Lady Fortune and her wheel are two of the most enduring symbols in mankind’s history. Witness the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune. While it may seem silly, it proves that something of this concept has stayed with in our psyche, even today. The question of fortune is paramount is Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer gives the reader characters with completely conflicting ideas of Lady Fortune and her affect on their lives. By examining Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, the reader can hope to find an answer for these differing views on fortune. Firstly, Boethius’s influence on Chaucer and the persona of Fortune that he presents must be examined. Once this is established as a benchmark, the reader can fully understand the misconceptions Troilus has regarding fortune. Troilus clings, as Boethius does in his Consolation of Philosophy, to the memory of his faithful service to Fortune. Finally, the character of Pandarus must be addressed. He, of all Chaucer’s characters, has a firm grip on the reality of the Lady Fortune and her ever-changing nature. In fact, a close examination of the text of Troilus and Criseyde will show that Chaucer gives Pandarus a very similar role to that of Lady Philosophy in The Consolation of Philosophy. Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius’s work deals with the universal experience of suffering. He finds himself imprisoned and under threat of execution. As Boethius begins to expound his sorrows and blame “fickle Fortune” (p. 35), he finds himself comforted by none other than Lady Philosophy. Their discussion is presented at length for the reader to pass judgment on. The section particularly confronting Boethius’s misconceptions of Fortune and is of interest to this argument i...
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...e result is powerful and moving for the reader. Chaucer’s audience could work through the same issues presented in the Consolation and see how the are dealt with in a classic story. And even today, modern readers can draw the same conclusions from this timeless tale of love and fortune.
Works Cited
Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. Trans. V.E. Watts. Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Books. 1969.
Camargo, Martin. “The Consolation of Pandarus.” Chaucer Review Vol. 25 No. 3 (1991) P. 214-28.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Troilus and Criseyde. Ed. Larry Benson The Riverside Chaucer.. Boston: The Houghton Mifflin Company. 1987. P. 471-585.
Jefferson, B.J. Chaucer and the Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius. New York: Haskell House. 1965.
Salemi, Joseph S. “Playful Fortune and Chaucer’s Criseyde.” Chaucer Review Vol. 13 No. 3 (1979). P. 285-307
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. In the Riverside Chaucer. Larry D. Benson, ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987.
Women are prizes to be won over in this tale. Competition for women is portrayed throughout the entire story. This competition leads to lies and deceit which overall creates an unstable conflict. But, because of the way of life, the people who don’t lie and deceit still lose out in the end. Therefore, Chaucer teaches us that life isn’t fair and that people don’t always get what they deserve.
Brown, Peter. Chaucer at Work: The Making of the Cantebury Tales. New York: Longman Group, 1994.
Boardman, Phillip C. "Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400)." Enduring Legacies: Ancient and Medieval Cultures. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Pub., 2000. 430-54. Print.
Effectively addressing the central issues found in The Song of Roland, such as the seeming cruelty of fortune and whether any good can come from war, requires seeking answers and points of comparison from major philosophy of the age. By placing the principles of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and the motivations and actions of Roland in The Song of Roland into conversation, it is possible to extrapolate the applicability of principles within Boethius to Roland’s actions, and to the role of Fortune in the battle and its aftereffects.
Mandell, Jerome. Geoffrey Chaucer : building the fragments of the Canterbury tales. N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1992.
Vasta, Edward. "Chaucer, Gower, and the Unknown Minstrel: The Literary Liberation of the Loathly Lady." Exemplaria. 395-419.
Toswell, M.J. "Chaucer's Pardoner, Chaucer's World, Chaucer's Style: Three Approaches to Medieval Literature." College Literature 28.3 (2001): 155. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed Mack, Maynard et al. W. W. Norton and Co. New York, NY. 1992.
Despite Boethius’s initial resistance, Lady Philosophy shows that because Boethius did not own his wealth or position, he was subject to Fortune’s transitory...
The character of Troilus before Shakespeare’s play can be seen as a perfect archetype for the tragic romantic. His love is fated by the gods from the beginning. The romance and relationship with Cressida is elevated to that of a noble crusade. Then as if Sophocles himself dictated the events we see the achievement, conflict and eventual downfall. As with many of Shakespeare’s works we see that tradition and myth are great platforms for satire and irony. The noble and honorable Troilus approaches Cressida and instead of tragic hero we meet comedic melodramatic. The epic expressions of devotion and intent are drawn out to the point of ridicule and hyperbole. Although they may see inline with the Roman and Greek traditions of tragedy at first, the addition of flat and even openly sarcastic responses from Cressida cause the reader to question whether Troilus is noble and devoted in his actions or obsessive and pathetic. Where there was fate and honor we now see neurosis and narcissism. Dialogue from traditional tales such as:
In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as curteisye through satire. In the fourteenth century curteisye embodied sophistication and an education in French international culture. The legends of chilvalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period. Chaucer himself matured in the King's Court, and he reveled in his cultural status, but he also retained an anecdotal humor about curteisye. One must only peruse his Tales to discern these sentiments. In the General Prologue, he meticulously describes the Prioress, satirically examining her impeccable table manners. In the Miller's Tale Chaucer juxtaposes courtly love with animalistic lust, and in various other instances he mentions curteisye, or at least alludes to it, with characteristic Chaucerian irony. These numerous references provide the reader with a remarkably rich image of the culture and class structure of late fourteenth century England.
Around 524, the Christian philosopher Boethius awaited his death. During the last stage of his life, he composed one of the most influential writings of the Medieval period: The Consolation of Philosophy. C.S. Lewis says of the work, "To acquire a taste for it is almost to become naturalized in the Middle Ages" (Lewis 75). Over 800 years later, Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most highly praised authors in the English language, would draw upon Boethius to compose his finest work, Troilus and Criseyde.
Mitchell, J. Allan. (2005). Chaucer's Clerk's Tale and the Question of Ethical Monstrosity. Studies in Philology. Chapel Hill: Winter 2005. Vol.102, Iss. 1; pg. 1, 26 pgs
Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Project Gutenberg EBook of Troilus and Criseyde." 12 July 2008. Project Gutenberg. Web. 27 November 2013.