- 01Contents of the volume
The Canterbury Tales
Medieval society, genre, voice, and pilgrimage.
44Chapters
231Lessons
630Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Summarize the historical and literary context of Chaucer's work
- Identify major pilgrims and their social roles in the Prologue
- Analyze how genre and voice shape the Canterbury Tales
- Explain key plot events and themes in the Knight's Tale, Miller's Tale, and Reeve's Tale
- Recognize Chaucer's use of irony, satire, and social commentary
- Interpret explanatory notes and allusions that support close reading
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 44
- Lessons
- 231
- Topics
- 630
- 01Poems no longer attributed to Chaucer
- 02Transcriber’s notes and editorial conventions
- 01Purpose of the volume and selection of Chaucer and Spenser
- 02Textual abridgement and prose outlines
- 03Modernized spelling and editorial method
- 04Minor poems, notes, and editorial acknowledgments
- 01Chaucer as England's first poet
- 02Birth, London origins, and family standing
- 03Edward III's courtly age and Chaucer's education
- 01Chaucer’s learning and courtly qualities
- 02Military service, captivity, and marriage
- 01Chaucer’s marriage and court connections
- 02Royal pension and literary patronage
- 01Chaucer's Italian embassy to Genoa and Florence
- 02Possible meeting with Petrarch at Padua
- 03Clerk's Tale and evidence for Petrarch's influence
- 01Customs Controller and court favour
- 02Foreign missions to Flanders and Milan
- 01John Gower and Chaucer’s customs service
- 02Election as knight of the shire for Kent
- 03Parliament of 1386 and dismissal from office
- 01Loss of offices and family pension
- 02Restoration under Richard II and later appointments
- 03Declining finances, protection, and final years
- 01Chaucer’s burial and Brigham’s tomb inscription
- 02Chaucer’s appearance and temperament
- 01Chaucer's major poems and editorial treatment
- 02The Canterbury Tales: pilgrimage frame and unfinished design
- 01Chaucer’s prose works and editorial scope
- 02Reading Chaucer’s metre and terminal e
- 03Notes to Life of Geoffrey Chaucer
- 01Chaucer's literary chronology and sources
- 02Chaucer's political reputation and customs office
- 03Cross-references to Chaucer's works
- 04Family, descendants, and burial epitaph
- 01The Canterbury Tales
- 01Pilgrimage to Canterbury and the Tabard Inn
- 02The Knight
- 03The Squire and the Yeoman
- 01The Prioress's manners, piety, and appearance
- 02The Monk's hunting life and worldly habits
- 01The Friar's appearance, manners, and confessions
- 02The Merchant's appearance and profit-minded speech
- 01The Clerk of Oxford
- 02The Sergeant of the Law
- 03The Franklin's wealth and hospitality
- 01The guildsmen and their cook
- 02The shipman from Dartmouth
- 01The Doctor of Physic
- 02The Wife of Bath
- 01The Parson’s piety and pastoral duty
- 01The Parson and the Ploughman
- 02The Miller
- 03The Manciple and the Reeve
- 04The Summoner and the Pardoner
- 05Chaucer’s framing of the pilgrimage
- 06The Knight wins the cut and begins his tale
- 01Theseus’s conquest of the Amazons and Thebes
- 02Palamon and Arcite in prison
- 01Palamon and Arcite’s dispute over Emelye
- 02Perithous secures Arcite’s release
- 01Arcite’s despair after exile
- 02Palamon’s prison lament and jealousy
- 03Arcite’s wasting grief in Thebes
- 01Mercury's dream and Arcite's journey to Athens
- 02Arcite as Philostrate in Emily's service
- 01Palamon’s escape from prison
- 02Arcite’s May morning ride into the grove
- 03The lovers’ recognition and challenge
- 01Arcite and Palamon's appointed duel
- 01Theseus’s hunting party in the grove
- 02Theseus interrupts Arcite and Palamon’s duel
- 01Theseus condemns the lovers
- 02Theseus’s mercy and pardon
- 01Theseus grants mercy and sets the tournament terms
- 02The construction and design of the lists
- 01Temple of Venus and its allegories
- 02Temple of Mars and its war imagery
- 03Temple of Diana and scenes of chastity
- 04Theseus prepares the tournament and the knights assemble
- 01Palamon's prayer to Venus
- 02Emily's prayer to Diana
- 03Arcite's prayer to Mars
- 01Saturn settles Venus and Mars's dispute
- 01Theban knights and the duke’s ordinance
- 02Procession to the lists and the two battle lines
- 01The mêlée and the knights’ combat
- 02Theseus awards Emily to Arcite
- 03Venus’s grief and Saturn’s promise
- 04Arcite rides to show his face
- 01Arcite’s accident and removal to Athens
- 02Theseus’s settlement after the tournament
- 03Arcite’s worsening illness and farewell to Emily
- 04Arcite’s death and the mourning in Athens
- 01Theseus plans Arcite’s funeral pyre
- 02The funeral procession through Athens
- 03The pyre, cremation, and wake
- 01Theseus’s argument for necessity and mortality
- 01Palamon and Emily's marriage
- 01Glossary and explanatory notes
- 01Classical and historical allusions in the Prologue notes
- 01Funeral rites and mourning customs
- 02Textual notes on Arcite's death and sources
- 01The Miller interrupts the storytelling contest
- 02The Reeve objects to the Miller’s ribald tale
- 03Chaucer’s apology for the Miller’s tale
- 01Nicholas the Oxford scholar
- 02Alison’s beauty and Nicholas’s seduction
- 03Absolon’s courtship of Alison
- 04Nicholas’s plot against John
- 05Nicholas's flood deception
- 06The carpenters prepare the tubs
- 07Absolon's nighttime courtship
- 01Absolon’s humiliation and vow of revenge
- 02Absolon borrows the smith’s hot coulter
- 03Absolon returns to the carpenter’s window
- 01Absolon's kiss and Nicholas's prank
- 01The town’s laughter at the carpenter
- 01The Reeve’s complaint about age and old men’s vices
- 02The Host interrupts and the Reeve vows revenge
- 01The Miller of Trompington
- 02The scholars’ trip to the mill
- 03The stolen horse and lost flour
- 04The miller’s household at night
- 05The clerks’ night with the miller’s family
- 06The miller’s discovery and the brawl
- 07The clerks’ escape and the tale’s moral
- 01Cook of London’s complaint and tale offer
- 02Host’s teasing reply to Roger
- 01The apprentice Perkin Revellour
- 02The tale breaks off unfinished
- 01Host's calculation of the time and call for a tale
- 02The Man of Law's assent and praise of Chaucer's love stories
- 03Refusal of scandalous tales and transition to the narrative
- 01Poverty and the merchant's tale
- 02The Soudan's love for Constance and the marriage accord
- 03Constance's departure from Rome
- 04The Soudaness plots against Christianity
- 05Constance cast adrift after the massacre
- 06Constance preserved at sea by divine providence
- 07Constance’s arrival in Northumberland and conversion of Hermegild and the Constable
- 08Hermegild’s murder and Constance falsely accused
- 01Constance’s prayer for divine help
- 02The false knight’s punishment and Constance’s vindication
- 03Alla’s marriage to Constance and Donegild’s anger
- 01Mauricius’s birth and Donegild’s first forged letter
- 02Donegild’s second forgery and Constance’s banishment
- 03Constance’s departure by sea and Alla’s return
- 01Constance rescued at sea and the steward's assault
- 02Constance's deliverance and the voyage toward Rome
- 03The Roman emperor's revenge on Syria and Constance's arrival in Rome
- 01Alla’s repentance and pilgrimage to Rome
- 02Recognition of Constance and reconciliation
- 03Constance’s reunion with her father and return to England
- 01Constance’s return to Rome
- 01Marriage, Scripture, and Virginity
- 02The purpose of sex and marital rights
- 03The Pardoner’s interruption and the Wife’s terms
- 04The Wife’s complaints against husbands
- 05The Wife’s rebuttal to anti-woman authorities
- 06Her account of controlling husbands through deceit and quarrels
- 01The fifth husband and the power struggle in marriage
- 02The knight’s submission and the wife’s mastery
- 03The Friar and Sompnour interrupt the tale
- 01Prologue notes on the Wife of Bath’s authorities
- 02The knight’s crime and the queen’s bargain
- 03Women’s desires and the tale of Midas
- 01The knight’s search for what women desire
- 02The old wife’s bargain and marriage demand
- 01Gentility comes from virtue, not ancestry
- 02Poverty and virtuous living
- 01Povert’ as spiritual richness
- 02Elde and the choice of wifehood
- 01The knight yields governance to his wife
- 02The wife claims mastery and grants peace
- 03The knight discovers her beauty and they live in joy
- 01Friar’s complaint about the Summoner
- 01The archdeacon and his summoner
- 02The summoner meets the yeoman
- 03The fiend explains his work
- 04The cart, the widow, and the bribe
- 05The summoner’s final seizure and damnation
- 06Friar’s moral warning against hell and temptation
- 01The Friar’s falsehood and the Sompnour’s complaint
- 02The vision of friars in hell
- 03Satan’s tail and the swarm of friars
- 01The friar’s preaching for trentals and gifts
- 02The friar’s visit to Thomas and his wife
- 03The friar’s defense of mendicant poverty and fasting
- 04Thomas’s complaints and the friar’s rebuke of anger
- 05Examples of wrath and drunkenness in rulers
- 06The friar’s demand for alms and the fart
- 07The friar’s complaint to the lord
- 08The lord’s reasoning and Jankin’s demonstration
- 01Glossary of Chaucerian and Latin terms
- 01The Host’s request for a merry tale
- 02Petrarch and the clerk’s source
- 03Petrarch’s proem and the geography of Piedmont
- 01Walter’s rule in Saluces
- 02The people’s plea for marriage
- 03Walter’s consent and conditions
- 01Walter’s marriage conditions and the feast preparations
- 02Griselda’s humble life and Walter’s choice
- 03The wedding day and Walter’s proposal to Janicola
- 04Griselda’s vows and transformation into marchioness
- 05Griselda’s reputation and peacemaking wisdom
- 01Griselda’s daughter and the marquis’s resolve
- 02The marquis tests Griselda’s patience
- 03The sergeant takes the child
- 01Walter’s renewed testing of Griselda
- 02The children are taken away
- 03Walter’s slander and forged papal bulls
- 01Griseldis’s children sent home in secret
- 02The marquis announces a new wife
- 03Griseldis returns to her father in patience
- 01Griselda prepares Walter’s new bride
- 02The banquet and Walter’s first test of Griselda
- 03Walter reveals the children and restores Griselda
- 04Moral reflection on patience and adversity
- 01Chaucer’s envoy to wives
- 02Notes to the Clerk’s Tale
- 01Merchant’s complaint about marriage
- 01January’s praise of marriage
- 02Placebo’s approval of the match
- 03Justinus’s warning against hasty marriage
- 04January’s choice of May and the marriage arrangements
- 05Wedding feast and January’s bridal joy
- 06January’s wedding-night conduct and Damian’s secret love
- 01January’s letter to May and Damian’s recovery
- 02January’s enclosed garden and private pleasures
- 03The key’s counterfeit and the garden tryst
- 01Pluto's accusation against women
- 02Proserpina's defense of women
- 01January and May at the pear-tree
- 02January’s restored sight and accusation
- 03The tale’s ending
- 04Explanatory notes
- 01Host’s remarks on wives and secrecy
- 02The Squire invited to tell a tale of love
- 01Cambuscan and his royal family
- 02The brass horse, mirror, ring, and sword
- 03Court speculation and marveling
- 04The feast, dancing, and the horse's governance
- 01The king receives the magic bridle and the feast ends
- 02Canace rises early and hears the falcon's cry
- 03Canace comforts the falcon and hears its tale of betrayal
- 04The falcon's healing and the painted mew
- 01Squire’s Tale continuation and planned adventures
- 02Explanatory notes on the Squire’s Tale
- 01The Franklin’s praise of the Squire and his son
- 02Breton lays and the Franklin’s plain style
- 01The knight’s vow of mutual obedience
- 02Patience, temperance, and married bliss
- 01Dorigen’s grief during Arviragus’s absence
- 02Dorigen’s lament by the sea
- 03The May garden and the dance
- 01Dorigen’s rejection and the impossible promise
- 02Aurelius’s despair and prayer to Phoebus
- 03The brother’s magical remedy and journey to Orleans
- 01The magician's welcome and illusions
- 02The bargain for removing the rocks of Brittany
- 03The winter journey back to Brittany
- 01Aurelius seeks magical help
- 02The illusion of the vanished rocks
- 03Aurelius confronts his lady
- 01Dorigen’s despair and appeal to Fortune
- 02Examples of women choosing death over dishonor
- 01Examples of wives who chose death over dishonor
- 02Celebrations of exemplary wifehood
- 01Arviragus comforts Dorigen and upholds her promise
- 01Aurelius releases Dorigen from her promise
- 02Dorigen returns home and Arviragus rejoices
- 03Aurelius pays the philosopher and asks for time
- 01Aurelius explains Dorigen's sorrow
- 02The philosopher releases the debt
- 03The narrator's closing question
- 01Lexical and place-name glosses
- 02Classical and literary allusions
- 03Manuscript variants and interpretive notes
- 01Host’s request and the Doctor’s prologue
- 02Virginius’s daughter and her virtues
- 03Scriptural and textual notes
- 04Appius’s lust and Claudius’s plot
- 05Virginia’s death and Appius’s downfall
- 01Host’s outrage at the false justice
- 02Host’s praise of the Pardoner and request for a merry tale
- 01The Pardoner's preaching and relics
- 02Gluttony and drunkenness
- 03Hazardry and gambling
- 04False swearing and the Pardoner’s warning
- 05The three rioters hear of Death
- 06The old man directs them to the tree
- 07The gold under the oak and the murder plot
- 08Poison, mutual betrayal, and the deaths
- 09The Pardoner’s sermon on avarice and relics
- 01Closing reconciliation of the Host and Pardoner
- 02Explanatory notes on the Pardoner’s Tale
- 01Host’s request for a tale
- 02Shipman rejects preaching and promises a merry tale
- 01Merchant, Wife, and Monk at Saint Denis
- 02The Wife’s Complaint and the Hundred Francs
- 03The Merchant’s Departure and the Monk’s Loan
- 04The merchant borrows money in Paris
- 05The wife’s explanation and the merchant’s forgiveness
- 06Notes to the Shipman’s Tale
- 01Host’s invitation to the Prioress
- 02Prioress’s invocation to the Virgin Mary
- 03The Christian child in the Jewry
- 04The child’s murder and the widow’s search
- 05The miracle of Alma Redemptoris
- 06The abbot’s inquiry and the child’s revelation
- 01Anti-Jewish child-murder legends and Lincoln martyrdom
- 01The Host calls on Chaucer to tell a tale
- 01Sir Thopas’s appearance and knightly skills
- 02Ride through the forest and elf-queen longing
- 03Encounter with Sir Oliphaunt in Faery
- 04Return to town and preparation for battle
- 01Sir Thopas’s armor and horse
- 02Mock-heroic announcement of the Second Fit
- 03Sir Thopas as the model knight
- 01Host rejects the rhyming tale
- 02Chaucer agrees to tell a prose moral tale
- 01Melibœus’s grief and Prudence’s first counsel
- 02The household council on war or peace
- 01Rules for choosing and changing counsel
- 02Prudence’s critique of Melibœus’s advisers
- 01Prudence’s counsel against private vengeance
- 01Prudence counsels reconciliation with God and enemies
- 02Prudence negotiates peace with the adversaries
- 01Prudence counsels against yielding to an enemy
- 02Reconciliation through confession and counsel of friends
- 01Melibœus receives the adversaries' submission
- 02Prudence counsels against cruel vengeance
- 01Prudence’s plea for mercy
- 02Melibœus forgives his adversaries
- 03Editorial notes on the Tale of Melibœus
- 01Host’s complaint about his wife
- 02Praise and teasing of the Monk
- 03The Monk’s definition of tragedy
- 01Examples of Fortune’s fall from greatness
- 02Zenobia’s power and fall
- 03Nero’s cruelty and downfall
- 04Holofernes, Antiochus, and divine vengeance
- 01Alexander's world conquest and unmatched knighthood
- 02Alexander's death by poison and lament for Fortune
- 01Julius Caesar's rise and conquest
- 02Pompey, Brutus, and Caesar's assassination
- 01Julius Caesar’s death and Fortune’s warning
- 02Croesus’s escape, renewed war, and dream
- 01Fortune’s fall of Pedro of Spain
- 01Barnabo Viscount and Earl Hugolin of Pisa
- 01Ugolino’s starvation and death
- 02Explanatory notes on the Monk’s Tale sources and references
- 01The Knight asks for a lighter tale
- 01The Host invites the Nun’s Priest to tell a merry tale
- 02The widow, Chanticleer, and Partelote
- 03Partelote’s explanation of dreams and humors
- 04Examples proving dreams are significant
- 05Saint Kenelm and the authority of dreams
- 06Chanticleer’s morning pride and the fox’s ambush
- 07The fox carries off Chanticleer
- 08Moral of the tale and scriptural lesson
- 09Epilogue to the Nun’s Priest’s Tale
- 01Invocation to Saint Cecilia
- 02Meaning of Cecilia’s name and virtues
- 03Cecilia’s marriage and conversion of Valerian
- 04Valerian’s vision, baptism, and the crowns
- 05Cecilia’s defense of the Trinity
- 06Tiburce’s conversion and the martyrs’ arrest
- 01Saint Cecilia’s martyrdom before Almachius
- 02Notes to the Nun’s Priest’s Tale
- 03The Canon’s Yeoman joins the pilgrimage
- 04Canon’s Yeoman’s complaint about alchemy
- 01Alchemy’s false promise and wasted labor
- 02The philosopher’s stone and the alchemist’s poverty
- 01The alchemist’s failed experiment and moral warning
- 02The canon’s deceit and the narrator’s disclaimer
- 01The priest’s easy trust in the canon
- 02The canon’s promise to teach philosophy
- 03The narrator’s warning about the canon’s deceit
- 01Quicksilver and the false canon's setup
- 02The beechen coal trick and the priest's deception
- 01Second trick with silver and quicksilver
- 02Copper test and goldsmith assay
- 03The priest pays for the secret receipt
- 01Warning Against Alchemical Multiplying
- 01Arnold of Villeneuve and Hermes on mercury and the dragon
- 02Plato’s disciple and the secret stone
- 03The philosophers’ secrecy and the tale’s conclusion
- 01Host’s teasing of the sleeping Cook
- 02Manciple’s mockery and the Cook’s fall
- 03Wine, reconciliation, and the tale’s start
- 01Phoebus, the crow, and the jealous wife
- 02The moral against rash speech
- 01The Host asks the Parson for a tale
- 02The Parson refuses fiction and offers moral prose
- 03The company agrees to hear the Parson
- 01Penitence: nature, kinds, and requirements
- 02The pains of hell
- 03The torments and hopelessness of the damned
- 04Good works, contrition, and the second part of penitence
- 05Confession, sin, and venial offenses
- 06Deadly sins and the root of pride
- 07Signs and excesses of pride in clothing
- 01Pride in clothing and ornament
- 02Pride in retinues and hospitality
- 01Humility in heart, mouth, and works
- 02Envy, anger, sloth, and avarice
- 01Gluttony and its species
- 02Abstinence and the virtues that remedy gluttony
- 01Lechery and its remedy in chastity
- 02Conditions for true confession
- 01Requirements for true confession
- 02The third part of penitence: satisfaction
- 03Almsdeed as charity
- 04Bodily pain in prayer and fasting
- 01The Lord’s Prayer and its penitential use
- 02Watching, fasting, and bodily pain
- 03What disturbs penance
- 01Negligence, presumption, and wanhope in confession
- 02The fruits of penance and heavenly bliss
- 01Prayer of Chaucer
- 01Chaucer’s retractation and prayer for mercy
- 01Origin and setting of the poem
- 02Philogenet’s journey to the Court of Love
- 03Rosial, the courtiers, and the May Day close
- 04Chaucer’s Court of Love versus historical courts of love
- 01Invocation to the Muse and dedication to the lady
- 02Philogenet’s journey to the Court of Love
- 03The temple of Venus and its painted exemplars
- 01Admission to the Court of Love
- 02The statutes of Love's Court
- 01The seventeenth statute: love in old age
- 02The eighteenth statute: cleanliness and courtly manner
- 01The nineteenth and twentieth statutes of women
- 02Women’s secrecy and the prohibition on knowing their statutes
- 03Venus’s court and the praise of love
- 04Philogenet’s vision of the unknown lady
- 01Philobone leads Philogenet to Rosial
- 02Rosial’s beauty described
- 01Rosial’s appearance and attire
- 02Philogenet’s petition and Rosial’s refusal
- 03Rosial softens and grants favor
- 04The Court of Love’s attendants and officers
- 01Hope, Despair, and Lust
- 02Liar, Flattery, and the Religious Orders
- 03Poverty, Deformity, Contrite, and Dissemble
- 04Shamefastness, Avaunter, Envy, and Privy Thought
- 01May Day birds’ liturgical service
- 02Court procession and flower gathering
- 03Notes to The Court of Love
- 01Fates, Venus, and the opening liturgical allusions
- 02May Day garlands in The Knight's Tale
- 01The God of Love's power in May
- 02The poet's May morning and the birds
- 01The cuckoo and nightingale's debate on love
- 02The nightingale's farewell and appeal to the birds
- 01The cuckoo’s summons and judgment
- 02The author’s apology to his book
- 01L’Envoy to the author’s lady
- 02Notes to the Cuckoo and the Nightingale
- 01Dream framework and Scipio's vision
- 02The Dream of Scipio summary
- 03The garden gate inscriptions
- 01Entrance into the Garden of Love
- 02The Temple of Love and its attendants
- 01Nature’s assembly on Saint Valentine’s Day
- 02Nature’s law and the tercel eagle’s claim
- 03Competing tercel eagles and the call for battle
- 01The eagle tercels and the water-fowls' verdict
- 02The goose's counsel and the birds' mockery
- 03The turtle-dove's faithful answer
- 04The duck, tercelet, cuckoo, and merlin speak
- 01Nature’s judgment on the eagle suitors
- 02The formel eagle’s request for delay
- 01Nature’s counsel to the tercels
- 02Pairing the birds and their departure
- 03The departing roundel
- 01Cicero’s Dream of Scipio and the celestial spheres
- 02Birds, lovers, and mythological allusions in the Parliament
- 01Allegorical meaning of the Flower and the Leaf
- 02Spring grove and arbour setting
- 03Birdsong and the ladies in white
- 01Ladies in white with floral chaplets
- 02White-clad knights and heraldic procession
- 03The jousts and laurel-tree gathering
- 01The green ladies and knights in the meadow
- 02The Leaf and the Flower make peace
- 01The crowned ladies and their meanings
- 02The Nine Worthy and knightly laurel
- 03Flora, the flower, and the leaf's superiority
- 01The speaker chooses the Leaf
- 02Closing farewell and self-effacing ending
- 03Explanatory notes to The Flower and the Leaf
- 01Prologue on dreams and invocation
- 02Temple of Venus and Aeneas paintings
- 01The eagle’s seizure and ascent
- 02Jupiter’s commission and Fame’s tidings
- 03Fame’s palace and the nature of sound
- 04Arrival at the House of Fame
- 01The ice-rock foundation and fading names
- 02The beryl castle and its minstrels
- 03Magicians, tregetours, and the castle gate
- 04Heralds, coats of arms, and the golden hall
- 01Fame’s Hall and the enthroned goddess
- 01Josephus and the historians of Jewish and Trojan fame
- 02Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and Claudian on their pillars
- 01The petitioners for good fame
- 02The petitioners for evil fame and concealment
- 03The boastful shrews and the arsonist
- 04The narrator’s explanation to the guide
- 01The House of Tidings and its ceaseless noise
- 02The eagle brings the dreamer inside
- 03Falsehoods, true tidings, and Fame's sorting
- 04Shipmen, pilgrims, and the crowd of love tidings
- 01Chaucer's closing resolve to study and write
- 01Chaucer’s characterization of Troilus, Cressida, and Pandarus
- 02Summary of the five books
- 03Invocation and prologue to the First Book
- 04Calchas, Cressida’s beauty, and the Palladion festival
- 05Troilus sees Cressida and falls in love
- 06Troilus’s secret surrender to love
- 07Troilus’s song of love’s contradictions
- 08Pandarus consoles Troilus
- 01Pandarus’ proverbs and Troilus’ renewed hope
- 02Pandarus visits Cressida in May
- 03Pandarus persuades Cressida to favor Troilus
- 01Troilus’s procession through Troy
- 02Cressida’s inward debate
- 03Antigone’s song on virtuous love
- 04Evening, dream, and Pandarus’s next stratagem
- 01Pandarus's advice on writing the letter
- 02Cressida receives Troilus's letter and replies
- 03Troilus passes by and Pandarus presses for an interview
- 01Pandarus arranges the lovers' meeting
- 02Invocation to Venus
- 01Troilus rehearses his plea
- 02Cressida’s first meeting with Troilus
- 03Troilus declares his service and submission
- 04Cressida accepts him on conditions
- 01Pandarus’ warning against boasting
- 02Troilus’ inward joy and restraint
- 03Troilus’ vows of secrecy and gratitude
- 01Pandarus arranges the secret supper
- 02Troilus and Cressida’s first private meeting
- 03Dawn, parting, and Pandarus’s warning
- 04Troilus’s martial valor and courtly love
- 01Priam's parliament grants the exchange
- 02Troilus's private grief and despair
- 01Troilus’s lament over Cressida
- 02Pandarus’s first comfort and counsel
- 03Troilus rejects betrayal and abduction
- 04Pandarus urges bold action
- 01Pandarus urges Troilus to trust love
- 02Cressida’s distress among the visiting women
- 01Troilus’s argument for destiny and divine providence
- 01Troilus and Cressida’s first meeting and vows
- 01Cressida's departure from Troy
- 02Troilus's grief and return to Troy
- 01Diomede's first courtship of Cressida
- 02Cressida's guarded replies and hesitation
- 01Cressida’s pity and Troilus’s vigil
- 02Troilus’s dream, Cassandra’s warning, and Cressida’s letter
- 03The brooch’s proof and the poet’s moral
- 01Troilus’s death and ascent to heaven
- 02Moral reflection on worldly vanity and true love
- 03Chaucer’s envoy and prayer to Christ
- 01Notes on the Third of May and Chaucerian references
- 01Glosses on Chaucer's vocabulary and allusions
- 01Notes on the lovers' meeting and the storm
- 02Astronomical and mythological references
- 03Reflections on fortune, prosperity, and sorrow
- 01Troilus, Diomede, and Cressida in the closing action
- 02Explanatory notes and textual glosses
- 01Allegorical frame and May-night dream
- 02The island of glass and its ladies
- 03The queen’s account of the pilgrimage and apples
- 04The rescue of the queen and the knight’s remorse
- 01Cupid’s arrival by sea
- 02Cupid’s judgment and the knight’s departure
- 01The prince’s delayed departure
- 02The black-clad lady’s fatal message
- 03The prince’s death and the host’s mourning vow
- 01Funeral rites and night vigil
- 02Blue bird and the healing herb
- 03Queen’s recovery and the prince’s cure
- 01Queen’s recovery and public rejoicing
- 02General assembly, wedding feast, and poet’s awakening
- 01Explanatory notes on Chaucer’s Dream
- 01Date of composition and courtly context
- 02Fragmentary plan of the Legend
- 03The Prologue as the poem’s strongest part
- 01Faith in books and old stories
- 02Devotion to the daisy in May
- 03The birds’ springtime accord
- 01The God of Love and his queen in green
- 02The procession of ladies and the daisy
- 01The God of Love’s accusation against the poet
- 02Alcestis’ plea for mercy and defense of the poet
- 01The poet’s defense before the God of Love
- 02The penance to write the Legend of Good Women
- 03Alceste, the daisy, and the queen’s honor
- 01The poet’s request to shorten the legends
- 02The Legend of Good Women prologue and notes
- 01Chaucer’s prayer to the Virgin Mary
- 01Prayer to the Queen of mercy
- 02Appeal for refuge and intercession
- 03Christ's reconciliation and Mary's aid
- 04Mary as guide, comfort, and healer
- 01Marian praise from M to P
- 02Penitential appeals from Q to T
- 01Alphabetic prayer to the Virgin
- 02Notes to Chaucer’s A. B. C.
- 01Petition of loyal service and governance
- 02Praise of the lady as daisy and dawn
- 03Acceptance of the letter and faithful heart
- 01Complaint on the corruption of the world
- 02Envoy to King Richard
- 03Envoy to Bukton on marriage and freedom
- 01The firste stock-father of gentleness
- 02The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse
- 01Good Counsel of Chaucer
- 01Good Counsel closing exhortation
- 02Proverbs of Chaucer
- 01Virelay lyric of sorrow and despair
- 01Virelay ending on grievance and displeasure
- 02Since I from Love
- 01Chaucer’s Words to His Scrivener
- 02Chaucer’s Prophecy
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