Date of Award

4-27-2011

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Larissa Tracy, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Shawn Smith, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Chene Heady, Ph.D.

Abstract

This thesis examines Geoffrey Chaucer’s pioneering work as a distinctly English poet who wrote against the grain of French literary influence in the Middle Ages. Analyzing works such as The Parlement of Fowls and The Canterbury Tales, this thesis marks Chaucer as an English original, writing on everything from love and class to literature and politics. Furthermore, it argues Chaucer’s influence in making Britain into a more mature nation distinct from mainland Europe, and discusses how The Parlement of Fowls prepared Chaucer for his future writing.

Included in

Poetry Commons

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.