The Critics and the Prioress

Antisemitism, Criticism, and Chaucer's Prioress's Tale

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Ancient & Classical
Cover of the book The Critics and the Prioress by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton ISBN: 9780472122813
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: April 19, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
ISBN: 9780472122813
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: April 19, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

Of all the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Prioress’s Tale, in which a young schoolboy is murdered by Jews for singing a song in praise of the Virgin Mary, poses a problem to contemporary readers because of the antisemitism of the story it tells. Both the Tale’s antisemitism and its “Chaucerianism”—its fitness or aptness as part of the Chaucerian canon—are significant topics of reflection for modern readers, who worry about the Tale’s ethical implications as well as Chaucer’s own implications. Over the past fifty years, scholars have asked: Is the antisemitism in the tale that of the Prioress? Or of Chaucer the pilgrim? Or of Chaucer the author? Or, indeed, whether one ought to discuss antisemitism in the Prioress’s Tale at all, considering the potential anachronism of expecting medieval texts to conform to contemporary ideologies.

The Critics and the Prioress responds to a critical stalemate between the demands of ethics and the entailments of methodology. The book addresses key moments in criticism of the Prioress’s Tale—particularly those that stage an encounter between historicism and ethics—in order to interrogate these critical impasses while suggesting new modes for future encounters. It is an effort to identify, engage, and reframe some significant—and perennially repeated—arguments staked out in this criticism, such as the roles of gender, aesthetics, source studies, and the appropriate relationship between ethics and historicism.

The Critics and the Prioress will be an essential resource for Chaucer scholars researching as well as teaching the Prioress’s Tale. Scholars and students of Middle English literature and medieval culture more generally will also be interested in this book’s rigorous analysis of contemporary scholarly approaches to expressions of antisemitism in Chaucer’s England.

 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Of all the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Prioress’s Tale, in which a young schoolboy is murdered by Jews for singing a song in praise of the Virgin Mary, poses a problem to contemporary readers because of the antisemitism of the story it tells. Both the Tale’s antisemitism and its “Chaucerianism”—its fitness or aptness as part of the Chaucerian canon—are significant topics of reflection for modern readers, who worry about the Tale’s ethical implications as well as Chaucer’s own implications. Over the past fifty years, scholars have asked: Is the antisemitism in the tale that of the Prioress? Or of Chaucer the pilgrim? Or of Chaucer the author? Or, indeed, whether one ought to discuss antisemitism in the Prioress’s Tale at all, considering the potential anachronism of expecting medieval texts to conform to contemporary ideologies.

The Critics and the Prioress responds to a critical stalemate between the demands of ethics and the entailments of methodology. The book addresses key moments in criticism of the Prioress’s Tale—particularly those that stage an encounter between historicism and ethics—in order to interrogate these critical impasses while suggesting new modes for future encounters. It is an effort to identify, engage, and reframe some significant—and perennially repeated—arguments staked out in this criticism, such as the roles of gender, aesthetics, source studies, and the appropriate relationship between ethics and historicism.

The Critics and the Prioress will be an essential resource for Chaucer scholars researching as well as teaching the Prioress’s Tale. Scholars and students of Middle English literature and medieval culture more generally will also be interested in this book’s rigorous analysis of contemporary scholarly approaches to expressions of antisemitism in Chaucer’s England.

 

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book How Like an Angel by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Constituting Workers, Protecting Women by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Gender in Campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book The Challenge of Regulating Managed Care by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Nimrod by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Good for the Jews by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book The Primary Rules by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Mammals of the Great Lakes Region, 3rd Ed. by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book This Gaming Life by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book The Scourge of War by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book The Neuroscientific Turn by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Justice and Injustice in Law and Legal Theory by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book The Best of Pickering by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book German Colonialism Revisited by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
Cover of the book Black America in the Shadow of the Sixties by Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy