Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Phases of Scottish Chaucerianism

    Uploaded by

    Chishmish Doll
    218 views2 pages
    The document discusses the phases of Scottish Chaucerianism from the 15th century. It describes three phases: 1) James I directly imitating Chaucer while preserving his own uniqueness, 2) poets like Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas adapting Chaucer's style for more individual purposes, and 3) poets experimenting and generating new meaning from previous poetry, moving further from Chaucer over time. It then provides more details on the works and styles of James I, Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas, noting how they built upon Chaucer but also incorporated more Scottish nationalism and individuality in their writing.

    Original Description:

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    The document discusses the phases of Scottish Chaucerianism from the 15th century. It describes three phases: 1) James I directly imitating Chaucer while preserving his own uniqueness, 2) poets like Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas adapting Chaucer's style for more individual purposes, and 3) poets experimenting and generating new meaning from previous poetry, moving further from Chaucer over time. It then provides more details on the works and styles of James I, Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas, noting how they built upon Chaucer but also incorporated more Scottish nationalism and individuality in their writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    218 views2 pages

    Phases of Scottish Chaucerianism

    Uploaded by

    Chishmish Doll
    The document discusses the phases of Scottish Chaucerianism from the 15th century. It describes three phases: 1) James I directly imitating Chaucer while preserving his own uniqueness, 2) poets like Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas adapting Chaucer's style for more individual purposes, and 3) poets experimenting and generating new meaning from previous poetry, moving further from Chaucer over time. It then provides more details on the works and styles of James I, Henryson, Dunbar, and Douglas, noting how they built upon Chaucer but also incorporated more Scottish nationalism and individuality in their writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Phases of Scottish Chaucerianism[edit]

    The first phase of Scottish Chaucerianism[edit]


    James I and his work The Kingis Quair represent the first phase of Chaucerianism, which
    purposefully and directly imitates the works of Chaucer while preserving the Scottish author’s own
    uniqueness.

    The second phase of Scottish Chaucerianism[edit]


    The poems Robert Henryson, William Dunbar, and Gavin Douglas represent the second phase of
    Chaucerianism, a more academic one, which adapts Chaucer’s style to the authors’ more individual
    and nationalistic purposes.

    Not just “Scottish Chaucerians”[edit]


    The 15th century is a time of experimentation and “play” with poetry. The 15th-century poets often
    attempt to generate new meaning from previous poetry by picking apart the old in order to mold it
    into something new. Such is the relationship between the so-called Scottish “Chaucerians” and
    Geoffrey Chaucer himself.[1]
    To say Geoffrey Chaucer is the singular influence on these Scottish poets is a definite over-
    generalization. These poets share in the medieval status of Chaucer, and Chaucer is their
    immediate predecessor, but the poems retain the distinctiveness of the Scottish authors and
    traditions. As time continues on in the 15th century, the authors move further and further away from
    direct similarity with Chaucer. For the 15th-century Scottish poets Chaucer lends an important
    model, but they use that model for their own purposes. [2]

    James I of Scotland (1394–1437)[edit]


    King James I of Scotland wrote The Kingis Quair, a series of courtly love poems written in rhyme
    royal stanzas. This poem is not merely a conventional application of Chaucer’s courtly writing. It also
    introduces to Scottish literature the discourse of subjectivity, in which the first person is the subject of
    the poem. The King writes this poem as a sort of autobiography about his experiences in English
    captivity. Although James I is willing to build on the styles of the English Chaucer, his writing reflects
    the beginnings of a Scottish national identity. In his poems he narrated the story of his love sincerely
    no doubt, but not with the dramatic realism of Chaucer. He mixes much allegory with reality.

    Robert Henryson (c. 1425 – c. 1500)[edit]


    Although there are many similarities between the subject matter and refinement of verse in Chaucer
    and Henryson, the latter poet transcends literary imitation and brings his own Scottish nationalism
    into his writing. Henryson’s work concentrates on more local issues in Scotland, which gives his
    work a more “popular” quality than Chaucer’s. He is also famous being one of the first to write in the
    idiom that later comes to be known as Scots.
    One of Henryson’s greatest achievements is his work The Testament of Cresseid, a critical re-writing
    of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde. Henryson disregards Chaucer’s conclusion and creates a totally
    new ending where Troilus is kept alive to permit one final encounter with his lover, who has been
    reduced to leprosy.

    William Dunbar (c. 1460 – c. 1520)[edit]


    As Dunbar belongs to the latest medieval phase, his work is quite far from that of Chaucer’s.
    Although Dunbar's The Tretis includes many ironic gestures that recall the Wife of Bath and The
    Merchant's Tale, he utilizes a much wilder humor than Chaucer. Dunbar is even credited with the
    first printed use of the word “fuck.” He does not utilize the Chaucerian palinode, or retraction.

    Gavin Douglas (c. 1474 – 1522)[edit]


    Douglas’s The Palace of Honour is loosely modeled on Chaucer’s The House of Fame. Like
    Chaucer’s work, this poem recounts the progress of the dreaming poet’s education, which
    culminates in a journey to a celestial place. Douglas carries on Chaucerian allegory, but
    concentrates heavily on cultural nationalism.
    His most famous work is his translation of Vergil’s Aeneid, his Eneados, the first complete translation
    of the Aeneid into an Anglian language. Douglas's native Scottis creates distance from Chaucer’s
    partial translation of the same text. He also detaches himself from Chaucer by assuming the cultural
    authority of Vergil as his miglior fabbro, or greater craftsman, not Chaucer.

    Notes

    You might also like