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Imperfect analogies: Parody in Chaucer and medieval literature
Abstract
Parody is central both thematically and structurally to Chaucer's works. In this he proves to be firmly within medieval literary tradition. A parody is an incongruous imitation of some exemplary work, proposing another version of that work which is only imperfectly analogous to it. Analogy, developed in St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Francis and the doctrine of the Antichrist, is fundamental to the culture of the Christian Middle Ages: the imitation of Christ is the basis for the Christian way of life; evil is a parody of the highest good. Twelfth- and thirteenth-century Latin satires, like Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium, the Tractatus Garsiae, the "Apocalypsis Goiliae," and the "Sancti Evangelii Secundum Marcas Argenti," criticize corrupt clergy as parodic inversions of exemplary Christian figures and doctrine. The vernacular parodies of chivalry invert the categories of romance. "Spiritual " pastourelles invert the terms of that genre. Chaucer uses analogy and analogic parody and travesty in Troilus and Criseyde to evaluate and structure the course of the love affair as imperfectly analogous to both pagan and Christian models, to ennoble Troilus, and to emplot Criseyde's behavior as a parody of Troilus', her betrayal as a travesty of their love, and her character as complementary to Diomede's. Sacred parody in the Pardoner's Tale is well-grounded in medieval exemplary parody and the theology of the Holy spirit; chivalric parody in Thopas has precedent in works such as the Audigier; the Merchant's Tale travesties chivalric and Christian values.
Subject Area
Medieval literature|British and Irish literature|Literature
Recommended Citation
Broughton-Willett, Thomas Howard, "Imperfect analogies: Parody in Chaucer and medieval literature" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9305804.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9305804