Chaucer's Canterbury Comedies: Origins and Originality

The written and spoken voice of Peter G. Beidler is well-known to scholars interested in Geoffrey Chaucer's comic tales. In this gathering of essays old and new, Beidler articulates his views on the literary relationships of Chaucer s most widely-read and often-taught tales those of the Miller, the Wife of Bath, the Shipman, the Merchant, and the Pardoner. He discusses in clear language not only the most likely sources for these tales--their origins--but also the many changes Chaucer made in transforming them in accordance with his own purposes--their originality. He explicates key passages to show what a deliberate literary artist Chaucer was. The Foreword by Holly A. Crocker will help readers connect the strands that unify Beidler's approach to the bawdy/body tales he discusses in Chaucer s Canterbury Comedies.