but he probably did not accept the theological opinions of the man who was then considered the arch-heretic. Eight of the longer works which compose the voluminous collection of Chaucer's poetry, are to be ascribed to a direct or indirect imitation of purely Romance models, while three fall naturally under the category of the Italian or Renaissance type. Of the former class the principal are the Romaunt of the Rose, the Court of Love, the Assembly of Fowls, the Cuckow and the Nightingale, the Flower and the Leaf, Chaucer's Dream, the Boke of the Duchesse, and the House of Fame. Under the latter we must range the Legende of Goode Women, Troilus and Creseide, Anelyda and Arcyte, and above all the Canterbury Tales. The Romaunt of the Rose is a translation of the famous French allegory, Le Roman de la Rose, the earliest monument of French literature in the thirteenth century. The original is of inordinate length, containing twenty-two thousand verses, even in the unfinished state in which it was left. According to the almost universal practice of the old Romance poets, the story is put into the form of a dream or vision. Lover, the hero, is alternately aided and hindered in his undertakings by a multitude of beneficent and malignant personages. His most romantic undertaking, the culling of an enchanted rose, gives a name to the poem. Chaucer's translation, in the octosyllabic Trouvère measure of the original, consists of seven thousand, six hundred and ninetynine verses. The portions omitted either never were translated by the English poet on account of his dislike of their immoral and irreligious tendency, or were left out by the copyist from the early English manuscripts. The translation gives proof of Chaucer's remarkable ear for metrical harmony, and also of his picturesque imagination; for though in many places he follows the original with scrupulous fidelity, he not unfrequently adds vigorous touches of his own. The most remarkable illustration of this is the description of the character of a true gentleman, not a hint of which can be found in the original.* The Court of Love is written in the name of "Philogenet of Cambridge," clerk (or student), who is directed by Mercury to appear at the Court of Venus. The above designation has induced some critics to suppose that the poet meant to indicate that he had studied at Cambridge. He gives a description of the Castle of Love, where Admetus and Alcestis preside as king and queen. Philogenet is conducted to the Temple, sees Venus and Cupid, and hears the oath of allegiance and obedience to the twenty commandments of Love administered to the faithful. The hero is then presented to the Lady Rosial, with whom, in strict accordance with Provençal poetical custom, he has become enamoured in a dream. The most curious part of the poem is the celebration of the grand festival of Love, on May-day, when an exact parody of the Catholic matin service for Trinity Sunday is chanted by various birds. in honor of the God of Love. In the Assembly of Fowls we have a debate carried on before the Parliament of Birds, to decide the claims of three eagles to the possession of a beautiful formel (female, or hen), by which the Lady Blanche of Lancaster is probably intended. The Cuckow and the Nightingale, though of no great length, is one of the most charming among this class of Chaucer's productions: it describes a controversy between the two birds: To the poets and allegorists of the Middle Ages, the Cuckoo was the emblem of profligate celibacy, while the Nightingale was the type of constant and virtuous conjugal love. In this poem we meet with a striking example of that exquisite sensibility to the sweetness of external nature, and in particular to the song of birds, which was pos *Lines 2187-2274. sessed by Chaucer in a higher degree, perhaps, than by any other poet in the world.* The Flower and the Leaf is an allegory, probably written to celebrate the marriage of Philippa, John of Gaunt's daughter, with John, king of Portugal. A lady, unable to sleep, wanders out into a forest, on a spring morning, and seating herself in a delightful arbor, listens to the alternate songs of the goldfinch and the nightingale. Her reverie is suddenly interrupted by the approach of a band of ladies clothed in white, and garlanded with laurel and woodbine. They accompany their queen in singing a roundelay, and are in their turn interrupted by the sound of trumpets and by the appearance of nine armed knights, followed by a splendid train of cavaliers and ladies. These joust for an hour, and then advancing to the first company, each knight leads a lady to a laurel, to which they make an obeisance. Another troop of ladies approaches, habited in green, and doing reverence to a tuft of flowers, while the leader sings a pastoral song, in honor of the daisy. The sports are broken off, first by the heat of the sun, which withers all the flowers, and afterwards by a violent storm, in which the knights and the ladies in green are pitifully drenched; while the company in white shelter themselves under the laurel. Then follows the explanation of the allegory: the white queen and her party represent Chastity; the knights, the Nine Worthies; the cavaliers crowned with laurel, the Knights of the Round Table, the Peers of Charlemagne, and the Knights of the Garter. The Queen and ladies in green represent Flora and the followers of sloth and idleness. In general, the flower typifies vain pleasure; the leaf, virtue and industry; the former being "a thing fading with every blast," while the latter "abides with the root, notwithstanding the frosts and winter storms." The * See the inimitable passage from line 65 to 85. poem is written in the seven-lined stanza, and contains many curious and beautiful passages. For its extraordinary union of brilliant description with learning and humor, the House of Fame is sufficient of itself to establish Chaucer's reputation. Under the popular form of a dream or vision, it gives us a vivid and striking picture of the Temple of Glory, crowded with aspirants for immortal renown, and adorned with myriad statues of great poets and historians. The description of this temple is the most interesting part of the poem. Its architectural details are carefully set forth, and its charms are charmingly described. In richness of fancy it far surpasses Pope's imitation, the Temple of Fame. When the poet leaves the temple, he is, in his dream, borne away by an eagle to a house sixty miles in length, built of twigs, and blown about in the wind. This is the House of Rumor, thronged with pilgrims, pardoners, sailors, and other retailers of wonderful reports. "And eke this hous hath of entrees As fell of leves as ben on trees, In somer whan they grene ben, To leten wel the soune oute goo." The Legende of Goode Women was one of Chaucer's latest compositions. Its apologies for what had been written in his earlier years, and its mention of many of his previous works, clearly prove that it was produced after much of his busy life was spent. The avowed purpose of the poem is to make a retraction of his unfavorable descriptions of the character of women; and for this purpose he undertakes to give a poetical sketch of nineteen ladies, whose lives of chastity and worthiness redeem the sex from his former reproaches. The work was left incomplete. The nine sketches given are closely translated from Ovid, but the coloring of the stories is Catholic and medieval. Dido, Cleopa tra and Medea are regarded as the martyrs of Saint Venus and Saint Cupid. Many striking original descriptions are introduced by Chaucer. The Prologue is by far the finest portion of the poem. Here, and everywhere in Chaucer, the rhythm is perfect when the verses are properly read, and there is a display of his command of the resources of the English language. Among the blemishes of this poem Warton has pointed out several amusing anachronisms. The generations contemporary with and succeeding the age of Chaucer placed his Troilus and Creseide nearest to the Canterbury Tales. The materials for this poem were drawn from Boccaccio. The story was common, and extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and even later. Shakespeare himself dramatized it. In many passages Chaucer adhered closely to the text of Boccaccio, and he adopted the musical Italian stanza of seven lines; but in the conduct of the story, in the development of noble, ideal characters, and in a delicate appreciation of moral sentiment, he was far superior to his Italian contemporary. Chaucer's greatest and most original work is, beyond all question, the Canterbury Tales (13). It is in this that he has poured forth in inexhaustible abundance his stores of wit, humor, pathos, and knowledge of humanity: it is this which will place him, till the remotest posterity, in the first rank among poets and character-painters. An exact portraiture of the language and manners of society in a remote age could not fail of awakening deep interest, even if executed by an inferior hand. How great, then, may be our delight when the magical power of a poet evokes our ancestors from the fourteenth century, and causes them to pass before our vision "in their habit, as they lived," acting and speaking in a manner invariably true to general nature. The plan of the Canterbury Tales, though very simple, is masterly. It enables the poet to make the representatives |