Ricardian Poetry: Chaucer, Gower, Langland, and the 'Gawain' Poet

Abstract

Burrow's study of the hallmarks of Ricardian poetry makes frequent reference to Gower. Such typical features as pointing, personification, a predilection for narrative, the exemplary mode, and the enclosure of poetic material in a framed story -- these are all amply illustrated by examples from Gower. For example, Gower shows felicity, wit, and even profundity (83) in his application of morals to his stories. What generally sets Gower apart is his style, which Burrow, in the tradition of Warton, Macaulay, and Lewis, calls Augustan. In other words, at his best Gower writes in a plain style that is free from constraint or stiffness, smooth and without a trace of effort (29). Yet Gower's fastidiousness and desire for correctness also meant that his style frequently became threadbare (31), and thus Burrows concludes, It is as if the English language was not yet rich enough to support the sacrifices which an exclusive doctrine of correctness demands (31-32). [CvD]

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 109 citations exist upstream.