Description
Book SynopsisTraces the development of the forest as a central literary motif in medieval romance.
Trade ReviewValuable for its discussions of medieval English and French romances and lays, and especially for its survey of their varieties of wooded landscape - idyllic and exilic, amorous and adventurous. MEDIUM AEVUMCorinne Saunders tackles [forests] with practicality and a clear scheme... she follows a clear chronological plan from 12th to 15th centuries. Her text-by-text layout does justice to the variety of possibilities taken up by different authors. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT [Tom Shippey 07/01/94]Elegant volume... will be essential to future research in the field. STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCERA useful contribution to our understanding of romance narratives. * LEEDS STUDIES IN ENGLISH *
Table of ContentsPart 1 The origins of the Romance forest: the historical forest; the Biblical wilderness; the philosophical tradition - "Silva" and "Hyle". Part 2 Classical antecedents and romance retellings: the classical tradition; the "Roman d'Antiquite". Part 3 The forest of courtly romance - the 12th century: the Breton lay; the romances of "Chretien de Troyes"; the "Tristan" romances. Part 4 Convention and innovation - the 13th century: "Contes"; the prose romances of "Lancelot" and "Tristan". Part 5 The landscape of vision - Merlin and the Grail Quest: the "Vita Merlini" and the hagiographic tradition; the "Queste del Saint Graal". Part 6 Multiple readings - the Middle English romances: "Sir Orfeo"; "Sir Launfal"; "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"; Chaucer. Part 7 The forests of Logres - Malory's "Morte Darthur". Part 8 Rewriting the forest - Spenser and Shakespeare: Spenser's "The Faerie Queene"; Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It".
