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.