Article Title
Document Type
Article
Abstract
One reading Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde and Boccaccio's Il Filostrato immediately notices similarities and differences in the two poets' depiction of the tragedy of Troilus. The most evident changes Chaucer made in retelling the Trojan story are in the personalities of the major characters and the increased role in the love affair Chaucer accords Pandarus. This role is so increased from Boccaccio's version of the tragic love story that Pandarus' dialogue surpasses even that of Troilus. It is twice that of his alter-ego Pandaro in the Filostrato (Meech 9). The reader is left to ponder the reasons for Chaucer's alterations. This essay will describe the changes in the major characters, in particular those of Troilus and Pandarus, and attempt to demonstrate why these changes are essential to Chaucer's achieving his desired ending: Troilus reaching the Eighth Sphere. In the process, I hope also to demonstrate that Pandarus in effect becomes the preserver of Troilus' innocence.
Publication Date
1995
Journal Title
Draftings In
Volume
8
Issue
1
First Page
15
Last Page
22
Copyright
©1995 by the Board of Student Publications, University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Rice, Lee
(1995)
"Chaucer's Pandarus: The Preserver of Innocence,"
Draftings In: Vol. 8:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/draftings/vol8/iss1/4
Comments
No cover/title page date shown on piece.