Aaron Sprague  

Crane, Susan. “Alison of Bath Accused of Murder: Case Dismissed.”  English Language Notes 25 (1988): 10-15.  

Did Alison of Bath kill one of her husbands?  That is what this article is trying to prove.  She did fit everything that an antifeminist would view a woman as.  She is a nymphomaniac which is something that no one can refute.  Some sources claim that because she is a poetic character, she could not have done the deed.  Others claim that if you turned her into a real character she could have.   At the end the article, Crane asserts that you should not look at the misapprehensions of the prologue and you cannot take the view that “woman was the los of al mankynde” (15).  

I believe this article would help anyone who was writing on Chaucer, the Canterbury Tales, or how women were viewed in that time period.  The work employs gender criticism to examine the mostly antifeminist views of the era.  It is a good source on how people viewed women at the time and also the misapprehension of the character of Alison in her prologue.  I would agree with the author that you cannot take her as a real person.  The only thing I did not like about this article was the fact that it was written as if Sherlock Holmes was bringing this case before a judge.  It did make for an interesting read, but it did not help further the reading for me.  Overall this is a good source.

Ginsberg, Warren . “Place and Dialectic in Pearl and Dante’s Paradiso.” ELH 55 (1988): 731-753.  

The article states that there is a dialectic that follows a place.  This is used so that when something is said it can be examined in context to where it was said.  When Piccarda disappears in light, Dante is blinded.  When there is singing, Dante has the canto singing.  Dante does not experience dialectic in heaven.  This is to create awe at how glorious heaven must be since there is no way to really describe it.  When Dante’s guide leaves him he literally could not move.  This also shows the glory that is heaven.  “…Dante’s scrutiny of locality of dialectic exposes its short comings as a way to describe paradise.”(Ginsberg 751).           

This is a good source for those who are studying the work of Dante.  I agree with the opinions of the author of this work since the lack of dialectic speaks a lot about what Dante thought of heaven.  This was not very hard to read since most of the article was straight forward and well organized.  I did however skip over the writings on the Pearl since I have no experience with the work and I could not understand how it was written when it was quoted.

Taylor, Karla. “A Text and Its Afterlife: Dante and Chaucer.” Comparative Literature 35 (1983): 1-20.  

This article is about how works are viewed by the reader after it is published.  This is important since the social effects that could result might reflect badly on the author though their intent was good.  The literature that was written had to be justified.  There is also the view that everything has a “real” meaning.  An example provided by Taylor is a work by Virgil about the birth of a Roman child.  People changed what was said, including the pagan god, so that it would be representative of the birth of Christ.  Dante goes to great lengths to make sure that people would not misinterpret his work.  In his story about Francesca, she states her sin and explains why no one should look up to her or do as she and her lover did.  Dante fashions his characters in such a way that no one would want to emulate them.  Chaucer wrote a similar story to Dante’s Francesca but the girl had a different name.  He did not condone infidelity, but that was what he wrote about.  

This is a good article showing an author’s fear of retaliation after his work is published.  It is very informative and gives good evidence on how Dante made sure no one would misinterpret his work.  I agree with the author of the work that the writers of the time had to be careful of what they said and how they said it.  This deals with reader response criticism.  This is because of the writers’ desire that  people not misinterpret their works and behave in the wrong way.

Taylor, Paul Beekman. “Peynted Confessiouns: Boccaccio and Chaucer.” Comparative Literature 34 (1982): 116-129.  

The article is about the usage and characteristic evil of lies.  St. Augustine says that people can be very persuasive on false things.  Even if you err with the intent of pleasing God, it is still viewed as wrong.  Chaucer’s Pardoner tells in his story that he is a liar.  The rest of the article about the Pardoner reveals that he might be lying about his position as a Pardoner and his story may be false.  The Pardoner is also like the character Ciappelletto in Boccaccio’s Decameron.  Ciappelletto told his lie to a monk who made him out to be a saint.  This lie was seen as acceptable since it was to make sure he did not die in his friend’s house.  

This article was good in that it uses psychological criticism to analyze the Pardoner.  The study exa,ines how he was viewed him and how he used these views to manipulate his audience.  The author does very well in making one question their sense of what is right.  Such as, whether the Pardoner is telling the truth about anything or if he is making one think he is lying when he tells a truth.  I agree with the author that Chaucer’s work is very complex and that the perception of the Pardoner and Ciappelletto must be examined closely.  Both were liars but one tried doing a good thing with his lie and the other made you question the truth.  This would be helpful for people researching the  works of Chaucer or Boccaccio.

Wooten, John. “From Purgatory to the Paradise of Fools: Dante, Ariosto, and Milton.” ELH 49 (1982): 741-750.  

This article compares the similarities between the works of Dante, Ariosto, and Milton.  One example is that Satan opened up his gates and Astolfo, in a different work, made sure to close what would be considered the gates.  Astolfo is also like Dante in that he started to explore He**.  Unlike Dante, he returned to the surface instead of continuing throughout He**.  Milton ’s Gate to Heaven was set up in a different place than Dante’s Gate to Purgatory.  This is due to the difference between Protestant and Catholic views.  Milton ’s Paradise of Fools sounds like Dante’s Purgatory in the theological sense (749).  

I think this could be a good source of information, although I found it very confusing.  It assumed that you have read all three works and can separate the three in your mind.  There is no real criticism since it is just comparing how similar the works were.  This could possiblely be used for a study on gender.  Lydia has the worst characteristics a woman can have.  She is hardhearted and very cruel to her lovers.  I agree with the similarities between the different works since they all seem intertwined.