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The critical association of the two authors and their works has its roots in the simple fact that Chaucer and John Gower not only knew of each other but were apparently friends (or at least professional acquaintances); each referred to the other in his writings, and their acquaintance is attested by documentary evidence. Furthermore, their works share a number of analogues, they often wrote about common thematic issues in comparable ways, and they serve as rich comparisons for discussing poetics and stylistics in late medieval English literature. These four issues – biography, common literary sources and analogues, thematic issues, and poetics/style – characterize much of the critical discourse surrounding the relationship between Gower, Chaucer, and their works. While considering Gower in relation to Chaucer has been fruitful and empowering, it has also served sometimes to relegate Gower to a kind of second-class literary citizenship, interesting only insofar as his work relates to the more canonical and well-known work of Chaucer.
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