongly) resist structures, and why they challenge or reject social dogmas, often overturning them. The essays that make up this collection offer several provocative interpretations of the rivalrous and rebellious spirits that inhabit the worlds of Chaucer's tales. The volume is intended for the dedicated teacher of Chaucer as well as for the specialist in medieval English studies. As Chaucer's poem displays the contestive spirit of human affairs, so the collective spirit of these essays reflects vigorous debate and multi-faceted challenge.