Shakespeare's Chaucerian Entertainers

Thesis (Ph.D.), Department of English, Washington State UniversityAs has been established by scholars Ann Thompson and E. Talbot Donaldson, Shakespeare was heavily influenced by the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Shakespeare continually references Chaucer throughout his career, borrowing many of the poet's plots, quotations and characters. However, unlike with many of his other sources, Shakespeare engages and grapples Chaucer's themes and ideas. "Shakespeare's Chaucerian Entertainers" identifies characters throughout the bard's canon who process and engage Chaucer's ideas on theater, authorship and performance. Through the likes of Prospero, Feste, Falstaff, Duke Theseus from A Midsummer Night's Dream and even Aaron from Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare recognizes and demonstrates how Chaucer's poetry is relevant to drama and theatricality. By conveying this relevance through his plays, Shakespeare teaches his audience to better observe his meaning by addressing Chaucer's. Therefore, key Shakespearean ideas emerge out of Chaucerian methods.Department of English, Washington State Universit