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LererHUM 2 2017Book of the DuchessGeoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the DuchessThe Book of the Duchess is the first major poem by the English medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400). Chaucer translated portions of the Romance of the Rose sometime before he wrote this poem, and he probably wrote some shorter lyrics, but the BD is the first of his major works. It was most likely composed on commission from John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, in order to celebrate the memory of his deceased first wife, Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster. In the poem, John is imagined as the Black Knight and Blanche is imagined as the “fair White.” The poem is a dream-vision, and the basic plot is as follows: the poet is trying to fall asleep; he reflects on the problems of life and art, he seems to be an insomniac. He looks for something good to read to help him sleep. He decides to read a book with the story of Cyex and Alcyone – this is probably the story as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where King Cyex dies and visits his bereft queen Alcyone in a dream . Chaucer recounts the story, talks about what a great story it is, and reflects on dreaming and sleep. He then falls asleep and dreams he is in a beautiful landscape; birds are singing, and the song is so beautiful it is more exquisite than anything that could be heard. He looks around, hears a royal hunt, and meets up with an unhappy Black Knight. They spend the rest of the poem talking about his loss, and the poet seems pretty dim about it all. The Black Knight goes on an on about how he’s lost his fair White Queen, and the poet thinks he’s talking about chess. Only at the very end, does he realize that the Queen is dead and the Black Knight is mourning. With that realization, the discussion ends, and the dreamer/poet wakes up.What is the poem about? It is about the experience of reading courtly literature and classical mythology and translating it into contemporary English culture. It is about the tact required in dealing with aristocratic and noble people, when you’re just a clever poet of a different social class. It is about using dialogue to learn to put aside faith in earthly things and look for spiritual reward. It is about a poet deploying all the skills of his craft to announce his brilliance as a great poet at the beginning of his career.The BD thus speaks to what we have been reading: the Aeneid, the New Testament, the Confessions, the Consolation of Philosophy, the Romance of the Rose, the Vita Nuova.We will read and discuss this poem in lectures in the last week of the term. Material from these lectures and this poem will be on the final exam (as everything will be). Detailed guideBD begins with the narrator lamenting that he has not slept in a long time;insomnia is a kind of writer’s block; the poet seeks inspiration his insomnia is a kind of sickness; he is in need of healing; he tries to fall asleep, and in the process heal himself, by reading.He bids his servant bring him a book, and it is a collection of stories in French (the word “Romance” signals that). It is, by Chaucer’s description, then, a French translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses – a collection of mythological stories originally written in Latin.The story of Ceyx and Alcyone:King Ceyx goes on a sea voyage; there is a storm; his ship is lost; he diesQueen Alcyone is distraught; she prays to Juno; asks that a dream vision be sentto her to tell her what happened to Ceyx;She falls asleep; Juno calls on Morpheus, the god of sleep, to visit her in a dream;Juno’s messenger wakes up Morpheus (god of sleep; duh, he’s sleeping);Morpheus animates the drowned body of Ceyx and appears to Alcyone in her sleep;“I’m dead” he says; here’s where my body is; find it, and bury meAlcyone says: Alas, and dies three days later.The NARRATOR SAYS (IN EFFECT) wow, great story; wish I could fall asleep; well, he says, I’d give Morpheus a really great set of clothes if he could help mesleep; and scarcely does he say this, than he falls asleep and has a dream.Seemed to me it was May (291)I was in bed completely naked (293)Birds woke me up with beautiful song (295)I looked up; my bedroom was made of stained glass (322)The stained glass told the story of the Trojan War (326)And on the walls, the story and images were painted from the Romance of the Rose (334)I heard a hunting horn blow (345)I got up; I followed the sound; I found the hunters; it is the hunting party of the emperor Octavian (i.e., Augustus Caesar) (368)As I wandered around I saw a little dog (“whelp”); the dog came by and I followed it (389)The dog leads him to a mourning “man in black” (4450The man in black is saying some sad things; clearly mourning; he has lost someone very dear and close to him (463)Narrator somewhat densely asks him what is wrong (522)After a long set of speeches back and forth, the man in black states:Fals Fortune hath pleyd a gameAtte ches with me (618-19)He has played chess with Fortune and he has lost his queenTHE NARRATOR TAKES THIS ABSOLUTELY LITERALLY; WHAT’S THE BIG DEALSO YOU LOST A CHESS GAMENO, NO, NO: I’VE LOST MY QUEEN, DON’T YOU GET IT? SHE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL QUEEN IN THE WORLD! SHE COULD DO EVERYTHING; SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL (LONG STRETCHES OF DESCRIPTION FOLLOW)Her name was “goode faire WHITE” She was very whiteOK, says the narrator; yeah, yeah, you lost a white queen; but it’s only a chess gameNO SAYS THE MAN IN BLACKYou still don’t get itOnly at the very end of the poem does the man in black explain that he has lost ahuman lover; she’s dead; the narrator disbelieves; the man in black affirms;the narrator understands; then he wakes up.Sources and interpretationOvid’s Metamorphoses, the story of Ceyx and Alcyone from Ovid, in English translation in our edition, pp. 251-257.Chaucer retells this story but he cuts it off before he gets to the metamorphosis at the end:But what she sayde more in that swoweI may not telle you as nowe;It were to longe for to dwelle (215-217)Chaucer deliberately omits the conclusion of the story.WHY DOES CHAUCER CUT OFF THE METAMORPHOSIS AT THE STORY’S END? WHAT IS THE LITERARY AND SOCIAL EFFECT OF THIS MOVE? Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy: the image of the lethargic, unhappy poet at the opening; the uses of the dialogue; the ways in which the poem is a movement towards spiritual realizationThe Romance of the Rose: How is the dream world of the BD modeled on the RofR? What is the status of the beautiful place, of the dreamer’s validity of his dream, and of the representation of courtly language and behavior? ................
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