Troilus and Criseyde: A Reader's Guide

by Jenni Nuttall

'Troilus and Criseyde', Geoffrey Chaucer's most substantial completed work, is a long historical romance; its famous tale of love and betrayal in the Trojan War later inspired William Shakespeare. This reader's guide, written specifically for students of medieval literature, provides a scene-by-scene paraphrase and commentary on the whole text. Each section explains matters of meaning, interpretation, plot structure and character development, the role of the first-person narrating voice, Chaucer's use of his source materials and elements of the poem's style. Brief and accessible discussions of key themes and sources (for example the art of love, the holy bond of things, Fortune and Thebes) are provided in separate textboxes. An ideal starting point for studying the text, this book helps students through the initial language barrier and allows readers to enjoy and understand this medieval masterpiece.

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2012

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable for quickly scanning to see what you’ve missed from the Middle English text

[Eden Crowhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was extremely helpful! I would not have been able to understand half of Troilus and Criseyde without this reader. Nuttall holds your hand through the middle english but still maintains an unbiased analysis so you can develop your own interpretation. I would definitely recommend.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'll find better analysis of the poem from Wikipedia, of all things, than in this guide which is not much more than a paraphrase of Chaucer's work. If you have a copy of Troilus and Criseyde in modern English you'll find Nutall's guide tedious and redundant.

[Nora Mackay]

helpful!

[Georgie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is my own personal guantanamo bay