Confessio Amantis

by John Gower

An allegorical confession of sins against Love, within which a multitude of individual tales are told.

Genres: Poetry, Medieval, Classics, 14th Century, British Literature, Religion, Fiction

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1390

About the author

John Gower (c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which are united by common moral and political themes.

Reviews

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of swiche cursed stories I sey fy!

— the Man of Law, Canterbury Tales, or Chaucer on Gower take 2.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thus it is plain, in Reason's view,
Men are the causes, once for all,
Of their own plight, should it befall
(As often) that they are undone.
And yet full many a subtle one
Has made himself a fool, ere this;
For that is what man's weakness is,
And always has been: in such cases
The strongest men fall on their faces.
Now, it is natural for men
To love, but most unnatural when
Love makes man an idiot.

[Felix Hayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It was at one time the fashion to compare Gower and Chaucer much in the manner of the school examinee comparing Keats and Shelley. This is an unrewarding pastime, for Gower’s aims were quite different from those of his friend: more modest, more sober, more serious. Gower has less wit and humour, less drama and panache, not only by nature but also by choice."
ome of that choice is perhaps at the heart of Confessio Amantis‘ second-tier status: the poem is an extended (6000 lines longer than the Canterbury Tales) conceit, a philosophical dialogue between Gower’s fictional stand-in and a Confessor-figure sent by the goddess Venus, and the dialogue revolves around the Seven Deadly Sins. Already your eyes are glazing over, and already you’re hankering for the company of the Reeve, and the Miller, and the Wife of Bath, and there’s very little Tiller or I can do to convince you to stick around. But you should, because the tales swapped and speculations swapped in that long dialogue are every bit as bawdy and varied as those of Chaucer’s pilgrims, every bit as eye-opening and thought-provoking – very nearly as fun

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the major fourteenth-century poets in English – Chaucer, Langland, the Gawain Poet – John Gower is the most overlooked by modern readers. He lacks the fluid beauty of the Gawain Poet, the complex narrative structure of Langland, and the genius characterization and storytelling of Chaucer. That’s not to say his Confessio Amantis (his only work in English) lacks any redeeming qualities for modern readers. Quite the opposite. Gower’s strength is in his ability to examine moral quandaries – and by extension, social, political, and religious questions – that still hold value for anyone who has struggled to find meaning in any type of suffering – romantic or otherwise. His “Everyman” lover who seeks the advice of a Confessor, as well as Venus and Cupid, is perhaps more relatable than any character in Chaucer, Langland, or the Gawain Poet.

Gower’s achievement (which, ironically, is also his pitfall for modern readers) is that he goes about these questions with a rather straightforward structure: the lover’s lament, followed by a religious response, followed by the retelling of a classic story (often from Ovid) to provide a more “grounded” response than can be had from religion alone, and ending in a little self-knowledge, for both the lover and, one hopes, for the reader. We also get a sense that Gower was instructing medieval audiences (mostly political and clerical) on how to live better lives.

It’s his straightforward method that made him popular for centuries (Gower appears as the Chorus in the possibly-penned-by-Shakespeare Pericles), but that also makes him a bit dull for readers in this century. It also doesn’t help that the only sliver of knowledge we have about his life comes mostly from his friend Chaucer. Gower has neither the fascinating life story of Chaucer, nor the mystery of total anonymity afforded the Gawain Poet. And so he lingers in limbo, flying just under-the-radar of anyone other than English majors who specialized in Brit lit pre-1600.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Tillers abridged penguin translation which doesn't appear to be on here)

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chaucer is easier to read, and the ending is a total cop out

[hafsah]

read for university

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a medieval epic poem, in the form of a dialogue between a delightfully syncretic 'priest of love' and a young man taking confession. It is divided into books that discuss each of the seven deadly sins in turn, but the structure is mainly just an excuse for stringing together innumerable stories of classical or biblical provenance, which are often of only tangential relevance. The meter is an iambic tetrameter - di-dum-di-dum-di-dum-di-dum - in rhyming couplets, which can get quite annoying after a while, but does help make sense of the old-fashioned language.

I'm now interested in seeing what C. S. Lewis has to say about it.

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gower was a medieval English poet in the tradition of courtly love and moral allegory, whose reputation once matched that of his contemporary and friend Geoffrey Chaucer, and who strongly influenced the writing of other poets of his day.

Confessio (begun about 1386) runs to some 33,000 lines in octosyllabic couplets and takes the form of a collection of exemplary tales of love placed within the framework of a lover’s confession to a priest of Venus. The priest, Genius, instructs the poet, Amans, in the art of both courtly and Christian love. The stories are chiefly adapted from classical and medieval sources and are told with a tenderness and the restrained narrative art.

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another steamy thriller from the master of sex and suspense. Lots of great erotic scenes here, enough to turn my dick into a big cum fountain on every page. Highly recommended for fans of BDSM-roleplaying and extended poetic allegory.

[Lulu]

1390

Apollonius of tyre

[StrangeBedfellows · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful story is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval studies or literature.