Chaucer and the Making of Optical Space

Download or read book Chaucer and the Making of Optical Space written by Peter Brown and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2007 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author links Chaucer's writings with the medieval optical tradition in its various forms (scholastic texts, encyclopedias, exempla, vernacular poetry) both in general cultural terms and through the discussion of specific examples. He shows how the science of optics, or perspectiva, provides an account of spatial perception, including visual error, and demonstrates how these aspects of optical theory impact on Chaucer's poetry. He provides detailed and sustained analysis of the spatial content of narratives across the range of Chaucer's works, relating them to optical ideas and making use of Lefebvre's theory of the production of space. The texts discussed include the Book of the Duchess, House of Fame, Knight's Tale, Miller's Tale, Reeve's Tale, Merchant's Tale, Squire's Tale and Troilus and Criseyde.