Overview
- Breaks new ground by utilizing both “pornographic literary theory” and historical foregrounding
- Connects discussions of Chaucer’s erotics to larger questions about premodern pornography within medieval studies
- Covers a wide swath of Chaucer’s work including topics such as brutal Chauceroticism in the Reeve’s Tale and the poetics of prostitution in the Shipman’s Tale
Part of the book series: The New Middle Ages (TNMA)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
Chaucerotics examines the erotic language in Chaucerian literature through a unique lens, utilizing the tools of “pornographic literary theory” to open up Chaucer’s ribald poetry to fresh modes of analysis. By introducing and applying the notion of “Chaucerotics,” this study argues for a more historically-nuanced and theoretically-sophisticated understanding of the obscene content in Chaucer’s fabliaux and Troilus and Criseyde. This book demonstrates that the sexually suggestive language of this magisterial Middle English poet could stimulate and titillate various literary audiences in late medieval England, and even goes so far as to suggest that Chaucer might well be understood as the “Father of English pornography” for playing a notable, liminal role in the development of porn as a literary genre. In making this case, Geoffrey W. Gust presents an insightful account of an important intellectual issue and opens up the subject of premodern pornography to consideration in a way that is new and highly provocative.
Reviews
“Despite the obvious strengths of Chaucerotics in its comprehensive accounts of Chaucer’s erotic world, the volume would benefit by more deeply contextualizing the intersection of eroticism and humor.” (Tison Pugh, Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 120 (4), October, 2021)
“Chaucerotics is a worthy intervention in the study of both Chaucerian and medieval Sexuality … . Gust is to be credited with initiating a conversation that will, I hope, lead to further sustained work on the subject.” (Cory James Rushton, Speculum, Vol. 95 (1), January, 2020)
“Chaucerotics is sure to inspire passionate debate, but it will be controversial precisely because Geoffrey Gust makes such a lucid case for the existence of a pornographic impulse in medieval literature, using Chaucer’s works as his test case. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of representations of sexuality.” (Robert S. Sturges, Professor of English, Arizona State University, USA and author of Chaucer’s Pardoner and Gender Theory (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000) and The Circulation of Power in Medieval Biblical Drama, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Geoffrey W. Gust is Assistant Professor of Critical Thinking at Stockton University, USA, where he coordinates writing across the curriculum and teaches a variety of humanities courses. His research interests are trans-historical and cross-cultural, with particular emphasis on late medieval Europe, critical theory, and intellectual history.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Chaucerotics
Book Subtitle: Uncloaking the Language of Sex in The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde
Authors: Geoffrey W. Gust
Series Title: The New Middle Ages
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89746-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-89745-5Published: 24 July 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07845-4Published: 22 December 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-89746-2Published: 12 July 2018
Series ISSN: 2945-5936
Series E-ISSN: 2945-5944
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 332
Topics: Medieval Literature, Poetry and Poetics, British and Irish Literature