"Heryng th'effect": Poetic technique in Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde"*.

Chaucer studies suffer from a tacit fear that the father of English poetry may have been a rather indifferent versifier. The few general surveys of his poetic practices forego thorough examination of the relationship between sound and sense in any particular work. But poetic technique is part of Chaucer's excellence. The Troilus is especially accessible to this kind of scrutiny in that characters, and the theme of mutability, are fully developed. We can gauge with this work the poetic achievements of Chaucer. Studies of Chaucer's meter treat the whole Chaucer canon and can conclude only with catalogues of metrical oddities. Focusing on the "expressive variations" in the Troilus shows specifically what metrical variance accomplishes in context. A shortened "headless" line or opening trochee creates a jarring sensation, typically appropriate to the sense of the line and to the speaker's intention. "Tortured" lines register moments of a character's nervous agitation or other kinds of turmoil. Examination of Chaucer's metrical tendencies indicates a much more careful artistic control than has previously been noticed. Since the poet must pre-plan his rhymes in structuring each stanza, these significant word-pairings naturally capture and convey with special aural emphasis the key concepts and associations. Conspicuous pairings and sequences of rhyme-words often function as abstract commentary on the narrative moments. Serving thematically, ominous recurring rhymes chime throughout the work. Other special techniques used effectively by Chaucer, such as alliteration, assonance, manipulation of the caesura, and enjambement, join the movement of the poetry with the meaning. The integration of all these techniques contributes to the effect of characters and themes upon us. Proper names do not themselves comprise a poetic technique; but in poetic context, Chaucer creates special effects whereby manipulation of the name colors the character to whom it belongs. Finally, close analysis of important stanzas and passages shows Chaucer drawing upon all the above techniques towards larger artistic ends. Thus, we see Chaucer's greatest concerns in the Troilus operating on the most immediate and affective level of the work. Better yet, we find ourselves "Heryng th'effect" of his poetry. ftn*Originally published in DAI Vol. 50, no. 8. Reprinted here with corrected bibliographic information.Ph.D.Medieval literatureBritish and Irish literatureUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162298/1/9001617.pd