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Chaucer’s Enigmatic Thing in The Parliament of Fowls

Chaucer’s Enigmatic Thing in The Parliament of Fowls Abstract: This article argues that the enigmatic “thing” for which Chaucer’s dream-vision narrator searches is both a structuring device for the Parliament of Fowls and a reflection on the process of translation, specifically the translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy . “Thing” appears with the same enigmatic sense three times in the poem: near the opening, as the narrator falls asleep, and in the conclusion. The second of these instances occurs in a line from the Consolation of Philosophy expressing the frustration that desire continuously brings to individuals. As a poet and a translator of Boethius, Chaucer repeats this frustration at a crucial point in his poem to suggest that he sees translation as an activity inherently unstable and yet also productive. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Studies in Philology University of North Carolina Press

Chaucer’s Enigmatic Thing in The Parliament of Fowls

Studies in Philology , Volume 113 (3) – Aug 12, 2016

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of North Carolina Press.
ISSN
1543-0383
Publisher site
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Abstract

Abstract: This article argues that the enigmatic “thing” for which Chaucer’s dream-vision narrator searches is both a structuring device for the Parliament of Fowls and a reflection on the process of translation, specifically the translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy . “Thing” appears with the same enigmatic sense three times in the poem: near the opening, as the narrator falls asleep, and in the conclusion. The second of these instances occurs in a line from the Consolation of Philosophy expressing the frustration that desire continuously brings to individuals. As a poet and a translator of Boethius, Chaucer repeats this frustration at a crucial point in his poem to suggest that he sees translation as an activity inherently unstable and yet also productive.

Journal

Studies in PhilologyUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Aug 12, 2016

There are no references for this article.