Chaucerian Ecopoetics: Deconstructing Anthropocentrism in the Canterbury Tales (The New Middle Ages)

__Chaucerian Ecopoetics__ performs ecocritical close readings of Geoffrey Chaucer's poetry. Shawn Normandin explains how Chaucer's language demystifies the aesthetic charm of his narratives and calls into question the anthropocentrism they often depict. This text combines ecocriticism with reading techniques associated with deconstruction, to provide innovative interpretations of the General Prologue, the Knight's Tale, the Miller's Tale, the Reeve's Tale, the Franklin's Tale, the Physician's Tale, and the Monk's Tale. In stressing the importance of rhetorical nuance and literary form, __Chaucerian Ecopoetics__ enables readers to better understand the ideological prehistory of today's environmental crisis. Acknowledgments 7 Contents 8 Chapter 1: Introduction: Chaucer and Ecopoetics 10 1.1 Anthropocentrism, Anthropotropism, Inscription 15 1.2 Ecopoetics and Ecoaesthetics 24 1.3 The Ecopoetics of the General Prologue 36 References 54 Chapter 2: Ecophobia and the Knight’s Tale 60 2.1 Dark Imagining: Ekphrasis and Allegory 65 2.2 Getting Green: Wordplay in the Knight’s Tale 74 References 89 Chapter 3: Nocturnal Ecologies: Metaphor in the Miller’s and the Reeve’s Tale 94 3.1 Metaphor in the Miller’s Tale 97 3.2 Metaphor in the Reeve’s Tale 107 References 125 Chapter 4: Iterability, Anthropocentrism, and the Franklin’s Tale 131 4.1 Iterability and Rejection 137 4.2 Improper Literalisms 142 4.3 Avenging the Rocks 148 References 154 Chapter 5: The Unnatural Personifications of the Physician’s Tale 158 5.1 Allegorizing Virgin Nature 163 5.2 Allegory Versus History 169 5.3 Inhuman Poetics 176 References 182 Chapter 6: Ruminating on and in the Monk’s Tale 187 6.1 Reasons for Not Reading the Monk’s Tale 194 6.2 Reading Like a Monk 196 6.3 Rereading the Monk’s Tale 206 References 217 Index 222 La 4e de couverture indique: "Chaucerian Ecopoetics performs ecocritical close readings of Geoffrey Chaucer's poetry. Shawn Normandin explains how Chaucer's language demystifies the aesthetic charm of his narratives and calls into question the anthropocentrism they often depict. This text combines ecocriticism with reading techniques associated with deconstruction, to provide innovative interpretations of the General Prologue, the Knight's Tale, the Miller's Tale, the Reeve's Tale, the Franklin's Tale, the Physician's Tale, and the Monk's Tale. In stressing the importance of rhetorical nuance and literary form, Chaucerian Ecopoetics enables readers to better understand the ideological prehistory of today's environmental crisis." Front Matter ....Pages i-x Introduction: Chaucer and Ecopoetics (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 1-50 Ecophobia and the Knight’s Tale (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 51-84 Nocturnal Ecologies: Metaphor in the Miller’s and the Reeve’s Tale (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 85-121 Iterability, Anthropocentrism, and the Franklin’s Tale (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 123-149 The Unnatural Personifications of the Physician’s Tale (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 151-179 Ruminating on and in the Monk’s Tale (Shawn Normandin)....Pages 181-215 Back Matter ....Pages 217-226