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Drawing from classical myth, the history of philosophy, literature, film, music, and painting, Workman connects the artistic claims of Chaucer and tests them against similar gestures in the history of philosophy and literature. What results is a radical retake on Chaucer as a philosopher and poet, upending any preconceived views.

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9781137456519

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Maintaining a radical, unconventional, and ambitious thesis, to say the least, Workman makes his case so fully, and with such learning and conviction, that even his most resistant readers will find themselves forced to interrogate the comfort zone of their own critical habits of mind. Whether or not Workman succeeds entirely in elevating Chaucer's poetics into the neo-Platonic sublime remains an open question. But what is certain is this: Written with boldness and panache, this wonderfully readable study articulates an interpretative position that is unique among contemporary studies - not only of Chaucer, but of medieval literature generally. - Peter W. Travis, Professor of English, Dartmouth College, USA This exhilarating study shows us Chaucer thinking the deepest of thoughts about the metaphysics of Art, but doing so with an entirely characteristic blend of high seriousness and low humour. Workman's approach offers a restless bricolage of analysis and analogy, illustration, and illumination, to reveal the essentially metapoetic and metaphysical basis of Chaucerian narrative. Workman's Chaucer is both Ancient and Modern, effortlessly classicising and radically posthumanist, spinning an elegant gossamer of Poetic theory from the fabric of his own narrative practice. - Vincent Gillespie, J. R. R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language, University of Oxford, UK

Maintaining a radical, unconventional, and ambitious thesis, to say the least, Workman makes his case so fully, and with such learning and conviction, that even his most resistant readers will find themselves forced to interrogate the comfort zone of their own critical habits of mind. Whether or not Workman succeeds entirely in elevating Chaucer's poetics into the neo-Platonic sublime remains an open question. But what is certain is this: Written with boldness and panache, this wonderfully readable study articulates an interpretative position that is unique among contemporary studies - not only of Chaucer, but of medieval literature generally. - Peter W. Travis, Professor of English, Dartmouth College, USA

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Jameson S. Workman is an Independent Scholar based in the USA.

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