chaucer's concept of the cokplaivti a study of the i
TRANSCRIPT
CHAUCER'S CONCEPT OF THE COKPLAIVTi A STUDY OF THE
I?/rEBCALATED CCMPLAIKT
MARY MOCRE HATFIELD, B.A.
A THESIS
IN
ENGLISH
Submitted t o the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in
fturtial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
December, 1975
/ o p - ^
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am deeply grateful t o Professor Joseph P. Mogan, Jr. for h is
d irec t ion of t h i s t h e s i s and t o Professor James Culp for h is helpful
c r i t i c i s m .
11
COWTEKTS
Aeknowledffments ^^
Introduction j
I . The Love Complaint 12
II . The Complaint of Social Rrotest 21
III , Complaint and Apostro'phe 33
IV. Chaucer's Major Complaints 46
V. Chaucer's Minor Complaints 84
Conclusion og
Bibliography 201
111
CHAUCER'S CONCEPT OF THE COMFLAINTi A STl DY OF THE
INTERCALATED COMPLAINT
INTRODUCTION
The l i t e r a r y term **complalnt" i s used to refer to poems that
appear t o be widely divergent. Scholars use the term to refer to
love poetry, laments on death, poems which deplore s in and soc ia l
a'buse, and t o re l i g ious poetry. The term has not been part icularly
useful in describing poetry, however, because i t seems to suggest
very l i t t l e other than tone and subject matter. Tatlock, for example,
f inds i t "a vague word variously used for lament and even f a u l t
f inding, "but often for an expression of thwarted l o v e . " For Robinson
the word suggests ch ie f ly subject mattert "the term 'compleints'
which had reference t o subject nat ter , was applied to both l o v e - l y r i c s
and r e l i g i o u s poems." The revised edit ion of the Handbook t o Li tera
ture describes the complaint more thorou^ly i
A l y r i c poem, frequent in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, In which the poet ( l ) laments the unresponsiveness of his mistress , as in Surrey's "A Complaint by Night of the Lover Not Beloved"; (2) bemoans his unhappy l o t and seeks t o remedy I t , as in "The Complaint of Chaucer t o his Snpty Purse"; or (3) regrets the sorry s t a t e of the world, as in Spenser's Complaints. In a complaint, which usual ly takes the form of a monologue, the poet explains h i s sad mood, describes the causes of I t , d iscusses poss ib le remedies, or appeals to some lady or d i v i n i t y for help fi*om his d i s t r e s s . ^
No d e f i n i t i o n of complaint, however, includes a descr ipt ion of i t s
s tructure or form.
I purpose in t h i s study t o inves t igate Chaucer's use of the
term "complaint" and his practice of the genre in order to ascertain
his concept of the complaint. This study focuses on the intercalated
complaints, that i s , those complaints which aire Inserted Into longer
poems. The term "Intercalate" has no special l i terary meaning, but
i s used in the sense in which i t is defined In Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionaryt "to insert between or among existing elements or layers."
In using th is term I follow James I. Wimsatt in Chaucer and the French 4
Love Poets. Some of these intercalated complaints may be considered
to be set -pieces , poems to be appreciated in themselves. Obvious
examples of set-pieces include the complaint of Anellda in AnelIda
and Arcite and the complaint in the Complaint of Mars. The lyric
complaints {**lyric" in the general sense, as simply a shorter poem,
as R. I. Davies uses the term in Medieval English Lyrics ) do not f a l l
within the province of this study. A cursory examination of these
lyric complaints indicates that the poetic principles which determine
the structure of these poems are not the same as those which determine
the inner form of the intercalated complaint.
This study attempts to show that the Chaucerian complaint may
be identified by certain rhetorical and poetic elements which con
s i s tent ly recur. Heretofore, Investigations have sought to show that
complaints may be identified by certain commonplace ideas found in
them. Since these ideas may be found in a great many other types
of poetry, however, this criterion is not a re l iable means of identi
fying the complaint. This study is confined to a rhetorical and
poetic analysis and does not attempt an in-depth analysis of the
function of the complaint as a narrative element. Although the kno«fn
or suspected l i terary antecedents of the complaint are noted at some
points in th is paper, an extensive Investigation of the origin of
complaint has not been undertaken. Complaint in a l l i t s forms has
too remote a history. Charles Muscatine writes that "the complaint
monologue i s found in the chanson de geste; i t appears in Latin as
the planctus. as the lament in Anglo-Saxon, and Indeed can easily
"be traced in Western l iterature as far "back as the Old Testament."
The present study i s confined, for the most part, to a considera
tion of the complaints of the fourteenth century.
In the history of Chaucer scholarship, there has been no analysis
of Chaucer's complaints. Few of the intercalated complaints have been
identified and l i t t l e mention is made of them in existing scholarship.
Certain complaints, however, have long been objects of study. A
complaint which has attracted considerable scholarly attention, for
example, i s Dorigen's complaint in the Franklin's Tale. Early in
this century W, H. Scholfield noted in his analysis of the Franklin's
Tale that Chaucer's use of the complaint i s conventional in th is o
t a l e . Benjamin Harrison noted in 1935 that although the Franklin
pretends to eschew rhetorical devices, his ta le i s Indeed ornate and that DtfTigen's complaint i s an example of one of the rhetorical
9 devices of amplification. Germaine Dempster's study of the Jovlnlan
source of the exempla in Dorigen's complaint provides insight into
Chaucer's method. This complaint has "been found to be "designed
to Illuminate the character of Dorlgen, the nature of her marriage,
and the Franklin's idea of marraige; and to set the stage, In indeci
sion, for the ta les two succeeding decisions which convey the 'moral'
4
of the Franklin's Tale." Stephen Knight discovers that the s ty le
12 of the poetry suggests an Ironic handling of Dorigen's character.
Phi l l i s Hodgson, in an introduction to her edition of the Franklin's
Tale, and A. D, Spearing, in his introduction to his edition of the
Franklin's Prologue and Tale, discuss the rhetoric of the ta le and
of the complaint. -
Dido's complaint In the House of Fame has received less comment
than Dorigen's, and this comment has been generally unfavorable. J.4
Muscatine notes i t s "sty l i s t ic disharmony, while Alfred David
considers that Dido's concern over the loss of her name is undue.
C, G, Child notes that although s«ne portion of the complaint finds
Its source in Virgil , some of the l ines correspond to l ines in
Boccacio's Amorosa Vislone. Robert Estrich suggests that a possible
source of the House of Fame is a Provencal poem "by Daude de Pradas,
"but ccMnments further that nothing l ike the complaint can be found in
any of the sources. Shannon writes that the anger and vengeful
sp ir i t found in the complaint in Virgil are not found in the Chaucerian
18 version. Clemens describes Dido's lament as "the plaintive lamentations of a g i r l of middle-class background who has been ' l e t down' \sy a man and now bit ter ly bewails the fact that ' a l l men are the
19 same'."
The Complaint of Mars has been the subject of articles evaluat-
20 ing the astrological lore of the poem. Seme scholars speculate on
the identity of the lovers of the poem and seek to discover their
21 historical counterparts. The irony in the Conplalnt of Vars i s
the subject of Neil Hultin's "Anti-Courtly Elements in the Complalnx
of Mars." Edgar Laird's "Astrology and Irony in Chaucer's Complaint 22
of Mars." and Chaucey Wood's Chaucer and the .Country of the Stars.
Wolfgang Clemen compares Chaucer's handling of the complaint in Mars
to the techniques of the fourteenth century complaint poets. He
finds that Chaucer's complaint '"represents a significant expansion J23 of the genre."^ Gardiner St i l lwel l in his analysis of the poem
finds the complaint "a work deliberately and amusingly atypical in
Its treatment of conventions," S t i l lwc l l ' s art ic le i s a useful
?4 analysis of the conventions employed in the poem. John Norton-Smith examines Chaucer's use of the "broad rhetorical devices,
rraefatio. narratio. planctus. in the complaint. He further finds
..25
that the complaint "proceeds "by emotional logic."^^
Critics agree that the complaint of Anelida In Anellda and
Arcite resembles the French complaints in i t s technical elaboration, 27 "but that It r i se s above the French complaint in i t s s incerity.
Professor Shannon's comment i s typical when he finds Anellda's com
plaint * nore personal and mare concrete throughout," adding that
"there i s genuine feel ing and passion in i t . We are made to feel that
Anelida i s an invididual, and our sympathies are aroused in her be
half."^ The apparently greater degree of personal Involvement seen
in th is poem by c r i t i c s has led some to seek to identify Anelida as
a real person among Chaucer's contemporaries. Frederick Tuppcr, for
example, finds this to "be the contemporary story of Anne Well and her
hus"band. • Madeline Fabln has Investigated the relationship of 30
Anellda to MacVlut's l a i de la Spucle. while Shannon explores the
s i j i i l ar i t i e s between Anellda's complaint and the various epis t les of
26
31 Ovid's Heroides. Clemen explains that Chaucer was attempting to
break away fron the abstract. Impersonal complaint when he provided
Anellda's complaint with an 'occasion'. Clemen argues that **by making
the complaint spring from a love-story that leads up to i t , he turns
32
something general into a specific case." More recently, scholars
have attempted to discover the poetic form of which the fragment is
a part. Michael Chernlss says that Anelida was intended as a dreaa-33 vis ion. James Wimsatt thinks that Chaucer intended the poem to be
a narrative of complaint and comfort in the tradition of the French
d i t s amoureux which contain a narrative combined with an intricate 3^
set-piece . Finally, an art ic le relevant to this study in i t s con
sideration of complaint as a form of apostrophe i s Koretsky's
35
•Chaucer's Use of Apostrophe in Troilus and Criseyde." The diver
s i t y of the scholarship dealing with the complaints in Chaucer's works
should appear evident. This variety has not been brought together
into a coherent treatment of Chaucer's complaints.
This study constitutes a formal analysis of the Chaucerian
complaint, with the aim of establishing the distinguishing character
i s t i c s of the complaint in Chaucer's mature work. The study further
attempts to show that Chaucer's early concept of the complaint as an
essent ia l ly lyr ic device "broadens as his career progresses. In his
matiire work Chaucer perceives of the complaint, not simply as a device
for expressing emotion, "hit also as a rhetorical element suitable
for philosophical or sat ir ic comment on fundamental ideas about man.
In this study an investigation of the conventions of the love
complaint in chapter 1 and of the complaint of social protest in
chapter 2 reveals the traditions within which Chaucer'is writing,
A discussion of the relationship of complaint to apostrophe in the
third chapter i s necessary to understand the nature of Chaucerian
complaint. Finally, in the last two chapters, the intercalated
complaints in Chaucer's poetry are examined with respect to their
structure.
8
Notes to Introduction
J. S. P. Tatlock, The Mind and ^ t of Chaucer (New Yorki
Gardlan I^ess, 19^^)» p. P5.
2 P. N, Robinson, ed.. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. 2d.ed.,
(Boetoni Houghton Mifflin, 19^1), p. 723-72^,
^ Addison Hibbard, C. Hugh Holman, and William Thrall, A Hand
book to Literature. Rev. ed., (New Yorkt Odyssey Press, 19^0)•
4
Janes I, Wimsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets i The
Literary Background of the Book of the Duchess. (Chapel Hillt Univ. of
N. Carolina Press, 19^P), p, 58.
^ R, I. Diayies, Medieval English Lyricsi A Critical Anthology.
(Chicagot Northwestern University Press, 196*1-), p, 46,
Peter, pp. 60-103; Rossel Hope Robbins, 'The Lyrics," Companion
to Chaucer Studies, ed. Beryl Rowland, (Londoni Obcford University
Press, 196P), p. 31P. 7
Charles Muscatine, Chaucer and the French Traditlont A Study
in Style and Meaning. (Berkeleyi University of California Press,
1969), p. 26.7.
^ W. H. Schofleld, "Chaucer's Franklin's Tale." Publication
Modern Language Association. I6 (19OI), 405-^9.
^ Ben.ianin Harrison, The Rhetorical Inconsistency of the
Franklin." Studies in Philology. 32 ( l935). 55-61,
1^ Germaine Dempster, "Chaucer at Work on the Conplalnt in the
Franklin's Tale," Modern Unguage Notes, 52 (1937), 16-23; "A Further
Note on Dorigen's Ebcempla," Modern language Notes, ^ (l939)» 137-8.
Donald C. Baker, "A Crux in Chaucer's Franklin's Talei
Dorigen's Complaint," Jpurral of English and Germanic Philology.
60 (1961), 56-6'^.
^^ Stephen Knight, ''Rhetoric and Poetry in the Franklin's Tale."
Chaucer Review, k ( l970), 14-30.
^^ Phi l l i s Hodgson, ed. . The Franklin's Tale (Londom Athlone
Press, i960) , p. 75; A, C, Spearing, ed. . The Franklin's Prologue
and Tale (Cara'hridget Cambridge University Press, I966), p. 19. 14
Muscatine, p. I09.
Alfred David, "Literary Satire in the House of Fame". Pub
l i cat ion Modern Language Association (1960), p. 337»
C. G, Child, "Chaucer's House of Fame and Boccacio's Amorosa
Vlvione," Modern Language Notes. 10 ( l895), 379-8^1. 17
Ro"bert Estrich, "A Possible Provencal Source for Chaucer's
House of Fame." Modern Language Notes. 60 (l9^0), 3^2-49.
Edgar Finley Shannon, Chaucer and the Roman Poets (New Yorki
Russell & Russell, 196^)» p. 6I.
^ Wolfgang Clemen, Chaucer's Early Poetry, trans, C, A, M, Sym,
(londont Shenval Press, 1963)» (rpt. New Ytfrki Barnes A Noble, 1964), p. 82,
20
William Browne, "Notes on Chaucer's Astrology," Modern
Language Notes, 23 ( l908), 53-4; John M, Manly, "On the Date and
Interpretation of Chaucer's Complaint of Mars." Harvard Studies and
Notes in Philology and Literature. 5 (I896), 107-26, 21
G. H, Cowling, '"Chaucer's Complalntes of. Mars and Venus." Review of Engl is'i Studies. 2 (l926), 405-10.
10 22
Neil C. Hultln, "Anti-courtly Elements in Chaucer's Complaint
fit Mars." Annuals Medlvale. 9 (1968), 58-75; Edgar U ird , "Astrology
and Irony in Chaucer's Complaint of Mars." Chaucer Review 6 (1972),
229-31; Chauncey Wood, Chancer and the Country of the Starst Poetic
Usgg of Astrological Imagery. (Princeton! Princeton University Press, 1970), 15^-60.
23 ^ Clemen, p. 197.
24
Gardiner S t i l lwe l l , "Convention and Individuality in Chaucer's
Complaint of Mars." Philological Quarterly. 35 (l956), 69-89.
^ John Norton-Smith, Geoffrey Chaucer. Medieval Authors Series
(Londoni Routledge A Kegan ftiul, 1974), 25-3^. 26
Snlle Legouis, Geoffrey Chaucer, trans. L. Lailavoix, (Londoni J. W. Dent; New Yorki E. P. Dutton, 1913)» p. 67; Tatlock, pp. 52-54.
27
Legouis, p. 68; Tatlock, op. c i t .
Shannon, p. 35*
^^ Frederick Tupper, "Chaucer's Tale of Ireland," Publication
Modern Language Association 36 (l924), 186-222; "Chaucer and the
Ormondes," Journal of English and Germanic Philology 36 (l94o)
501*-512.
^^ Madeline Fabln, "On Chaucer's Anelida and Arclte." Modern
language Notes 34 (l919) 266-71.
^^ Tatlock, 3 7 - ^ .
• Clemen, p. 202. 33
Michael Chernlss, "Chaucer's Anellda and Arcltei Some Con-.lectures," Chnucer ^evl^w, '^ (1^70) 9-21.
11
34 James Wimsatt, "Anellda and Arcltet A Narrative of Complaint
and Comfort," Chaucer Review. 5 (1970) 1-8.
''•' Allen C. Koretsky, "Chaucer's Use of Apostrophe in Troilus
and Criseyde." Chaucer Review, 4 ( l970), 2^2-66.
CHAPTER I
THE LOVE COMPLAINT
A review of t h e conventions of t he love complaint of t h e four
t e e n t h cen tury w i l l he lp In unders tanding t h e t r a d i t i o n in which
Chaucer was w r i t i n g h i s compla in ts . Norton-Smith def ines t he love
complaint of t h i s period as "a poem of any l eng th , c l e a r l y e n t i t l e d
' c o m p l a i n c t e , ' having an amatory theme in which t h e causa or aim of
the poem was t o complain ." This type of poem e x i s t s both as an
independent l y r i c and as an i n t e r c a l a t e d l y r i c . The four teenth
cen tury complaint in English shows t h e inf luence of t he French cour t
poet ry as wel l as of t h e na t ive English love poe t ry .
The e s s e n t i a l development in t h e Middle English independent
complaints i s t h a t t he English complaint in t he four teenth century
conforms more c l o s e l y t o t h e conventions of c o u r t l y l ove , i s more
h igh ly s t y l i z e d , and l e s s often employs the conventions of o ther
types of l y r i c poems. The complaint "by t h i s t ime had become more
f i rmly e s t a b l i s h e d as a type of poe t ry . At the same t ime . I t had
become h igh ly Impersonal and a b s t r a c t . In t h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in
p a r t i c u l a r does t h e four t een th century independent complaint d i f f e r
from i t s p r edeces so r s .
In an a n a l y s i s of t h e Harl iean love l y r i c s from about 1300,
Arthur K. Moore d e s c r i b e s those l y r i c s which a r e " s u f f i c i e n t l y sub -
j e c t i v e t o be regarded as c o m p l a i n t s . " This s u b j e c t i v i t y d i s t i n
guishes t h e e a r l y English love complaint from t h e complaints of
Chaucer ' s t ime . These ea r ly compla in ts , al though Influenced by t h e
12
13
French poetry of the time, contain typically English" characteristics;
most notably, love is dealt with in concrete and real ist ic terms.
The complaints show an awareness of the conventions of courtly love,
but these conventions are considerably modified. In one poem the
poet speaks at the same time of marriage and of the typical suffering
of the courtly lover. Another poem is "a curious blend of courtly
conventions and conceit, innuendo, and blunt realism."-^ These lyrics
have in common with the French poetry features such as the reverdie.
the symbol of the nightingale, imagery such as the "dart of love"
and other clinches of that type, catalogues and the conventional 4
description of the beloved.
The English lyric complaint is characterized "by i ts sincerity
and conviction, Moore suggests that these features are a result of
the fact that "the more liberal English social mode permitted • • ,
ftankness of expression and intimacy of style as lend conviction to
the poet's exclamations," Chaytor also notes that "the English
lyric is more direct in expression and more genuine in sentiment than
the trou'badour poems, and borrowed from them • . • nothing more than 6
i t s 8tan«a-form and a few more or less conventional thoughts . , . ,"
The love complaint may be found in FVench literature as an
intercalated lyric at least as early as the Roman de la Rose>
Vimsatt suggests that two "brief love complaints found in the Roman
were examples for later writers of poems which include complaint as 7
an element of a narrative poem* In love allegory in which the Court
of love is a feature, the presentation of bills and complaints is
a common feature, William Neilson writes, "Complaints, of course.
14
we have in abundance, and most courts of Venus have had someone who 8
came before the goddes with a grievance." Shick, in his edition of
Lydgate's Temple of Glas. suggests a classical origin of the Court of
Love poem I "A Court of Love meant, of course, originally something
different; Uit our version—Venus as queen l istening to the complaints
of lovers—is already found in the 13th century, in Jean de Conde's
Des Chanolnesses et des BernardInes • , , in fact, we may trace i t s
origin as far back as the c las s i c s , for example, Ovid's Amores I, 9
2, 25f e tc ," Of the complaint in particular he writes, "These
'complaints' are usually put into the mouth of a rejected or forsaken
lover, bewailing his wretched s tate , and call ing on the lady for pity.
It i s not impossible that their origin may have been influenced by
Ovid's Heroides. which enjoyed so remarkable a popularity in the
Middle Ages." J. A. W. Bennett agrees that the complaint genre
"doubtless owed something to c lass ical exemplars, e.g. the end of
Oenone's l e t t e r to P^ris in Ovid, Heroides. V, 149-58, • . . which 11
Paris c i t e s . "
Wimsatt observes that as the French love narrative develops and
allegory becomes a l e s s sal ient characteristic, complaint and other
rhetorical ornaments become more important. The early intercalated
complaints are not set off by a differing rhyme scheme as they are in
the later French love narrative, although the content remains un
changed when later complaints are set off. Two of Chaucer's complaints
exemplify such complaints set-off from the narrative. The complaint
of the Black Knight in the Book of the Duchess i s an eleven l ine
lyr ic which diffe.-s in i t s rhyme scheme from the rest of the poem.
15
The complaint of Anelida also possesses a rhyme scheme different from
12 the rest of the poem.
The independent lyric complaint i s not so popular with Chaucer
and his contemporaries as the complaint combined with narrative.
Norton-Smith notes, for example, that Frolssart Includes complaints
in Le ParedYs d'amour (75-203) and L'Espinette amoureuse (l556-235^),
but apparently did not write any Independent complaints. Deschamps
has f ive ballades subtitled complaints, but does not mention the
genre in L'Art de d ic t ier . Oton de Granson has eleven extant com
plaints and in IA Complaint de Saint Valentin combines narrative,
dialogue, panegyric, and complaint.^^ Gulllaume de Machaut includes
a long complaint against Forture in L^ Remede de fortunei and he also 14
includes a complaint in Fontienne amoureuse.
Machaut apparently regarded the complaint as one of the genres
of lyric poetry. In the Prologue to the Remede de fortune, he men
tions complaint as a type along with the rondeau, the virelay, and the
ballade. In the manuscripts of his poetry, complaints appear in the 15
section reserved for lyric poetry. Machaut attempted to establish
a fixed form for the complaint. In his Complaint #6, in the Remede
de fortune, and in Fontienne amoureuse. he used a sixteen l ine
stanza rhyming aaab aaab bbba bbba. This same rhyme scheme was
used by Frolssart in Paradys d'amour and L'Espinette amoureuse.
Chaucer followed this rhjrme scheme in the complaint in the Anellda 16
^nd Arclte.
Kac r.'it's poetry epitomizes the poetry of the period. One of the
chief characteristics of this poetry is its artificiality. Clemen
16
writest
Machaut's lyric poems are possibly the most art i f ic ia l and conventional products of the fourteenth century. With Machaut a l l personal and original expression is paralyzed by the exaggeration and over-elaboration of rules and forms* What mattered in these poems was not what was said but that the same rhyme should be used fifty or more times on end, with numerous other artistic devices as well. The technical formal element was employ^ nore and more for i t s own sake; and this brought with i t a considerable weakening in the content and the range of themes. The same thought i s stretched out to cover a lengthy succession of rhymes, there i s repetition of the same themes as well as a lack of organic cohesion, conciseness and logical construction. Such features are typical of this . -highly impersonal and artif ic ial style of poetry*
The lack of variety of thou^t can be found particularly in
Chaucer's earlier love lyrics* Robbins compiled the following l i s t
of ccmmonplaees found in Chaucer's early lyrics* He notes that these
are of French origin and i t can be observed that stanzas ffon one
poem are interchangeable with stanzas fron another* The commonplaces
are as followsi
Love is dearly bought (Bal Compl 7, lady 39, lodesterre 3)* The lady lacks the quality of mercy (Compl d'Am 55, Utdv 101, Pity 90), albeit she possesses a l l the other virtues, l ike beauty (Bal Compl 5, Compl d'AM 51, Worn Nob 2) and goodness (Comnl d'Am 53, Ladv 24, Pitv 58, Vom Nob 3)* Once the love experience has started, the lover must go on loving (Bal Compl 21, Compl d'AM 82, ladv 22, 91, Lodesterre 40, Mortal Foe 2-3, Pitv 115*) Though unworthy (Compl d'Am 19, Ladv (>7)t the lover will die innocent of any offense (Compl d'Am 30, Lady 60)* It i s unjust (ladv 48, Mortal Foe 24), but the lady i s obdurate (Compl d'Am 59, Lady 17, Lodesterre 7, Pitv 110)* The only person who could help will not l i s ten to his complaint (Comnl d'Am 10, Lady 95» Pitv 25)«^°
Robbins points out that **far love lyrics l ike Chaucer's in formes
f ixes, literary and social conventions form the underpinning and mi.8t
17 19
be accepted without deviation." For late fourteenth century
intercalated and set coinplaints, the narrative may function in l ieu
of social norms in giving an audience a milieu in which to appreciate
the intensity and sincerity of the emotion expressed in the com
plaint . Courtly love is s t i l l found frequently as a part of the
assumptions made In a narrative poem, however, as in the Troilus.
for example.
Although Chaucer's complaints, the early ones particularly,
have a f f in i t i e s with French poetry, aspects of the French complaint
are seldom found in Chaucer's work. Clemen points out that Chaucer
eschews the metrical ar t i f i ce and technical devices of the French
poets and uses more enjambment and more colloquial language. Chaucer
almost never uses personifications from the Roman de la Rose, which by
Chaucer's time had become commonplace figures of speech. Clemen
writes that "when speaking of love conf l ic ts , longings and the l ike ,
writers now dispensed with the whole machinery of the Poman de la 20
Rose and simply used figures entitled DesIrs, Dangler, Pltez, e tc ."
When such personifications are found, as in the Complaint to Pity or
in the Parliament of Fowls. the personifications do not speak.
Clemen con.lectures that "Chaucer himself considered the personifi
cation of feel ings to be too abstract and unnatural a mode of ex-
„21 pression.
The complaint tradition of the fourteenth century is essential ly
French. Although, as Clemen notes, the typical English quality of 22
Chaucer's wc-' s is arparert even in his early poetry, Chaucer's
indebtedness to the French court poets is more readily detected in
18
his use of verse forms and commonplaces associated with the French
poetry. As Clemen warns, however, the French influence was of a
two-fold nature. While Chaucer learr.ed much from the French poets,
at the same time, he rejected much. Even his early works are free
of the pedantry and repetition found in the love poetry of his 23 French contemporaries. Chaucer's mature poetry ref lects a broad
concept of the complaint tradition and surpassing s k i l l in his use of
the conventions of complaint.
19
Notes to Chapter I
Norton-Smith, p. 17.
^ Arthur K. Moore, Tj e Secular Lyric in Middle English (Lex-
intont University of Kentucky Press, 1951) p. 62.
^ Ibid. , p* 64*
^ Ibid. , pp. 62-68 passim.
^ Ibid*, p. 63*
H, J. Chaytor, The Troubadours and England (Cambridgei
Cambridge Press, 1923), pp. 118-119.
' James I. Wljnsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets, p* 170*
° William Allan Neilson, The Origins and Sources of the Court of
Love (New Yorki Russell & Russell, 1899; rpt . 1967), pp. 231-32.
9 J. Shick, ed. , Lydgate's Temple of Glas. Early English Text
Society (OxfordI Oxford University Press, 1891; rpt. 1924),
p. cxxi .
^^ Shick, p. cxx i i .
J, A* W. Bennett, ed, . Selections from John Gower, Clarendon
and Medieval Tudor Series, (Oxfordi Clarendon Press, 1967), p. I65.
^2 Wimsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets, p. 58.
13 Norton-Smith, pp. 16-17.
^^ Wimsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets, p. 721.
15 Ernest Hoepffner, ed. , Oeuvres de Guillatime de Machaut, II
(Paris t Librairie de Ftrmin-Didot, 1911), p. 39.
^^ Wimsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets, p, 104*
^^ Clemen, p, 170,
^^ Robbins, p, 317.
20 19 Ibid.
^^ Clemen, pp. 180-1B3,
^^ Ib id . , p. 183.
22 ^ I b i d . , p. 8.
^^ Ib id . , p. 183.
CHAPTEP II
THE COMPLAINT OF SOCIAL PROTEST
Modern scholars confine the ir studies of complaint either to
the love complaint or t o the complaint of soc ia l protest . The main
thrust of recent scholarship has been in the direct ion of the l a t t e r ,
the kind of complaint which f a l l s somewhere between homily and s a t i r e .
This kind of complaint in the nineteenth century was considered under
the heading of "complaint and s a t i r e . " The phrase "complaint and
s a t i r e " was f i r s t used by Thomas Wright in his preface to an early
ed i t ion of P o l i t i c a l Songs, and under that heading J. E. Wells
describes "writing that deal with contemporary d i s t r e s s e s , abuses, or 2
i l l conduct, with an ultimate object of correct ion." In Literature
and Pulpit in Medieval England. Owst uses the same phrase t o describe
vernacular v e r s e - s a t i r e which has i t s origins in medieval preaching.
John Peter attempted t o d is t inguish between s a t i r e and complaint
and defined complaint as "the vast medieval l i t era ture of reproof that
ranges from comprehensive works l i k e Handlyng Synne down to l y r i c s 4
and epigrams a few l i n e s long." As a resu l t of t h i s work, scholars
in the l a s t decade have focused their attent ion on the complaint of
reproof in order to es tabl i sh the character i s t ics of the genre.
Bach writer has contributed a de f in i t ion of complaint. Thomas
Kinney, in "The Temper of Fourteenth Century Verse of Complaint,"
def ines complaint as "a body of verses which lament the generalized
ev i l s of the time, or attack or cr i t i c i z e occupations, c lasses .
Inst i tut ions, and practices of the time, and which have a certain
21
22
temper. I consider this body of verse a 'kind' of l i terature since
i t arose in the vernacular in the thirteenth century, developed and
became fixed in the fourteenth, persisted briefly into the fifteenth
to become assimilated in other l i terary forms, or disappeared from
l i terary view to survive in le t ters to the editor, and other mani
festations of popular att i tudes." Morton Bloomfield defines com
plaint as ''a favorite form of medieval satire based largely on the
contempt of the world theme, which, in i t s particular early mani
festat ion, i s of Christian and monastic origin. At i t s most charac
t e r i s t i c , the complaint l i s t s the sorrows and sufferings of l i f e and
either direct ly or indirectly argues for the repudiation of the world
and the acceptance of the next world as the only rea l i ty ." Thomas
El l io t t would expand Bloomfield's definition to include "the many
complaints, especially from the fourteenth century, which seem to ca l l 7
rather ins is tent ly for social reform here and now."
The study of the complaint of social protest has illuminated
the characteristics of this type of l i terature in discovering the
method of complaint, i t s themes and motifs, i t s tone and imagery,
i t s history and antecedents, and the social and aesthetic influences
complaint has been subject to . In his study of complaint and sat ire ,
John Peter notes that rather than being r e a l i s t i c or specific as
sat ire often i s , complaint i s general, abstract, and tends to be
a l legor ica l . Complaint, he says, finds i t s ethical and moral stand
ards in Christianity; therefore, the writer of complaint suppresses
any personal ideas or att i tudes. The result is the Impersonal nature
of complaint and the re lat ive ly restricted tone which i s "always sober
23
8 and reasonable, if occasionally severe." The complaint writer.
continues Peter, is vague in his attack and his interest lies chiefly
in the abuse. The object of complaint is reform. Because the attack
excludes no one and is often harsh, the usual reaction to complaint Q y
i s one of resentment.
Owst notes the difference between the earlier poetry and the
sa t i r i ca l poetry of the medieval period. He finds that the medieval
poetry lacks the c lass ica l tradition and niceties of the Latin
poetry and the "sentiments of gay Romance and Feudal pride" of the
troubadours. Their audience is intended to be the entire populace,
not a particular c lass . The poetry lacks a spir i t of fun and delight
and contains notes of solemn indignation, bitterness and pessimism.
Owst finds that the poetry is concerned with vengeance and presents
a somber perspective of society.
Kinney's careful analysis of the emotion of complaint finds a
development in the verse of complaint from lamentation to stronger
emotions. He writes, "The emergence of bitterness, frustration,
opresslon, and tension Ijnply a fundamental change of viewpoint about
the nature of e v i l . Lamentation, despair, and resignation suggest
that evi l i s the immanent nature of the world? the world Is the way
i t i s and cannot be changed. Bitterness, and the angry emotions
associated with i t , imply that man causes ev i l , that man hljnself
commits sins that could be avoided. When this implication i s made,
i t becomes possible for the verse of complaint to point out ev i l s
and cal l for their regeneration. This change indicates a conscious
ness on the part of the poet that he can assume the position of a
24
c r i t i c * Kinney finds that with the increasing number and speci
f i c i t y of complaints, the tone changes to one of denunciation!
"Associated with denunciation are invective, anger, and even ranting.
There is l e s s lamentation, despair, and resignation; bitterness i s
found, along with sarcasm, disgust and contempt." Finally a third
important attitude of complaint i s that of the objective c r i t i c .
Kinney writes that "this temper is more composed, less given to
despair and anger, more posit ive in i t s correctiveness, less moral-12
I s t i c . Kinney's summary statement of the temper of complaint
confirms the general concept of the complaint of social protesti
"So much for the temper of the verse of complaint, composed of emotions
of despair, resignation, nostalgia, bitterness, anger, frustration
and indignation; the temper is rarely humorous or ironic, but i t i s
sometimes vicious, snarling and nasty, denunciatory, ranting and
Thomas J. Keller, in his study of a type of complaint which he
c a l l s the Complaint Against the Times, says the chief characteristic
of a complaint i s that i t i s general and, as a result contains certain
recurring conventions. These include the metaphors of the diseased
body, the ship of s tate , and the unweeded garden. Keller finds that
personification is an essential device of complaint and that the type
of personification is often the key to the theme of the complaint.
In the Complaint against the Times, for example, the controlling
image i s the metaphor of vice triumphant in the world. Three varia
t ions of this metaphor are found in the Co.-nplalnt against the Times i
"The sins triumph as the Last Days near or as the Golden Age recedes
25
(or the good old days vanish); the sins triumph in a world upside
down; and they triumph not only in the whole world but also in spe
c i f i c places; Poitou, for example; Aragon, Asia, France. Often these
motifs are combined." In other types of complaint, the triumph of
v ice , although not a controlling image, i s often a motif, Keller 14
adds. Keller summarizes the vocabulary of complaint which employs
the metaphor of vice triumphanti "Virtues are exiled. Vices rule .
Virtues become cold; vices pretend to be virtues or are thought
virtues . Vices are associated, or are related. Virtues too rule in
some poems, but the poems are ironic. Such are the principal meta-15
phors of complaint in which the topoi of vices triumphant appear."
The impersonal nature and general character of complaint have
been subject to various explanations. For Moore, the author of the
poetry of sat ire and protest ref lects the attitudes and opinions of
his audience! 'The popular poet i s rarely more than the shaping
agent through which the mass mind expresses i t s inclinations.
Emotion is commonly implicit , as there i s not the s l ightest need for
the singer to speak an individual part; the narrative, familiar to
a l l , requires no interpretation. A minstrel, moreover, could not
safely diverge from the majority mind; the very conditions of his
employment precluded dissent from the opinions of those who maintained
him. Under such circumstances, the personal utterance is muffled,
the subjective pose rendered d i f f i c u l t . " For Kinney, furthermore,
the generality of the poetry allows the poets' audience to re late his
own grievance to those being described by the poet. He writes that
"the conplalnt rouuced the detai ls of the many r e a l - l i f e incidents of
26
injust ice and oppression to generalized gestures, causing each
l i s tener to identify and to recognize his own personal conplalnt
in the general, and giving him an explanation of ev i l , i t s cause and
J-7 ef fect , and of his own misery."^ The cause of this generality i s
a lso seen as an aspect of the medieval poet's mode of perception.
Keller writes, "But the ar t i s t i c cause of the generalness of these
poems i s rather to be sought in that mode of thought which, especially 18
in the l a t e Middle Ages, detects universals in the particular. . . . "
Complaint i s concerned with a variety of subjects. The moral
themes of complaint include a concern with fundamental ideas such
as the Fall of Man, his expulsion from Paradise, man's gross physical
and depraved moral nature, the dread of the pain of death and the
revulsion of physical decay, the evi ls of the times, and earthly and
heavenly retribution; an attack on professions such as the clergy,
lawyers, judges, usurers, merchants, doctors, beggars, and prosti
tutes; an attack on types of sinners such as women, misers, profl igates,
newly r ich, the rich generally, backbiters, disobedient children,
a the i s t s , and nationalit ies such as Jews, Lombards, and the French;
and f ina l ly , attacks on abuses such as swearing, the use of cosmetics,
19 finery in dress, dancing, and forced marriages. In addition, the
characteristic attitude toward the past in complaint i s one of nos-
20 t a l g i a . There are also many parallel themes found in the contemporary sermons, and th i s fact has been cited by Owst ais evidence that
the clergy was chiefly responsible for the writing of vernacular
. X 2 1 complaint.
The influence of Christianity generally on complaint i s
27
considerable. The origin of complaint might very well, as Peter
suggests, lie in attempts of early writers, such as Jerome, to adapt
classical satire to the precepts of Christianity. A Christian could
not justify personal attacks; therefore, satirists tried to confine
their reproofs to an attack on vice in general. Gradually, the
complaint began to displace satire until, in the de contemptu mundi
writings of the twelfth century, "complaint achieves a final Inde-
22 pendence and status of its own.
According to Elliott, the de contemptu writings can be con
sidered the first stage in the development of the medieval complaint.
De contemptu mundi writings typically catalogue the evils of the world
and hold that justice can be obtained only in the next world.
Complaint has in common with these writings the monologue form and
the fact that both base their criticisms of the world on Christian
values. Complaint differs from these writings in that complaint is 23
concerned with justice in the present material world, Elliott says.
A second stage of development of complaint, Elliott finds, is
24 the Middle English lyric complaint. These songs on the evils of the
time are thought to be the products of an emerging social class.
Moore describes how "in England, the beginnings of vernacular complaint
are coeval with the rise of a vigourous and intelligent laboring
class—tenant farmer and skilled craftsman, sturdy types jealous of
their liberties and increasingly aware of their Importance to the
25 realm. The Middle English lyric complaint is related to the
gjrventes of the troubadours. The slrventes is a **lyrlc poem similar
in form to the canso but differing from it in content, in that it
28
excluded love and sentiment and dealt with the evi ls of the age, the
oppression of the nobles, the decay of morals, the immorality of
26 churchmen and so forth." An interesting point about the slrventes,
relevant to Chaucer's concept of the complaint, i s that the slrventes
"probably owes i t s name to i t s being originally composed by a servant—
a jongleur, for instance—for the benefit of his master, or in his 27
honour." This relationship is implicit in the complaint, Lak of
Steadfastness, and is an allegoresls or conceit in many of Chaucer's
intercalated complaints.
E l l io t t sa3rs that in the third stage in the development of the
complaint, a narrative structure i s provided for the complaint mono
logue. The complaint, at this point, i s found to be a part of a 28
dream-vision, a debet, or an allegory. It has been seen that this
stage of development takes place in the love complaint as well. It
i s possible that the ethical base or social context for each type of
complaint was undergoing change; and that the complaint thus needed
a nstrratlve structure to explain the value system reflected in the
complaint monologue.
An examination of Chaucer's single extant complaint of social
protest, Lak of Stedfastness. i s useful in summarizing the charac
t e r i s t i c s of th i s type of complaint. The analysis i s included here
a lso because i t i s the only one of Chaucer's lyr ic complaints to be
dealt with in this study. It i s included only because i t i s such a
typical example of the complaint of social protest.
Lak of Stedfastness i s general and abstract in i t s protestations.
Its attitude towird the past i s typically nostalgic 1
29
Soratyme the world was so stedfast and stable ^g
That mannes word was obllgacloun. ( l -2 )
This suggestion of a Golden Age is contrasted with the wicked present.
The motif of the world upside down is employedi
But now i t i s so fals and decelvable That word and deed, as in conclusloun, Ben nothing l ike , for turned up-so-doun Is al this world for mede and wilfulnesse. (3*7)
The third stanza employs personification and the vocabulary of the
Complaint against the Timesi
Trouthe is ^ t doun, resoun is holden fable; Vertu hath now no dcwilnacioun;
• Pitee exyled, no man is merclable; Through covetyse i s blent dlscrecioun. The world hath mad a permutacioun Fro right to wrong, fro trouthe to fikelnesse. That ai i s los t for lak of stedfastnesse. (15-21)
The "Lenvoy to King Richard" establishes the serious intent of the
31 complaint. The lenvoy i s essential ly moral exhortation. The poet
uses the imperative mode*
0 prince, desyre to be honourable. Cherish thy folk and hate extorcioun! Suffre nothing that may be reprevable To thyn estat don in thy regloun. Shew forth thy swerd of castlgacioun, Dred God, do law, love trouthe and worthlnesse.
And wed thy folk agein to stedfastnesse. (22-28)
If one may determine the specific subject of complaint by
observing what vices are triumphant and what virtues may be in ex i l e ,
then one can say that Chaucer's complaint i s against meed as a more
l ike ly method of advancement than merit. In the f i r s t stanza he
s tates that *^ede" is the cause of the world's being turned upside
down. In the second stanza, Chaucer finds that the abi l i ty to ad
vance by secret agreement is valued for "a man is holds unable,/ But
30
i f he can, by som co l lus ioun , / Don his neighbour wrong" (10-12).
The t h i rd stanza s t a t e s tha t covetousness is the reigning v ice .
Final ly he pleads with King Richard to hate extor t ion. Clearly the
poem does not simply beweep the general, vice-ridden s t a t e of the
kingdom.
In several places in his works, Chaucer shows an awareness of
the conventions of the complaint of social p ro tes t . He most often
uses conventions of the love complaint and conventions of the complaint
of soc ia l protes t in the same poem, which suggests e i ther tha t he
was not aware of a substantive difference or tha t he was making a
conscious effort t o fuse these apparently disparate types of com
p l a i n t .
31
Notes to Chapter II
Thomas Wright, ed. . Pol i t ical Songs of England* Camden Society
IV (London, 1839); Pol i t ical Songs and Poems Relating to English
Histarr. 2 vo l s . Roll Series, (London, 1859, 1861)*
2 John Edwin Wells, A Manual of the Writings in Middle English—
10';0-1400 (New Haven Conni Yale University Press, 1916), p. 227. 3
G. R. Owst, Literature and Pulpit in Medieval England. Rev. ed.
(New Yorki Barnes and Noble, I961) p. 210.
Peter, p. 3.
5 Thomas Kinney, "The Temper of Fourteenth Centiiry Complaint,"
Annuale Mediavale 7 (1966), p. 74*
o Morton Bloomfield, Piers Plowman as a Fourteenth Century
Apocalypse (New Brunswick, New Jersey1 Rutgers University Rress,
1961) p. 29.
" Thomas J. Elliott, "Middle English Complaints Against the
Times I To Condemn the World or Reform It?" Annuale Mediavale 14
(1974) p. 22.
Peter, p. 10.
^ Ibid., pp. 9-10.
^^ Owst, pp. 215-216*
Kinney, p. 79.
12 Ibid., p. 83.
13 Ibid*, p* 87.
1^ Joseph R. Keller, 'The Triumph of Vicei A Formal Approach to
the Medieval Complaint Against the Times," Annuale Mediavale. 10
« l
32
(19^9) 124-131.
^^ I b i d . , p. 136.
1 ^ t, Moore, pp. 89-90.
Kinney, p. P2.
18 Kel ler , p. 122-123.
19 Peter, pp. 60-103 passim.
I b i d . , p. 6ii.
21 Owst, p. 469.
^^ Peter, p. 39.
^3 Thomas J. E l l i o t t , "Complaint as a Middle English Genre 1 A
Survey of the Tradition Culminating in the School of Piers Plowman,
(Ph. D. d i s s e r t a t i o n . University of Michigan, 1970), pp. 36-45. 24
I b i d . , p. 58. 25
Moore, p. ^5»
^ Chaytor, pp. 122-123.
27 F. Br l t ta in , Medieval Latin and Romance Lyric to AD 1300.
2nd. ed. (London* Cambridge University Press, 195l)» P« 27.
^^ E l l i o t t , "Complaint as a Middle English Genre," p. 8U.
29 References t o Chaucer's works herein are t o the edit ion of
F. N. Robinson, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. 2nd. ed. (Bostoni
Houghton-Mifflin, 1957).
^^ E l l i o t t , "Complaint as a Middle English Genre," p. I69.
31 ^ Ibid.
CHAPTER I I I
COMPLAINT AND AFCSTPCFHE
A r h e t o r i c a l a n a l y s i s of the i n t e r c a l a t e d complaints In Chaucer 's
poet ry i n d i c a t e s t h a t Chaucer t r e a t s the complaint as apos t rophe .
one of t he devices of ampl i f i ca t ion descr ibed by Geoffrey of Vlnsauf
and o ther medieval r h e t o r i c i a n s . The c lose r e l a t i o n s h i p between
apost rophe and complaint i s Indicated by t he following evidencei
Geoffrey of Vlnsauf in t he Poe t r l a Nova offers as an example of
apost rophe h i s complaint on t h e death of Richard the Lion-hear ted;
t h e o ther examples of apostrophe in t he Poe t r l a f i t t he d e s c r i p t i o n
of complaint developed by John Peter and o t h e r s ; and Chaucer 's
complaints a r e c o n s i s t e n t l y developed by t h e use of t he r h e t o r i c a l
c o l o r s of apos t rophe . A comparison of complaint and apostrophe
r e q u i r e s a review of apostrophe and t he f igures of speech considered
a p p r o p r i a t e t o t he development of t h i s r h e t o r i c a l dev ice . Var.ly
de f ines apost rophe as I t was understood by medieval r h e t o r i c i a n s as
"addresses t o persons l i v i n g or dead, present or absent , t o pe r son l -1
f led a b s t r a c t i o n s , and even t o inanimate o b j e c t s . "
An apostrophe i s developed by c e r t a i n r h e t o r i c a l co lors or
ornaments. In t h e Docunentum Geoffrey desc r ibes t he four ornanents
of apos t rophe . These a r e exclamat io . condup l l ca t l o . sub. iect io . and
2
dubitatio. The •''irst, exclamatio. is defined by Parr, the editor
of the Documentum as an "exclamation, exclaiming vehemently sore
emotion or passion. An emotional outcry." Nims, the editor of the
Poetrla. defines exclamatio as "an expression of grief or indignation.
33
34
addressed to a peirson, place, or object.*^ This ornament appears to
be the figure of speech, the apostrophe, defined \jy Thrall, Hibbard,
and Holman as one in which "someone, (usually, but not always absent),
some abstract quality, or a non-existent personage is directly
addressed as thou^ present"i and, further, that "apostrophe is
chiefly associated with deep emotional expression*"^ Geoffrey
defines exclamatio as "the rhetorical color when we exclaim ftrom
sorrow or ftom other cause*" He illustrates this definition with
an examples
0 flower of Asia, powerful Troy, 0 glory which now Lies buried in ashes, where the royal child coming Prom the blood of gods fron Priam's Hecuba*^
The figure exclamatio. then, is identical with the modern figure of
speech called "apostrophe*" Because of the confusion which has
resulted ftrom the replacement of the ancient term, exclamatio. by
the modern term, "apostrophe," it is necessary to differentiate the
terms* The medieval term, apostrophe, (underscored in this paper)
indicates a somewhat extended monologue which interrupts the narrative
of a poem and is.developed basically by means of the ornaments of
subiectio* condunlicatio* dubitatio. and exclamatio* The term
apostrophe, not underscored, is used interchangeably with exclamatio
and is used axclusively to mean a figure of speech*
A second ornament of apostrophe is sub.lectio* defined in the
Documentum as "the color when we ask of something whether it can or
cannot be so, and afterwards we bring in the reason why it can or
cannot be so*" Geoffrey illustrates the device with a quotation
from Yponasiconi
35
0 father , 0 what are you doing? It i s God whom spurn? And how w i l l you, dusx and ashes, evade the lord? Or w i l l you f l ee? But he dwells everywhere.
Will you deceive himt But he holds as the same in knowledge what was,
What i s , and what w i l l be.^
Sub.iectlo i s defined a l so as "self-answerj in which one de l iberate ly
responds t o one's own questions; ant ic ipat ing and answering objec-
t l ons of an adversary in order to demolish h is case" and as "a
question or s e r i e s of questions put to an adversary with answers 9
subjoined that destroy h is case ."
Condupllcatlo i s defined as "word repe t i t ionj repe t i t i on of a
word or of several words for emphasis or for the evocation of 10
emotion" and as •'repetition of one or more words for amplif ica-11
t i o n or p i t y . " Geoffrey defines condupllcatlo as the rhetor ica l
color when we repeat the same word; t h i s occurs for various reasonsi
sometimes fron sorrow, sometimes from love , sometimes from indigna
t i o n . " He I l l u s t r a t e s from Virgi l i
S i s t e r Anna, what things t e r r i f y me suspended in s l e e p . S i s t e r Anna?^2
Dubitat io . according t o Geoffrey, "occurs when we do not know
which of two or more things we wish t o speak about." He i l l u s t r a t e s
as fo l l ows !
You who bring t o me, Ch man . . . By what name I should c a l l you, I know not.
Parr def ines dubi ta t io as "hesitat ioni expressing uncertainty or
doubt about a point that could be e i ther affirmed or denied. Se l f
de l ibera t ion . The expression of uncertainty about the choice of word
or phrase." According to Nims, dubi tat io i s an "expression of
36 15
uncertainty as to which of two or more words is most suitable."
John of Garland Includes a f i f th rhetorical color, interuretatlo
or "repeating an idea by using different words which have the same 16
s igni f icat ion ." Interpretatio can take several different forms.
Among these are similltudo or simile, ex em plum or exaunple, and
concluslo or a short summary. Most rhetoricians l i s t interpretatio
as a device of amplification rather than as a rhetorical color since 17
i t i s a fa ir ly broad term. Familiarity with these rhetorical terms
i s necessary in an analysis of the examples of apostrophe in the
Poetrla as well as in an analysis of the Chaucerian complaint.
One of Geoffrey de Vlnsauf's examples of apostrophe in the
Poetrla i s his lament on the death of King Richard the Lion-hearted.
This lament was well-known in Chaucer's time. Karl Young's inves
t igations indicate that in the 15th century Geoffrey's lament was
available not only in the Poetrla. but also in separate manuscripts
and anthologies. The frequent appearance of this lament in the IB
manuscripts indicates i t s popularity in medieval times. Chaucer's
familiarity with the lament is known from his reference to the poem
and i t s author in the J^n's Priest Talet
0 Gaufred, deere malster soverayn. That whan thy worthy kyng Richard was slayn
With shot, compleyndest his deeth score. (33^7-33^9)
The significance of this passage to the argument for the re lat ion
ship of complaint and apostrophe i s that Chaucer refers to Geoffrey
de Vlnsauf's poem as a complaint and Geoffrey de Vlnsauf uses the
sane poem as an example of apostrophe.
Scholars ir th is century have recognized the relationship of
37
complaint and apostrophe. Faral in his critique of the Poetrla
Nova says of the lament on the death of Richard that of Geoffrey's
examples of apostrophe "le plus important de beaucoup est la complaint
sur la mort du roi Richard, en raison du vaste champ offert par la
l i t terature a I'application du precede qu' i l i l lustre."^ Payne in
Key of Remembrance writes of the lyric complaint 1 'The complaint,
for example, i s only an apostrophe dislocated from i t s circumstances,
and Geoffrey recognizes i t / the complaint7 as such by ci t ing i t as
an example of the device /apostrophe7."
The complaint on Richard's death is s t y l i s t i c a l l y interesting.
It consists chiefly of a series of passages of exclamatio. The poem
begins with a passage of exclamatiot
Once defended by King Richard's shield, now undefended, 0 England, bear witness to your woe in the gestures of sorrow.^^
This passage i s followed by a series of imperative sentences in which
England i s exhorted to demonstrate i t s grief*
Let your eyes flood with tears, and pale grief waste your features. Let writhing anguish twist
your fingers, and woe make your heart within bleed.(370-372)
The section addressed to England concludes with an attempt to point
up the universality inherent in Richard's death 1
Your whole being dies in his death? the death was not his but yours. Death's r i se was not in
one place only but general. (373-375)
This i s followed by a passage of exclamatio addressed to the day on
which Richard was wounded 1 0 tearful day of Venus! 0 bit ter star! (37^-37^)
This section develops mainly by the use of antithesis and i s followed
38
by a third passage of exclamatio. Here the nurderer is addressed.
The passage i s developed by means of rhetorical questions and also
makes considerable use of condupllcatlo. word repetit ion.
0 soldier, why, treacherous soldier, soldier of treachery, shame of the world and sole dishonour of warfarei 0 soldier, his own army's creature, why did you dare this against him? Why did you dare this crime, this hideous crime. (382-386)
The next section begins with exclamatio addressed to death and
contains considerable condupllcatlo alsoi
0 sorrow! 0 greater than sorrow! 0 death! 0 truculent death! Would you were dead,
0 death! (3 86-387)
This passage i s developed by the use of sub.iectlo. Questions are
addressed to death and answers immediately followi Do you real ize whom you snatched fron us? To our eyes he was light? to our ears, melody; to our minds an amazement. Do you real ize , impious death, whom you snatched from us? He was the lord of warrlours, glory of kings, the delight of the world. (289-293)
A passage of exclamatio addressed to Nature begins the next
section and Is developed by means of ratiocinatlo or reasoning by
question and answer. Such a passage addressed to feture is a
familiar convention of complaint.
And Nature, of you I complain? for were you not, when the world was s t i l l young, when you lay new-born in your cradle, giving zealous attention to him? . . . Why did such strenuous effort bring this wonder into the world, i f so short an hour s to le
the pride of that effort away? (396-402)
The complaint concludes with a section chiding God. This
f inal section be.:'ins with exclamatio and rhetorical questions.
39
0 God, most excellent of beings, why do you fail in your nature here? Why, as an enemy, do you strike down a firiend? (4l2-4llf)
The complaint concludes with sententia. a maxim or general observa
tion!
But by this lesson you have made us know how brief is the laughter of earth, how long are its tears. (^29-^31)
Geoffrey's complaint on the death of Richard demonstrates not only
the use of the rhetorical colors of apostrophe, but other conventional
elements as well. One of these is the portion addressed to Nature*
J. A* V. Bennett notes that complaints against nature are conventional
22 and date back to the fourth century. A second conventional element
is the portion of the complaint in which God is reproached. Several
of Chaucer's complaints employ this convention.
Chaucer parodies the dramatic style of Geoffrey's complaint
in the !^n*s Priest's Tale. Chaucer's apostrophe, which interrupts
the narrative of the tale, consists of successive passages of
exclamatio as does the lament on Richard's death.
0 destinee, that mayst nat been eschewed! Alias, that Chautecleer fleigh fto the hemes! Alias, his wyf ne roghte nat of dremes! And on a Friday fil al this meschaunce.
0 Venus, that art goddesse of plesaunce, Syn that thy servant was this Chauntecleer, And in thy servyce dide al his poweer, Moore for delit than world to multiplye. Why woldestow suffre hym on thy day to dye?
0 Gaufred, deere maister soverayn. That whan thy worthy kyng Richard was slayn With shot, compleynedest his deeth so score. Why ne hadde I now thy sentence and thy locre. The Friday for to chide, as diden ye? For on a Friday, soothly, slain was he. Thanne wolde I shewe yow how that I koude pleyne For Chauntecleres drede and for his peyne. (3338-33J^*)
Much of the irony of the passage l i e s in the fact that by the time
of the wri t ing of the Nun's P r i e s t ' s Tale Chaucer had mastered the
complaint genre and had great ly excelled Geoffrey of Vlnsauf in wit
and f inesse in the writ ing of complaints.
The other examples of apostrophe in the Poetrla resemble com
p l a i n t s . In order to invest igate th i s point , i t is necessary t o
r e c a l l the descr ipt ion of the complaint of social protest developed
in the preceding chapter. As was pointed out in tha t descr ip t ion,
the complaint of socia l protes t ranges from lament to attack or
c r i t i c i s m , from homily t o s a t i r e . Complaint deals with abuses or
unacceptable behavior. I t s aim is correct ion and i t s standards are
b i b l i c a l . Complaint i s general , vague, and impersonal in i t s c r i t i
cism. The tone of complaint i s always ser ious . Complaint i s typ ica l ly
nostalgic toward the pas t . This descr ipt ion of complaint f i t s very
well the examples of apostrophe in the Poetr la . Geoffrey of Vlnsauf
shows tha t apostrophe is su i tab le for reproving "the man whose mind
soars too high in p rospe r i ty , " the boastful , presumptlous man, or the
23
timid man. He sums up his sect ion on apostrophei "Apostrophe
var ies i t s countenance thusi with the mein of a magistrate i t rebukes
vicious error? or i t languishes in tear fu l complain against a l l tha t
i s harsh; or i s roused to wrath over some great crime? or appears with
d e r i s i v e force in a t tacking buffoons." Geoffrey's summary of the
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of apostrophe has several points in common with the
descr ip t ion of the socia l complaint. The sober and reasonable tone
of ccnpl^lnt is ourr^sted in Geoffrey's statement that apostrophe
takes on the "mein of a magis t ra te . " The a b i l i t y of apostrophe to
vary i t s approach from rebuke or complaint to wrath or der is ion
suggests the var ie ty and range of complaint.
A c loser analys is of the individual apostrophes reveals other
points of comparison between apostrophe and complaint. Geoffrey's
f i r s t example of the apostrophe exhibits the general and impersonal
manner of complaint. In t h i s passage Geoffrey rebukes the over
confident , successful man. The extensive use of the imperative mode
contributes t o the Impersonal and general manner of the passagei
0 sou l , heedless of misfortune to come? Imitate Janust look to past and future? i f your venture has prospered, regard not beginnings by i s s u e s . From the sun's s e t t i n g appraise the day, not from i t s r i s i n g . To be f u l l y secure, fear the future. (280-28^)
The apostrophe concludes with sentent ia . general observations.
There i s nothing s table in things of t h i s world! a f ter honey comes poison? dark night brings the day t o a c l o s e , and clouds end calm weather. Though happily a l l man's a f fa i r s are subject t o change, misfortune i s wont to return with greater a l a c r i t y . (287-292)
Geoffrey's second and third examples of apostrophe do not vary in
tone or technique from t h i s pattern.
Only one other apostrophe i s as rhe tor ica l ly elaborate as the
complaint on Richard's death. This complaint i s designed t o warn
England in a time of prosperity against unhappier times to come.
The introduction i s developed by means of exclamatio and s i m i l e , a
form of interpretat io t
Queen of Kingdoms while King Richard l i v e s , England, whose glory spreads a f ter a mighty name, you to whom i s l e f t the world's dor.lnlon, your pos i t ion i s secure under so great a helmsran. Your king i s the mirror in which, seeing yourself .
42
you take pride; the star, with whose radiance you shine? the p i l lar , whose support gives you strength? the lightning which you send against foes; the glory by which you almost attain the height of the gods.(327-33^)
The point of the apostrophe, however, is not to celebrate Richard,
but to warn of an unhappy fate . Geoffrey c i tes examples, also a
form of interpretatio. to generalize his pointi
If you wish examples, consider the fates of your elders. The flowering prosperity of earlier times has withered awayi Minos overthrew Athens? the son of Atreus, Ilium? Scipio, the forts of Carthage? and many a man conquered Rome. Fate's game of chance was reversed in short order. Short i s the space between happy omens and sad? night i s the neighbor of day. The fates of others teach you th i s , but your own fates wil l teach you. (359-36?)
This apostrophe resembles complaint chiefly in i t s tone of fore
boding.
Chaucer consistently uses the rhetorical colors of apostrophe—
exclamatio. sublectio. condupllcatlo. dubitatio. and interpretatio—
to develop his complaints. The analysis of the Chaucerian complaints
in the following chapters wil l demonstrate Chaucer's use of these
f igures.
Not a l l apostrophes are complaints, nor do a l l complaints
necessarily take the rhetorical form of apostrophe. It is clear,
however, that Geoffrey of Vlnsauf finds apostrophe a device suited
to complaint since he offers complaint as an example of apostrophe.
His summary of the varied aspects of apostrophe includes a specific
reference to complaint. Chaucer's recognition of the relationship
between ccmrlaint arvi apostrophe i s indicated by his refcrer.ce in the
Nun's Priest 's Tale to Geoffrey of Vlnsauf's complaint on the death
43
of King Richard and, f inal ly , by his use of the rhetorical colors of
ftpostr^phe in his complaints.
Notes to Chapter III
John Matthews Manly, "Chaucer and the Rhetoricians," Chaucer
Or i t ic ism I The Canterbury Tales, eds. Richard J. Schoeck and Jerome
Taylor (Notre Damet University of Notre Dame Press, I960), pp.
279-280.
Geoffrey of Vlnsauf, Documentum de Modo et Arte Dictandi et
Versificandi, trans. Roger Ikrr, (Milwaukee, Wisconsint Marquette
University Press, 1968), p. 50.
^ Ibid. , p. 101.
Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Poetrla Nova, trans. Margaret F. Nims,
(Torontot Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1967), p« 26.
5 Thrall, Hibbard, and Holman, Handbook, p. 30.
Documentum. p. 50.
" Ibid. , p. 51-
^ Ibid. , p. 102. 9
Poetrla Nova, p. lO'i.
^ Documentum. p. 51«
^^ Ibid. , p. 103.
^2 Poetrla Nova, p. 105«
^^ Documentum. p. 51»
^^ Ibid. , p. 103.
^5 Poetrla Nova, p. IO5.
^ Documentum. p. 98.
^^ EBmond Faral, L ^ Arts Poetioues du XII^ ^ dji XIII^ Siecle
( I to i s t Librairie Honors Champion, 1958)» pp. 63-6**.
^5 18
Karl Young, "Chaucer and Geoffrey de Vlnsauf," Modern Philology
kl ( 1 9 ^ ) , 172-182.
^9 Fara l , p . 72. 20
Robert 0, Payne, Th^ Ke^ of Remembrance! A Study of Chaucer's
Poetics (New Havent Yale University Press, 1963), p . 85.
All subsequent references to Geoffrey of Vinsauf's writings
are the t r ans l a t i on of the Poetrla Nova by Margaret F. Nims. The l i n e numbers follow Faral .
22 J. A, W. Bennett, Selections from John Gpwer (Oxford 1
Clarendon Press , I968), p . 165. 23
Poetrla Nova, pp. 26-27. 24
Ib id . , p . 32.
CHAPTER IV
CHAUCER'S MAJOR COMPLAINTS
An examination of t h e s e t complaints of Mars and Anelida and of
t h e t e n major i n t e r c a l a t e d complaints of Chaucer 's works r e v e a l s t h a t
c e r t a i n elements r ecu r in each complaint . One of t h e s e i s Chaucer 's
h a b i t of p l a i n l y l a b e l i n g a complaint as a "compla in t . " All of t h e
complaints considered in t h i s chapter a r e labe led "complaints" e i t h e r
in t h e l i n e s in t roduc ing t h e complaint or in the beginning l i n e s of
t h e complaint i t s e l f .
EJach complaint , fur thermore, i s exc lus ive ly an emotional appeal
i n v a r i a b l y meant t o evoke p i t y . The purpose of a complaint i s t o
move someone t o t a k e some a c t i o n or t o respond in some p o s i t i v e way
t o t h e complainant . The complaint i s most often an element in t h e
romantic t a l e s which con ta in the g e n t l e folk l i k e l y t o be moved by
p a t h o s . Complaints a r e not found in t he f ab l i aux . Although in t he
Merchant 's T a l e . Damyan i s r epor ted t o have wr i t t en a **bll l ," t he
t e x t of i t i s not g iven. The complaints considered in t h i s chapter
a r e from t h e Book of t h e Duchess, t he House of Fame, the Knight ' s
T a l e . T r o i l u s and Cr iseyde . t h e F r a n k l i n ' s Ta le , t he Complaint of Mars,
and Anelida and A r c l t e .
In Chaucerian complaint cons ide rab le a t t e n t i o n i s f requent ly
given t o an a n a l y s i s of t h e causes of t he sorrow suffered by t he
complainant . The causes of t h e compla inant ' s su f f e r ing a r e often
found in fundamental a spec t s of n a t u r e . Anelida and Dido, for example,
f ind t h e cause of t h e i r s u f f e r i n g t o be a l l men's I n a b i l i t y t o be
k6
47
faithful in love. Analysis of the cause of suffering is apparently
necessary to establish the legitimacy of the complaint. A complainant
can log ica l ly complain only when he loses control of events and must
turn for assistance to some other person or to a god. The complaint,
therfore, must be addressed to some being who is able to influence
events. A lover i s l ikely to complain to his mistress or Venus or
Nature, who has decreed that man must love. Several of Chaucer's
complaints refer expl ic i t ly to the problem of address which is
intimately associated with determining the cause of the suffering.
It i s a l so necessary for the complainant to establish his own inno
cence in the complaint. • Anelida i s thus at pains to establish her
innocencej or Troilus endeavors to be recognized as a worthy servant
of Love. Undeserved and gui l t l ess suffering is the very essence of
pathos.
In most complaints a passage of generalization, usually of a
philosophical nature, occurs. These passages often deal with funda
mental ideas about the nature of man; and sometimes attack abuses
and types of sinners. Dido, for example, attacks men for deceptions
practiced against women. Arclte, in the Knight's Tale, generalizes
on the tendency of men to f a i l to know their own weal. In these
passages of generalization, the cr i t i ca l bent of the complaint of
soc ia l protest can be detected. The typical Chaucerian complaint
moves from a description of the specif ic situation of the complainant
to related considerations of a more universal character. In those
complaints in which such generalization i s absent or l ess substantial,
certain other rhetorical devices perform the function of demonstrating
k8
the un iversa l i t y of the complainant's p l i gh t .
Sources of the Imagery of Chaucerian complaint f a l l into three
c l a s s e s . The imagery of courtly love abounds in the love complaints.
These conventions are familiar and need no particular consideration.
Another c l a s s of f igures derives from the medieval concept of Fortune
and her wheel. This De Caslbjs imagery i s c l o s e l y associated with
the raison d 'e tre of complaint, t o evoke p i ty . This imagery i s
intended t o intens i fy the descript ion of the complainant's s i tuat ion
as part i cu lar ly woeful. A third kind of Imagery re la t e s to the whole
concept of the complaint as a l ega l process. The complaint as a
" b i l l , " the mistress as a "foe," the very term "complaint," the concern
with g u i l t and cause suggest a re la t ionship between the genre of com
pla int and the procedure in a court of law.
A rhetor ica l device found with great frequency in the complaint
i s the rhe tor i ca l quest ion. This device takes three forms in medieval
r h e t o r i c , sub. iect lo. interrogat io . and r a t i o c i n a t l o . It i s seldom
necessary t o make a prec ise d i s t i n c t i o n among these . The rhetor ica l
quest ion i s a mode natural t o the bewildered complainant in Chaucer's
works who seeks some kind of philosophical context in which to under
stand h i s f a t e . Hyperbole i s another device used for the purposes of
complaint. A statement of the extremity in which the complainant
f inds himself generally takes the form of hyperbole and serves t o
e l i c i t p i t y . A minor element of s t y l e almost invariably found in
a complaint are expressions such as "alas" and "well-away."
The rhetor ica l colors of apostrophe are a l so found as elements
of complaint. Ecclamatio i s invariably found in complaint.
Sublec t io . dub i ta t io . condupllcatlo are found somewhat l e s s f r e
quently . Interpretat io appears most often in the form of s imi l e ,
exemplum, analogy, c l a s s i c a l a l l u s i o n , proverbs, and maxims. Just
as the complaint moves from the general to the part icular , s o , by
the use of the v a r i e t i e s of in terpretat io . i t moves from the abstract
t o the concrete .
An examination of the complaints themselves demonstrates Chaucer's
use of the conventions and techniques of complaint. Chaucer's concept
of the complaint changes as his poetry matures. In his early poetry
the complaint i s a l y r i c device; ult imately the complaint becomes
more r h e t o r i c a l , more profound.
The complaint of the Black Knight in the Book of the Duchess
(475-^8^) provides an example of the complaint as Chaucer found i t
in the beginning of h is career. Chaucer describes the piece as a
"complaint"!
He made of rym ten vers or twelve Of a compleynte to hymselve, $ The most p i t e e , the most routhe.
That ever I herde. (463-^66) (underscoring my own)
A few l i n e s l a t e r he describes the same eleven l i n e s as "a lay ,
a maner s o n g , / Withoute noote, withoute song" (^71-^72). Wimsatt
Suggests that Chaucer's reference t o these eleven l i n e s as a com
p l a i n t , a l a y , or a manor song although the v e r s i f i c a t i o n i s nothing
l i k e the lay or chanson, i s "indicat ive of the poet ' s uncertainty
as regards the complaint genre." It i s s i g n i f i c a n t , however, that
the poet q u a l i f i e s the descr ipt ion of the complaint as a lay or kind
of song unacccnriried by music, *Vlthoute noote, withoute song."
50
Complaint i s therefore described as something di f ferent from the lay
or the song.
Chaucer's concept of the complaint at th i s point in his career
apparently does not include elaborate rhetorical embellishment or
phi losophical or moral general izat ions . The Black Knight's complaint
i s br ie f . It begins with a perfunctory statement of the cause of
h i s sorrowi
I have of sorwe so gret won That . oy gete I never non. Now that I see my lady bryght. Which I have loved with a l my myght. Is frome ded and ys agoon. (^75-^79)
The second stanza contains the rhetor ica l device of exclamatio in
the form of an apostrophe t o Death and a rhetor ica l question. It
c o n s i s t s c h i e f l y of compliments to the lady; the conventional wish
for death and the use of hyperbole are a l so found in th i s stanza i
A l ias , deth, what ayleth the . That thou noldest have taken me. Whan thou toke my lady swete, That was so f a i r , so fresh, so f r e . So good, that men my wel se Of a l goodnesse she had no mete! (475-^87)
The rhyme scheme of t h i s complaint (aabba ccdccd) d i f f e r s from the
rhyme scheme of the r e s t of the poem, which i s in octosyl labic
coup le t s . Wimsatt suggests that t h i s interruption of the rhyme
scheme of the poem shows that Chaucer thought of the complaint as
2
a distinct entity.
In only one other complaint does Chaucer use rhyme to distin
guish the complaint from its narrative setting. In the complaint
of Anellda Chaucer uses the rhyme scheme that Machaut was apparently
51
3 attempting t o e s tab l i sh as the complaint stanza. In addition to
supplying the complaint with i t s own rhyme scheme, Chaucer seems to
be making a conscious effort t o include a l l the rhetor ica l colors
of apostrophe in t h i s poem. Anellda's complaint i s the only one which
contains several examples of a l l of the rhetorical co lors . This
complaint a l s o suggests that Anellda's pl ight i s an example of a
general condit ion of human nature. In t h i s complaint the movement
from the universal t o the particular i s somewhat spasmodic. The
complaint has many of the fau l t s of the French complaint, although
most c r i t i c s , such as Clemen, find i t somewhat superior to the French
complaint in i t s s i n c e r i t y and genuine f e e l i n g .
Anellda's complaint describes her love , her profound grief ,
and the unprovoked cruelty of Arclte . The Proem introduces the
genera l izat ion appropriate to Anellda's s i t u a t i o m that true lovers
have the most t o regre t , a general izat ion found again in the Com
pla int of Mars. Anelida complains.
For whoso trewest i s , h i t shal hlr rewe. That serveth love and doth her observaunce
Alwey t i l oon, and chaungeth for no newe. (217-219)
In the next s tanza, the f i r s t stanza of the Strophe, Anelida c i t e s
her own part icular case as an example of t h i s general izat ion!
I wot myself as wel as any wight. For I loved oon with a l rayn herte and myght. More then myself an hundred thousand s i t h e . And he ayein h i s trouthe hath me plyght
For evermore, h i s lady me to kythe. (220-222; 227-228)
Next she explains the cause of the complainti Arclte i s untrue,
although he has not been given reason to abandon her.
52
Now is he fa ls , alas! and causeles.
And of my wo he is so routheles. (229-230)
The pathos of her situation is increased as she describes her con
tinuing love and his cruel treatment of heri
%ght as him l i s t , he lauffheth at my peyne. And I ne can myn herte not restreyne.
For to love him alwey neveretheles. (23*^-236)
This contrast between Arcite's cruel treatment of her and Anellda's
continuing devotion heightens the pathos of her plight.
Anelida then considers the fut i l i ty of addressing her complaint
to one who is not capable of being moved to pity. She sees that
logically, Arclte, who has spurned her cruelly, is not the one to
whom she should complain (238-239). This same logical problem of
whom to address in complaint is taken up in the Complaint of Mars
(lQl-193) and in the Complaint to Pity (^^3-^9). Cower bases an
entire complaint on this convention in the Confessio Amantis (2217-
2300). Anellda's comments in this stanza also indicate that the
point of complaint is to obtain help from some sympathetic listener.
Anellda's specific hope is for the healing of her pain. This stanza
also provides an example of the use of subject io. in which a question
is posed and then followed by an answer. Anelida concludes in the
last l ine of the preceding stanza, employing the color of dubitiatio.
"and of al this I not to whom me pleyne" (237). Her quandry is f a
ther developed I And shal I pleyne—alas! the harde stounde— Unto my foo that yaf myn herte a wounde. And yet desireth that myn harm be more? Nay, cert i s , ferther wol I never founde Non other helpe, my sores for to sounds. (238-2'*2)
53
Other examples of subiect lo occur in the s ixth stanza of the Strophei
And thenke ye that furthered by your name
To love a new, and ben untrewe? Nay! (273-27^)
and in the third stanza of the Antistrophei
And shal I preye, and weyve womanhede? Nay! rather deth than do so foul a dedel
And axe merci, g l l t l e s ,—what nede? (299-301)
Beginning with the fourth stanza of the strophe, the complaint
i s addressed to Arclte , in s p i t e of the log ica l d i f f i c u l t i e s i n
volved. The stanza begins with a passage of exclamatio. in t h i s
instance , an expression of gr ie f addressed to Arclte cast in the form
of a rhe tor i ca l quest ion. The questions give the stanza an ubi sunt
tone . Condupllcatlo. in t h i s stanza the repe t i t ion of the word
"alas" for the purpose of evoking p i ty , i s a l so foundt
Alas! wher i s become your gent11esse, Youre wordes ful of pleasaunce and humblesse, Youre observaunces in so low manere. Any your awayting and your besynesse Upon me, that ye calden your maistresse . Your sovereyne lady in t h i s world here? Alas! i s ther now nother word ne chere Ye vouchen sauf upon my hevynesse? Alas! youre love , I bye h i t a l to dere. (2^7-255)
The f i f t h stanza of the Strophe touches on the subject of the
cause of Anellda's d i s t r e s s . Anelida s t re s se s the fact that she i s
innocent and that her behavior has been above reproach. She has
shown Arclte l e t t e r s which she has received from admirers and has
devoted herse l f t o pleasing him. It i s Arclte who i s the cause of
her suffer ingI
Now, c e r t i s , swete, thogh that ye Thus causeles the cause by Of iry i ed ly adversyte. Your m inly resoun oghte h i t t o r e s p i t e .
5^
To slen your frend, and namely me. That never yet in no degre Offended yow, as wisly he. That al wot, out of wo my soule quyte! (256-263)
The Antistrophe begins with the ornament of dubltatioi
Lo! herte myn, al this is for to seyne. As whether shal I preye or elles pleyne? Which is the wey to doon yow to be trewe? For either mot I have yow in my cheyne. Or with the deth ye mote doparte us tweyne. (281-285)
The comparisons that Anelida makes take the form of similes,
a form of interpretatio. She suggests that
I myghte as wel holde Aperill fro reyn.
As holde you, (309-310)
that man's love is as rel iable "as in a tempest is a roten mast"
(31^), and that man's truth is l ike a tame beast that runs in fear.
In describing her sorrow, she says,
I fare as doth the song of Chaunt-pleure. (320)
Finally she says.
But as the swan, I have herd seyd ful yore, Ayeins his deth shal singen his penaunce.
So singe I here my destinee or chaunce. (3^6-3^8)
Anelida uses hyperbole in describing the depths of her despair 1
I am so maysed that I deye. (322) and
For in th i s world nis creature Wakynge, in more discomfiture Then I, ne more sorowe endure. (325-32?)
Anelida addresses a portion of her complaint to a being other
than Arclte. She apostrophizes God and, in rhetorical questions
addressed to God, ponders the quality of man's truth 1
55
Almyghty God, of trouthe sovereyn,
Wher is the trouthe of man? Who hath hit slayn? (311-312)
In later cofnplaints passages such as these are extended and tend to
delve into philosophical matters with more scrutiny.
In the complaint of Anelida Chaucer succeeds in stimulating
pity or sorrow in i t s readers. For this reason at least cr i t i c s
generally have found Anellda to be a successful poem. Legouis speaks
of Anellda's "sincere effusions" and writes that the "sustained
pathos of the complaint of Anellda was never repeated in Chaucer's
lyr ica l work." Tupper adds, "Our poem r i ses far above the conven
t ional complaint in i t s l e i t motif—a dist inct ive situation, concrete
and personal, unfolded with an abiding sense of real i ty and in the
glow of righteous indignation." In the same vein, Clemen writes
that in Anelida and Arclte Chaucer i s ''bringing a more personal note
7
into the 'complaint' than was inherent in that lyric genre." Per
haps the success of the Anellda i s that i t i s not s t r i c t l y a lyric
complaint. Although the poem uses an elaborate rhyme as in lyric
complaints, unlike the usual lyric i t uses many of the rhetorical
conventions. Both the rhyme scheme and the rhetoric, however, con
tribute to the lack of unity and coherence of the poem. The poem's
narrative set t ing contributes to the complaint's artful realism and
the more personal involvement of the complainant noted by some
scholars.
Unlike the complaint of Anellda and the complaint of the Black
Knight, Dido's complaint in the House of Fame is not set off by rhyme.
Nor does l ido 's cc^.plaint contain as many rhetorical ornaments as
56
Anellda's complaint. The salient element of this complaint is Dido's
attack on the faithlessness of men. Dido's complaint has been said o
to be "a novel Indictment of the integrity of men," although Dido's
charges concerning the truth of men are very l ike Anellda's obser
vations on the same subject. In Dido's complaint, however, the subject
of the faithlessness of men is developed more thoroughly than in
Anellda's complaint.
Dido begins her complaint with the conventional exclamation
of grief and, thereupon, launches into a lament on the Inconstancy
of a l l men. Her general observations on this subject begin with a
rhetorical question. The repetition of the word "alias" is an ex
ample of condupllcatloI
Alias! quod she, what me ys woo! Alias! i s every man thus trewe. That every yer wolde have a newe, Yf hit so longe tyme dure. Or e l l e s three, peraventure? As thust of oon he wolde have fame In magnyfylnge of hys name; Another for frendshlppe, seyth he; And yet ther shal the thrldde be That shal be take for delyt . Loo, or for synguler profit . (300-310)
Dido's analysis of the fickleness of men a l l i e s this complaint to
complaint of social protest. In the preceding passage. Dido's
target i s not the one man who has abandoned her, but a l l men. In
the next section of the complaint, however. Dido turns her attention
to her individual case, which is an example of the general condition
she i s describing in the preceding l i n e s .
The next section of the complaint i s addressed to Aeneas. From
th i s point unti l the complaint takes up the subject of fane, in l ine
57
3 *9, the poem is addressed in the second person to Aeneas. In this
section Dido appeals to Aeneas' sense of pity with expressions of
grief and references to her death. These appeals take the form of
exclamatio and condupllcatiot
Alias! quod she, my swete herte. Have pitee on my sorwes smerte. And s lee mee not! goo noght awey! 0 woful Dido, wel-away!
0 Eneas, what wol ye doo? 0 that your love, ne your bond That ye have sworn with your ryght hond, Ne my crewel deth, quod she May holde you s t l l l e here with me! 0 haveth of my deth pitee! (315-325)
This passage is essential ly an overt appeal for pity.
Dido protests her innocence in the next section. That she suffers
although she i s gui l t l ess establishes her as an object of pltyi
Iwys, my dere herte, ye Knowen ful wel that never y i t . As ferforth as I hadde wyt, Agylte I yow in thoght ne dede. (326-329)
The cause of Dido's suffering i s not subject to her influence
since i t l i e s in the treachery of men and the g u l l i b i l i t y of women
in general. Again the complaint moves from Dido's personal woe to
the universality represented by her s ituation. The explanation for
Dido's betrayal l i e s in the fact that Dido and Aeneas individually
partake of the characteristics of men and women universally. The
following l ines describe th i s general character of men and womeni
0, have ye men such godlyhede In speche, and never a del of trouthe? Alias, that ever hadde routhe Any woman on any man! Now see I wel, and t e l l e kan. We wrechched wymmen konne noon art;
58
For certeyn, for the more part. Thus we be served everychone. How sore that ye men Vonne groone, Anoon as we have yow receyved, Certaynly we ben deceyvyd! For, though your.love lasts a seson, Wayte upon the conclusyon. And eke how that ye dctermynen, And for the more part diffynen. (330-3'»^)
The next section returns to Dido's personal situation and to
the subject of the loss of her good name. This section relates the
complaint thematically to the rest of the poem. To Aeneas Dido
exclaims.
For, thorgh yow is my name lorn. And alle myn actes red and songe Over al thys lend, on every tonge. (3^6-3^8)
Dido cries out against Fame in the next section. From this point
the complaint is no longer addressed to Aeneas, who is now spoken
of in the third person, nor to Fame, also spoken of in the third
person*
0 wikke Fame! for ther nys
Nothing so swift, l o , as she i s ! (3^9-350)
The complaint concludes with Dido's observation that her reputation
has been eternally damagedi
0, soth ys , every thing ys wyst. Though hit be kevered with the myst. Eke, though I myghte duren ever.
That I have don, rekever I never. (351*35^)
The pattern of movement from the general to the specif ic and back
again i s more apparent in Dido's complaint than in the two complaints
considered heretofore. Dido's personal grief and pathetic circum
stance reveal a general truth about the nature of the relationship
between men and wc»ien.
59
Charles Muscatine describes "the extreme and awkward convention
alism of the complaint /of Dido/ in which the formality of speech
actually Incorporates the logic and diction of scholasticism." The
l ines he c i t e s as examples of this are from the philosophical general
ization found in the complaint. He adds, "What is confusing is the
essential pointlessness of the device here, where the amplification
stands in such grotesque s t y l i s t i c disharmony with i t s narrative 9
context." Perhaps the source of the confusion l i e s in Chaucer's
concept of the COTiplaint as a device which necessarily contains a
passage of serious, somewhat didactic matter of general application.
The complaint genre may well be inappropriate to the poem, but the
serious tone of Dido's speech i s not inappropriate to the complaint
genre.
A study of the Complaint of Mars contributes to an understanding
of complaint in two waysi first, as an example of complaint, the
poem reveals the characteristics of the genre and, second, the poem
sets forth certain precepts related to the writing of complaint.
The Proem opens with a consideration of the elements necessary to a
skillful complaint I
The ordre of compleynt requireth skylfully That yf a wight shal pleyne pitously, Ther mot be cause wherfore that men pleyne; Or men may deme he pleyneth folily And causeles; alas! that am not I! Wherfore the ground and cause of al my peyne; So as my troubled wit may hit atteyne, I wol reherse; not for to have redresse. But to declare my ground of hevynesse. (l55-l63)
The starra makes clear that the aim of a conplalnt is to arouse pity;
that some statei ent of cause is necessary for a convincing complaint;
60
and, f i n a l l y , tha t a complaint i s meant to a t t a i n e i ther some kind
of repara t ion or the emotional re lease that r e su l t s from gaining a
sympathetic response. Mar's purpose is the l a t t e r . Since M^rs'
sorrows stem ult imately from the inexorable movement of the p lane ts ,
no kind of redress i s possible . That Mars and his lady, Venus, a r e ,
moreover, both very powerful gods, there are few beings of superior
power from whom he can expect a id .
The next stanza i s devoted to an analysis of the cause of Mars'
complaint and suffer ing. In order to es tabl ish Mars as a pathet ic
f igure , i t i s necessary t o show tha t he i s not responsible for his
unfortunate l o t . His condition is a r e s u l t of forces beyond his
con t ro l . Mars explains t h a t , u l t imate ly , the responsible party is
whatever being i s responsible for h is creat ion and for his Inevitable
conjunction with Venust
The f i r s t tyme, a l a s ! that I was wroght, And for certeyn effectes hider broght Be him tha t lordeth ech in te l l igence ,
I yaf my trewe se rv i se . (l6'*-l67)
Mars' existence and the paths described by Mars and Venus in t he i r
revolut ions about the sun necess i ta te Mars' loving. This conjunc
t i o n , added t o the incomparable q u a l i t i e s of Venus described in the
second stanza of t h i s sect ion, make i t inevi table tha t Mars should
love Venus. Mars' descr ip t ion of his beloved consis ts of the con
vent ional pra ise of the lover for h is mistress so frequently found
in the love complaint. The f i r s t suggestion tha t t h i s complaint
w i l l vary from the usual pa t te rn of pra is ing the lady and beweeping
her "daunger" co-es in l i ne 176. Mars in te r rupts the pra ise of h is
61
lady to comment ironically on the price men pay for love although,
on first reading, the comment seems an innocuous comment on the cost
of fine clothing. Here is the first indication that the complaint
is not the conventional love complaint, but that Mars' complaint,
like Dido's, has the tone and spirit of satirical complaint, or what
is currently called the complaint of social protest. Mars begins
his praise saying.
My lady is the verrey sours and welle
Of beaute, lust, fredom, and gentilnesse. Of riche aray—how dere men hit selle!— Of al disport in which men frendly duelle. Of love and pley, and of benlgne humblesse. Of soun of instrumentes of al swetnesse. (17^-179)
Section II begins with a consideration of the convention of
addressing a love complaint to the beloved. In this case, the usual
custom of address is inappropriate since Venus is as powerless as
he in this matter and as distraught as he at the turn of events.
Mars makes this point by the use of sub.iectlo in the following lines i
To whom shal I than pleyne of my distresse? Who may roe helpe? Who may me harm redresse? Shal I compleyne unto my lady fre? Nay, certes, for she hath such hevynesse. For fere and eke for wo, that as I gesse.
In lytll tyme hit will her bane be. (191-196)
Mars does not determine a solution to this problem until the final
section of the poem.
The last two lines of the stanza provide the transition from
the specific, and personal situation lamented by Mars, to a consider
ation of the suffering of lovers generally. The following lines
refer to the individuals, V^rs and Venus, as well as to all loversi
62
Alas! that ever lovers mote endure.
For love, so many a perilous aventure! (198-199)
The many hazards of love are enumerated in the next stanza. These
hazards involve various lovers generally and are rot necessarily
difficulties suffered by Mars and Venus. They Include unrequited
love, jealousy, and gossip. In this stanza, too. Mars observes, as
does Anelida, that true lovers suffer the most painsi
For thogh so be that lovers be as trewe As any metal that is forged newe. In many a cas hem tydeth ofte sorowe. Somtyme her lady wil not on hem rewe; Somtyme, yf that j e l o s i e hyt knewe. They myghten lyght ly leye her hed to borowe; Somtyme envyous folk with tunges horowe Depraven hem; a la s ! whom may they plese?
But he be f a l s , no lover hath h i s ese . (200-208)
This portion of the complaint, with i t s Impersonal summary of the
d i f f i c u l t i e s endured by the lover , resembles the s a t i r i c a l complaint,
wherin the attack i s on the abuse, not on individuals responsible
for the abuse.
The focus of the complaint returns perhaps awkwardly t o the
s p e c i f i c case , S t i l l w e l l comments, '"Highly orig inal i s the s t y l i s
t i c prosaic and l e c t u r e - l i k e l i n e s on 'such a long sermoun.' As
or ig ina l i s the use of the god's rhetor ica l d i f f i c u l t i e s to indicate 10
the p o e t ' s emphasis." This emphasis, S t i l l w e l l b e l i e v e s , i s on the general nature of l ove . Mars says .
But what ava i le th such a long sermoun Of aventures, of love , up and doun? I wol returne and speken of my peyne. The poynt i s t h i s of my distrucciount My r ighte lady, my savacyoun. Is in affray, and not to whom t o pleyne. (20^-21^)
The f ina l stanza not only returns the focus of the complaint from the
63
general to the specific, i t also returns to the question with which
this section of the poem opened i to whom should Mars complain?
Mars turns to a consideration of the paradox of love. He
delves into this question with questions of a very general and
philosophical nature. He questions God's purpose in compelling
mankind to love when love is so unstable and so painful. Kars asks.
To what fyn made the God that s i t so hye, Benethen him, love other companye. And streyneth folk to love, malgre her hed?
What meneth this? What is this mystihed? Wherto constreyneth he his folk so faste
Thing to desyre, but hit shulde last? (2l8-220f 22'f-226)
Mars continues to consider the paradox of love through the next
stanza. This "philosophical probing of the most general possible
Import," as Sti l lwell describes this passage, is far from being
atypical of the love complaint in Chaucer's works. Such philoso
phical generalization can be considered an integral part of the
Chaucerian complaint.
Just as the complaint has moved from the particular to the
general, so the complaint then moves from the abstract to the con
crete. Mars offers the analogy of the fish's desire for the hook
which is his undoing. This analogy is a variation of the rhetorical
device of interpretatio. Mars notes. Hit semeth ^ o d j hath to lovers enmyte. And lyk a fissher, as men alday may se, Baiteth hys angls-hok with som plesaunce. (236-238)
Section IV takes up the analogy of the brooch of Thebes. This
analogy recalls his earlier consideration of the cause of his complaint.
The lover suffers frcn the necessity of having to love and from the
disagreeable nature of love. He restates these ideas in the terms
of the analogy!
But yet this broche, as in conclusloun. Was not the cause of his confusioun; But he that wroghte hit enfortuned hit so That every wight that had hit shulde have wo; And therfore in the worcher was the vice. And in the covetour that was so nyce. (257-262)
The universal principle discovered in the analogy is explicitly Mars'
particular cases
So fareth hyt by lovers and by me; For thogh my lady have so gret beaute That I was mad til I had gete her grace. She was not cause of myn adversite. But he that wroghte her . . . . (263-267)
Mars identifies the recipients of his complaint in the final
section of the poem. In successive stanzas Mars apostrophizes knii^ts,
ladies, and all lovers. Mars makes clear that the purpose of the
complaint is to elicit pity. The first stanza is addressed to
knights t
But to yow, hardy knyghts of renoun, Syn that ye be of my divisioun, Al be I not worthy to so gret a name. Yet, seyn these clerkes, 1 am your patroun; Therfore ye oghte have som compassioun Of my disese, and take it not a-game The proudest of yow may be mad ful tame; Wherfore I prey yow, of your gentilesse. That ye compleyne for myn hevynesse. (272-280)
Mars requests the same compassion from the ladies on behalf of Venus t
And ys, my ladyes, that ben true and stable. By wsy of kynde, ye oughten to be able To have pits of folk that be in peyne. (281-283)
And finally all lovers should pity Venus, their patronesst
Compleyneth eke, ye lovers, al in-fere. For hwr that with unfeyned humble chere
65
Was evere redy to do yow socour. (290-292)
The multiple apostrophe broadens the application of the generaliza
t ions on love found in the complaint. Mars concludes his complaint
by returning to the universal aspect of his subject.
The complaints of the Knight's Tale provide two more examples
of lovers whose complaints conbine conventions of the love complaint
with philosophical scrutiny of the human condition. The f i r s t of the
complaints of the Knight's Tale i s that of Arclte. His complaint
begins after his friend Perotheus has convinced Theseus to give
Arclte his freedom. Arclte then laments his fate because he prefers
prison to ex i le from the presence of Emily. The complaint opens with
the conventional exclamation of grief*
Alias that day that I was born! Now i s my prlsoun worse than bifom; Now i s me shape eternally to dwelle. Noght in purgatorie, but in he l l e . Alias, that evere knew I Perotheus! (1223-122?)
He complains in the manner of the typical courtly lover,
Oonly the sighte of hire whom that I serve. Though that 1 nevere hlr grace may deserve, Wolde han suffised right ynough for me. (1231-1233)
Addressing Palamon, Arclte argues that Palamon's situation is more
deslreable than his own. The ornaments of sub.iectlo and exclamatio
occur in th i s passage*
0 deere cosyn Palamon, quod he, Thyn i s the victorie of this aventure. Ful b l i s fu l ly in prison maistow dure,— In prison? certes nay, but in paradys! (123^-1237)
Arclte BT'^.i^^ thnt "bocause of the charc^eable rature of Fortune, as
long as Falanon renair.s in Sinily's v ic in i ty , he may hope to win her.
66
In hyperbolic terms he states the hopelessness of his own cases
That ther nys erthe, water, fir, ne eir, Ne creature that of hem maked is. That may me helpe or doon confort in this, Wel oughte, I sterve in wanhope and distresse. (1246-12 * 9)
At this point the complaint becomes reflective and philosophical.
The complaint moves from Arcite's personal suffering to a general
statement on the tendency of all men to pray in ignorance of their
own good. The theme of this section of the complaint is stated in an
introductory rhetorical question!
Alias, why pleynen folk so in commune On purveiaunce of God, or of Fortune, That yeveth hem ful ofte in many a gyse Wel bettre than they kan hemself devyse? (1251-125'^)
The idea that man does not often pray in his own best interest is
developed in the following passage with examples of a very general
scrtt
Som man desireth for to han richesse. That cause is of his mordre or greet siknesse; And som man wolde out of his prlsoun fayn. That in his hous is of his meynee slayn. (1255-1258)
(underscoring mine)
Mars in his complaint uses the same kind of general examples of the
problems lovers encounter. Mars complains that "somtvme her lady
wil no on hem rewe," for example.
The analogy that follows makes the matter more concrete. Man
in ignorance of his weal is compared to a drunk mam
Ve witen nat what thing we preyen heeret Ve faren as he that dronke is as a mous. A dronke man woot well he hath an hous. But he noot which the righte wey is thider. And to a dronke man the wey is slider. • (1260-1264)
After illustrating the abstract idea with the more concrete image.
(>7
Arc l t e r e t u r n s the focus of h i s complaint t o h i s spec i f i c case i
Thus may we seyen a l l e , and namely I , That wende and hadde a gree t opinloun That i f I myghte escapen from pr l soun. Than hadde I been in joye and p e r f l t hee l e , Ther now I am exi led from my wele. (l26«-1272)
I r o n i c a l l y , Arc l te does not l ea rn from h i s own experience or
from h i s own p r e c e p t s , s ince he i s now unable t o accept the fac t of
h i s e x i l e . Addressing t he c los ing of t h e complaint t o Qnily, he
concludes with an hyperbol ic s ta tement i
Syn t h a t I may nat seen you, Einelye,
I nam but deed; t h e r nys no remedye. (1273-127^)
The second complaint in t he Knight ' s Ta le , t h a t of Plalamon,
fol lows immediately a f t e r A r c i t e ' s complaint . The same movement
from s p e c i f i c t o general and from a b s t r a c t t o concre te i s d i sce rnab le
in t h i s compla in t . The complaint i s addressed t o Arcl te and argues
t h a t A r c i t e ' s freedom i s more advantageous than Palamon's imprison
ment!
A l i a s , quod he , Arc i t a , cosyn myn.
Of a l cure s t r l f , God woot, t he f ruyt i s thyn . (1281-1282)
After developing h i s argument in some d e t a i l , Palamon desc r ibes
h i s p l i g h t as p a t h e t i c . He su f f e r s doubly he s a y s . For I moot wepe and wayle, whil I l yve . With a l t he wo t h a t p r i son may me y i v e . And eek with peyne t h a t love me yeveth a l s o . That doubleth a l my torment and my wo. (1295-1299)
The p o r t i o n of t he complaint t h a t follows t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n of
ftilamon's personal s u f f e r i n g i s p h i l o s o p h i c a l . What Palamon says of
t h e human cond i t i on i s u n i v e r s a l l y t r u e . He begins t h i s po r t ion with
an anost"^rrhe t o Sa turn , Juno, and Venus, t he gods r e spons ib l e for
68
h i s p l i g h t . The apostrophe and e p i t h e t a r e followed by a r h e t o r i c a l
q u e s t i o n !
Thanne sayde he , 0 c ruee l goddes t h a t governs This world with byndyng of youre word e t e r n e .
What i s mankynde moore unto you holde Than i s t he sheep t h a t rouketh in the fo lde? (1303-130^^;
1307-1308)
Palamon compares man's ex i s t ence t o t h a t of b e a s t s . Like animals ,
man d i e s . In a d d i t i o n , he suf fe r s misfortunes such as s ickness and
imprisonment. Sometimes man suf fe r s though he i s innocent . Palamon
a s k s .
What governance i s in t h i s p re sc i ence .
That g i l t e l e s s tormenteth Innocence? (1313-131^)
Palamon then c o n t r a s t s t he na ture of man's ex i s tence with t h a t of
b e a s t s . Man must conform h i s w i l l t o the w i l l of t he gods while
animals a r e bound by no such n e c e s s i t y . Death i s t he end of s u f f e r
ing for b e a s t s , while man's woes may poss ib ly begin in earnes t a t
d e a t h . Palamon i s speaking of a l l mankind in t h e following l i n e s i
That man i s bounden t o h i s observaunce. For Goddes sake , t o l e t t e n of h i s w l l l e , Ther as a bees t may a l l h i s l u s t f u l f i l l s . And when a bees t i s deed he hath no peyne; But man a f t e r h i s deeth moot wepe and p leyne . Though in t h i s world he have ca re and wo. ( l 3 l 6 - 1 3 2 l )
Palamon r e t u r n s t o t h e sub jec t of h i s personal woe in the c lo s ing
l i n e s of t h e complaint!
A l i a s , I se a se rpen t or a thee f . That many a trewe man hath doon mescheef, Goon a t h i s l a r g e , and where hym l i s t may t u r n s . But I moot been in pr lsoun thurgh Sa tu rne , And eek thurgh Juno, j a lous and eek wood. That hath des t royed wel ny a l t he blood Of Thebes with h i s waste wal les wyde; And Venus s l e e t h me on t h a t oother syde
69
For jalousie and fere of hym Arclte. (1325-1333)
In these two complaints the philosophical portions comprise
a more significant part of the complaint than any other element of
the complaint. In every complaint Chaucer demonstrates the univer
sality of the specific situation he is describing. That this element
is essential to Chaucer's concept of the complaint becomes more appar
ent in an examination of complaints of the Troilus.
While the Troilus abounds in complaints, only two are suffi
ciently elaborate to be considered major complaints. The first of
these appears in Book IV at a dramatic point in the narrative, when
the agreement has been made to exchange Criseyde for Antenor. Troilus
is wild with grief, and after exhausting his rage, begins his com
plaint. He addresses a series of rhetorical questions to Fortunei
Then seyde he thus. Fortune, alias the while! What have I don? What have I the agylt? How myghtestow for rowthe me byglle? Is ther no grace, and shal I thus be spilt? Shal thus Crelseyde awey, for that thow wilt? Alias! how maistow in thyn herte fynde
To ben to me thus cruwel and unkynde? (260-266)
Fortune is established as the cause of Troilus' loss; and his innocence
is established in the same passage. Although pity is not an attri
bute of Lady Fortune, Troilus still wonders that he will not receive
grace and that she is cruel to him. Questions addressed to Fortune
continue into the second stanza of the complaint. At that point,
Troilus begins, with a passage of exclamatio. to underscore the
extremity of his fate. He uses hyperbole and D^ Casibus imagery in
the followiror p<iss?. e»
0 Troilus, what may men now the calle
70
But wrecche of wrecches, out of honour f a l l s Into miser ie . In which I wol bewallle Criseyde, a l i a s ! t i l tha t the breth me f a i l l e . (270-273)
Troi lus again turns to Fortune. The next two stanzas, by means
of hyperbole, demonstrate the Intensi ty with which he feels the loss
of Criseyde. He asks Fortunei
Why ne haddestow my fader, kyng of Troye, Byraft the l i f , or don my bretheren dye, C slayn myself, tha t thus compleyne and crye. (276-278)
Then Troilus r e f l e c t s on the general tendency of Fortune in her
deal ings with man. He notes .
But everemore, l o , t h i s is t h l manere. To reve a wight tha t most is to hym deere.
To preve in tha t t h l gerful violence. (28^-286)
Troi lus continues t o demonstrate the exceptional pathos of his
suffer ing by a succession of passages of exclamatio. He c r ies out
t o various gods, objects , and individuals . This complaint resembles
Geoffrey de Vinsauf's complaint on the death of Richard I in i t s
s e r i e s of passages of exclamatio. This complaint is not, however, an
attempt on Chaucer's part t o Imitate tha t complaint. In t h i s respect ,
Chaucer's complaint is unchanged from Boccaccio's Il_ F l l o s t r a to .
Troi lus addresses the customary rhe to r i ca l questions f i r s t t o Level
0 verrey Lord, 0 love! 0 god alias! That knowest best myn herte and al my thought. What shal my sorowful lif don in this cas. If I forgo that I so deere have bought? (288-291)
A succession of apostrophes and rhetorical questions follows:
0 wery goost, that errest to and fro. Why nyltow fleen cjt of the wofulleste Body that evere myghte on grounde go? 0 soule, lurkynge in this wo, unneste,
71
Fie forth out of myn herte and l a t i t b res te . (302-306)
0 woful eyen two, syn youre disport Was a l t o sen Crlseydes eyen brighte What shal ye don . . . 7 (309-311)
0 my Criseyde, 0 lady sovereigne Of t h i l k e woful soule tha t thus c r i e t h . Who shal now yeven comfort to my peyne? Alias! no wight. . . . (316-319)
The above l ines a lso contain an example of sub.iectlo.
The l i nes tha t follow are Chaucer's addition t o the complaint
In the F l l o s t r a t o . This stanza is Chaucer's only change in the
complaint found in Boccaccio's t a l e . The stanza is addressed to
a l l lovers and invi tes them t o find in Tro i lus ' experience an object
lesson. The reference t o Fortune's wheel serves t o warn lovers of
the i nev i t ab l l t y of misfortune in love. The Memento Mori a l lus ion 1?
(327-329) r e l a t e s the complaint thematically to the ent i re poem.
This stanza functions t o point out the universa l i ty inherent in
T r o i l u s ' speci f ic s i t u a t i o n . Troilus complains, 0 ye l o v e r i s , t ha t heigh upon the whlel Ben se t of Fortune, in good aventure, God leve t ha t ye fynde ay love of s t i e l . And longe mote youre l i f in jo ie endure! But whan ye comen by my sepul ture , Remembreth tha t youre felawe r e s t e t h there ; For I loved ek, though ich unworthi were. (323-329)
Chaucer's addi t ion of t h i s stanza t o the complaint which he found
in II F l l o s t r a t o suggests that Chaucer considered tha t a statement
of the universal s ignif icance of the complaint was an essent ia l part
of a complaint.
T r o i l u s ' complaint concludes with a f ina l passage of exc la ra t io .
He addresses Ca!casi
72
0 oold, unholsom, and myslyved man, Calkas I mene, a l i a s ! what e i l e t h the . To ben a Grek, syn thow art born Troian? 0 Calkas, which that wolt my bane be. In corsed tyme was thow born for me! (330-335)
Troi lus suggests in these l i n e s that the ult imate cause of his
pathet ic predicament i s f a t e . The configuration of the stars at
the time of Calcas' birth necessi tated the time and manner of Troi lus '
death. Chaucer's addit ion to h is source in Troi lus ' complaint reveals
that Chaucer f e l t the complaint necessari ly contained a passage
explaining the universa l i ty of the complainant's s i tua t ion .
In the second major complaint of the Troi lus . the complaint of
Criseyde in Book IV, Chaucer's changes from his source suggest that
he considered several other elements necessary to the complaint. An
examination of the complaint of Criseyde w i l l indicate the e f fect
Chaucer's addit ions and changes has on the complaint.
Criseyde's comnlaint i s a l s o a response t o the decis ion by the
parliament t o trade Criseyde for Antenor, and para l l e l s the complaint
of Troi lus in i t s dramatic in tens i ty and elaborate rhe tor ic . The
narrator describes t h i s passage as Criseyde's •'heigh complaint" and
fears he cannot adequately express the extent of Criseyde's sorrow
for having t o leave Troy.
The f i r s t stanza of Criseyde's complaint deals with the cause
of her predicament. The ult imate cause i s the cons te l l a t i on that
contro ls her f a t e . She a l s o bewails the day that she f i r s t met
Tro i lus . She begins thusi
Al ias! quod she, out of th i s regloun I, woful wrecche and Irfortuned wight. And born in corsed conste l lac ioun.
73
Moot goon, and thus departen fro my knyght. Wo worth, alias! that like dayes light On which I saugh hym first with eyen tweyne. That causeth me, and ich hym, al this peyne! (7'*'3-7 9)
After establishing the grounds of her complaint, Criseyde begins
to weep and beat her breast. Her high emotional state reveals itself
in the frequent use of exclamatio. the several end-stopped lines,
the lack of logical progression in the stanza. Criseyde says.
How shal he don, and ich also? How sholde I lyve, if that I from hym twynne? 0 deere herte eke, that I love so. Who shal that sorwe slen that ye ben inne? 0 Calkas, fader, thyn be al this synne! 0 moder myn, that cleped were Argyve, Wo worth that day that thow me bere on lyve! (757-763)
Criseyde begins to regain a degree of emotional control in the
following stanza. She continues to exclaim in short questions;
however, she is able to seek out from nature examples which compare
to her situation. The stanza consists of analogies, a form of
inter-pretatioi
To what fyn sholde I lyve and sorwen thus?
How sholde a fissh withouten water dure? What is Criseyde worth, from Troilus? How sholde a plaunte or lyves creature Lyve withouten his kynde noritue? For which ful ofte a by-word here I seye.
That 'rooteles moot grene soone deye.' (76^-770)
The preceding stanza does not appear in any form in the corresponding
complaint in the Fl lostrato. so that these l ines are Chaucer's addi
t ion to the complaint. The analogies do not serve to make an abstract
idea more concrete, as in complaints considered thus far, but rather
they 5u^^r?t th^t Criseyde's need for Troilus' love is a specific
instance of a natural phenomenon. The proverb with which the
7^
complaint ends, 'Vooteles moot grene soone deye," expresses the
universal ity of which the several analogies are examples.
In the following three stanzas, Chaucer greatly amplifies his
source. In this portion of Criseyde's complaint, Chaucer employs the
most overworked convention of the love complaint! the idea that the
bereft lover wi l l die of sorrow, either automatically or by his own
hand. Declarations such as these appear more than once in Anellda's
complaint. Dido bewails the fact that Aeneas causes her death.
Arclte f ee l s that he wi l l "sterve in wanhope and distresse" (l2^9).
Palamon complains, he "most nodes lese my lyf" for Einily (1295)•
The idea i s found over and over again in lyric complaints. Chaucer's
poetic s k i l l , however, revives this ossified convention so that these
stanzas form the most moving and most effective element of Criseyde's
complaint.
In part, Criseyde's vow to die i s convincing because she appears
to have such r e a l i s t i c insight into her own psychological make-up.
She knows that she i s too weak a character to use a sword and that
fast ing to death i s more in keeping with her natural
I shal doon thus, syn neither swerd ne darte Dar I noon handle, for the crueltee. That l ike day that I from yow departe. If sorwe of that nyl nat my bane be, Thanne shal no mete or drynke come in me Til I my soule out of me brest unshethe; And thus myselven wol I don to dethe. (771-777)
The decision to die seems to be one taken calmly, rationally, and
with dignity. The use of the words, "thus," "syn," "that," "if,"
"thanne," give her statement the force of logic and reason so that
her conclusion, "and thus myselven wol I don to dethe," comes as
75
a quiet resolution rather than as an impetuous outcry, as similar
statements seem to be in other complaints. The enjambment and the
complex, balanced sentences contribute to the feeling of calm and
resolution of the stanza.
The next stanza builds on this quiet tone with diction suggest
ing that her resolution has the force of a religious vow. The connota
tions of fasting, her promise to wear black, and her vow to live a
life of sorrow and abstinence have religious associations* She
addresses her lover i
Aiid, Troilus, my clothes everychon Shal blake ben in tokenyng, herte swete. That I am as out of this world agon. That wont was yow to setten in quietej And of myn ordre, ay til deth me mete. The observance evere, in youre absence,
Shal sorwe ben, compleynt, and abstinence. (778-78*^)
Criseyde uses words such as '^yn ordre," "observance," "abstinence,"
"eternally." These words, along with the image of Criseyde "setten
in quiets," the emphasis on the idea of death as a freeing of the
soul, ths dignity of the phrase, "til deth me mete," all contribute
to the religious tons of the stanza.
The allusion to Orpheus and Ibridice in the following lines
is Chaucer's addition to the Fllostratot
Myn herte and ek the woful goost therinne ^ u s t h e I, with youre spirit to compleyne Etsmaly, for they shal nevere twynne. For though in srths ytwynned be we tweyne, Yst in the feld of pits, out of peyne. That highte Klisos, shal we ben yfeers. As Orpheus with EJrudics, his fere, (785-791)
The comparison of the love of Troilus and Criseyde to the love
of Orpheus and Bridies, not only slsvates ths love of l^oilus
76
and Criseyde, but a lso heightens the dramatic irony of the poem.
The l a s t stanza of t h i s portion of the complaint depicts Criseyde's
love as unself ish I
^ t , her te myn, -^oryete th i s sorwe and tene, And me a l so ; for , sothly for to seye.
So ye wel fa re , I recche naught to deye. (79*^-798)
After t h i s point the complaint, no longer addressed t o Troi lus , is
interrupted by the entrance of Pandarus (80^). The remainder of the
complaint is then addressed t o Pandarus, whom Criseyde describes as 12
the cause causans" or primary cause of her woe. From t h i s point ,
t he complaint i s described as Criseyde's "aspre p leynte ." The tone
i s Indeed sharper than the tone of the preceding s tanzas. The com
p la in t i s subs tan t i a l ly di f ferent from the poem's source. Criseyde
says ,
Pandare f i r s t of joies mo than two Was cause causyng unto me, Criseyde, That now transmewed ben in cruel wo. Wher shal I seye t o yow welcom or no. That a l d e r f i r s t me broughte unto servyse Of love, a l i a s ! tha t endeth in swich wise? (828-«33)
Philosophical general izat ion on the subject of love and b l i s s
comprises the next s tanza. Criseyde uses sub.iectlo herei
Endeth thanne love in wo? Ye, or men l i e t h ! And a l l e worldly b l i s s e , as thynketh me.
The ende of b l i s s e ay sorwe i t occupieth. (83^-836)
Criseyde finds her specif ic s i t ua t ion an example of tha t general t ru th t
And whoso troweth nat tha t i t so be, Lat hym uDon me, woful wrecche, ysee. That myself ha te , and ay my burthe acorse, Felyng alwey, fro wikke I go t o worse. (837-8^0)
Criseyde corclu^'es with an arpeal for p i t y :
Vr"hoso me seeth , he seeth sorwe a l atonys.
77
Peyne, torment, pleynte, wo, d i s t r e s se ! Out of my woful body harm ther noon i s . As angwissh, langour, cruel b i t t e rnesse , Anoy, smert, drede, fury, and ek siknesse. I trowe, ywys, from hevene t e e r i s reyne
For p i t e o^ myn aspre and cruel peyne. (8^1-^-^?)
Chaucer's reworking of the material of Criseyde's complaint
from the F l l o s t r a t o Indicates the English poet ' s concern for demon
s t r a t i n g the universal t ru ths about human nature and about love.
With the inclusion of the analogies drawn from nature, Chaucer, in
the t r a d i t i o n of complaints to Nature, demonstrates the necessity of
human love . In a homiletlc passage in the d^ contemTrtu t r a d i t i o n ,
Chaucer demonstrates the i n s t a b i l i t y of worldly love. Both passages
provide addi t ional evidence tha t Chaucer perceives an essent ia l
element of the complaint t o be a demonstration of the universal and
moral t r u t h embedded in the complainant's pathet ic s i t ua t i on .
F ina l ly , the complaint of Dorlgen in the Frankl in 's Tale needs
t o be examined in the l i g h t of the conventions established by Chaucer.
Dorigen's complaint i s a reac t ion t o Aurelius ' claim on her person.
The complaint represents a moment of intense emotion for Dorlgen.
The complaint begins conventionally with a passage of exclamatio
addressed t o Fortune.
Al ias , quod she, on thee . Fortune, I pleyne.
That unwar wrapped hast me in thy cheyne. (1355-135^)
Dorlgen begins t o consider with apparent r a t i o n a l i t y the choices
tha t seem t o be ava i lab le to heri Fro which t ' e scape woot I no socour. Save oonly rieeth or e l l e s dishonour; Oon of t h i se two blhoveth me to chese. But nathelees, yet have I levere t o l ese My l i f than of my body have a shame.
78
Or knowe myselven fals, or lese my name; An with my deth I may be quyt, ywis. (1357-1363)
Dorigen sets forth the generalization that fits her specific
situations
Hath ther nat many a noble wyf er this. And many a mayde, yslayn hirself, alias! Rather than with hlr body doon trespas? (l36«*-1366)
Ths long list of exempla. a variety of interrretatio. which she
begins at this point, serves to make concrete a decision taken on
ths basis of abstract reasoning. In other complaints, this function
is performed by a logically developed passage of philosophical genera
lization illustrated at some point by analogy, simile, or some other
form of interpretatio.
Dorigen frequently interrupts the list of exempla in order to
specify their relevance to her particular casei
Why sholde I thanne to dye been in drede? (l386)
Now sith that maydens hadded swich despit To been defouled with mannes foul delit, Wel oghte a wyf rather hirselven slee Than be defouled, as it thynketh me. (1395-1398)
What sholde I mo ensamples heerof sayn, Sith that so manye had hemselven slajrn Wel rather than they wolde defouled be? I wol conclude that it is bet for me To sleen myself than been defouled thus. I wol be trewe unto Arveragus, Or rather sleen myself in som manere. (l'H9-l'*25)
Dorigen suggest that the effect of these sad tales ought to be
to arouse pity. The following lines contain an example of exclamatio.
alsot
0 Cedasus, it is ful greet pitee To red en how thy doghtren deyde, alias! (1^*28-1^29)
79
As greet p i t ee was i t , or wel moore. The Theban mayden dide r ight so; that for Nichanore Hirselven slow, r ight for swich manere wo. (1^31-1^33)
C r i t i c s generally agree, however, that the length of Dorigen's l i s t
1*
mel iorates the e f f ec t of p i ty . ^ Chaucer has manipulated the com
pla int genre in order t o f i t i t to the needs of the dramatic nature
of the s tory and t o maintain the l i gh t irony with which he handles
the character of Dorigen. The elements of the complaint remain Intact .
Chaucer manages t o mold the complaint to f i t the tone of the story
by exaggerating one element of the complaint.
The complaint stops af ter Dorigen apostrophizes Teuta.
0 Teuta, queene! thy wyfly chas t i t ee
To a l l e wyves may a mirour bee. (1^53-1^5^)
Although a t f i r s t glance, Dorigen's complaint seems to be an
a l together d i f f erent species of complaint, i t i s actual ly merely a
variant with i t s spectacular l i s t of exempla performing the familiar
funct ion. The complaint contains the conventional apostrophes,
rhe tor i ca l quest ions , the appeal t o p i ty , the movement from the
part icular t o the universa l , and from the abstract t o the concrete.
The ana lys i s of the complaints considered thus far shows that
Chaucer's s k i l l in handling the techniques and conventions of com
p la in t increases in the twenty or t h i r t y years between the writing
of the Book of, the Duchess and the composition of the Franklin's
Tale . His s k i l l in structuring complaints increases . The complaint
of Anelida, for example, e spec ia l ly suffers from a lack of unity and
coherence. There i s no l o g i c a l development in the 1U4 l i n e s of the
poem. Chaucer's e^-^ort t o conform t o the rhyme scheme of Machaut' >
80
complaints and his attempt to employ a l l the rhetorical colors of
apostrophe occupied a l l of the poet's attention in this complaint*
It should be noted, however, that few complaints of this period show
any concern for structure and unity. The complaint of Dido, although
unhampered by an elaborate rhyme scheme, moves spasmodically back
and forth from Dido's bewailing her particular situation to her con
sideration of the universal truth about human nature which her situa
tion rspressnts. The Complaint of Mars, on the other hand, is carefully
structured. This complaint moves logically and inevitably fron the
analysis of Mars* specific case to a consideration of lovers "al ip-
fers.** Ths devslopment of the complaints of the Knight's Tale is
mors subtle and polishsd, though no less logical, than the complaint
of Mars.
Chaucer's complaints become more functional. The complaint of
ths Black Knight, for instance, functions mainly as an ornament* In
fact, the narrator's overhearing this complaint creates logical d i f f i -
cult iss later in ths poem. The complaint, in order to appear in the
poem at a l l , has to have been overheard by the narrator. The complaint
elsarly reveals that ths knight is lamenting the death of his mis
tress . The dreamer, thersfors, has no reason to ask the knight 653
l ines later, 'Srhat los ys that? . . . Hyl she not lovs yow?" (1139-
llifO). Dido's complaint in ths House of Fame relates to the theme of
the poem, but only in ths last twelvs lines of the poem* These lines
on fams are awkwardly tacked on* The complaint of Criseyde in Book
IV of the Troilus i s , however, essentially a restatement of the theme
of the poem. When Crissyds cries out against love and worldly bl i ss .
81
she sums up the lesson to be learned from the action of the poem and
echoes many earlier interpolations in the poem on this subject.
The theme of the whole poem is vivif ied by the anguish that Criseyde
exhibits in her complaint. In addition to the poignant restatement
of the theme, the complaint also contributes substantially to the
dramatic irony of the poem. Only the most cynical of readers can
f a l l to be moved by Criseyde's outcries; however, only the most
sentimental of readers can f a i l to remember that she wil l betray
Troilus. Dorigen's complaint provides another example of Chaucer's
mastery of the complaint genre. Although the avowed purpose of every
complaint, including Dorigen's, i s to evoke pity, Dorigen's complaint
1^ achieves, rather, a detached sympathy. The complaint represents "a 15
mildly comic moment." Chaucer manages to f o i l our expectations
of the complaint and, at the same time, he remains faithful to a l l
the conventions of complaint. Furthemore, the complaint serves to
characterize Dorigen. Many other examples of Chaucer's increased
mastery of the techniques of complaint can be found.
A more Interesting and more relevant development in the period
from 1369 to 1390 (?) i s the evolution of Chaucer's concept of the
complaint. The complaint of the Black Knight reveals the embryonic
form of the complaint. Pathos i s the raison d'etre of complaint even
at th is stage of development. The eavesdropping narrator of the Book
of the Duchess describes the complaint as "the most pitee , the most
rowthe" (^65) that he had ever heard. Exclamatio is the rhetorical
device rel ied on alnost exclusively at this point to accomplish the
evokatlon of pathos. The complaint i s a lyric ornament in the 3ooV
82
fif t h e Duchess. I t i s given i t s own rhyme scheme and the n a r r a t o r
d e s c r i b e s t he Knight ' s complaint as a song without music.
The not ion of complaint as a l y r i c genre designed t o evoke p i t y
i s r e t a i n e d in t h e complaint of Anelida. In add i t i on t o a complicated
rhjrme scheme, however, Anel lda ' s complaint shows the inf luence of the
t e a c h i n g of t he r h e t o r i c i a n s . The complaint employs a l l of the rhe tor
i c a l c o l o r s of apos t rophe . No other complaint a f t e r Anellda i s s e t
off by i t s own rhyme scheme. The Chaucerian complaint ceases t o be
a l y r i c ornament h e r e a f t e r , Chaucer never abandons, however, the
use of t h e r h e t o r i c a l ornaments, al though he employs them l e s s
o v e r t l y a t h i s l i t e r a r y ca ree r p r o g r e s s e s . The idea of complaint
as a type of apost rophe i s f i rmly f ixed from t h i s p o i n t .
The element of complaint t h a t henceforth becomes more and more
prominent in Chaucer ' s works i s t he g e n e r a l i z a t i o n , u s u a l l y dea l ing
with fundamental ideas about t h e human cond i t ion t Dido c r i e s out
b i t t e r l y a g a i n s t t h e f a i t h l e s s n e s s of men? Mars a g a i n s t i n s t a b i l i t y
in l o v e ; A r c l t e a g a i n s t man's ignorance of h i s own weal; Palomon
a g a i n s t man's hard l o t on ea r th as well as in t h e h e r e a f t e r ; and
Cr iseyde a g a i n s t t h e i n s t a b i l i t y of worldly b l i s s . In the complaint
of T r o i l u s , t h e change from t h e source i n d i c a t e s t h a t Chaucer deems
necessa ry t o complaint a passage which de r i ve s t h e u n i v e r s a l from the
p a r t i c u l a r . This impersonal g e n e r a l i z a t i o n has been descr ibed by
contemporary s c h o l a r s as a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the complaint of s o c i a l
p r o t e s t . If t h i s be t r u e , then Chaucer has blended the convent ior^
of t h e love complaint and t h e conventions of t he complaint of s o c i a l
"orotest .
83
Notes t o Chapter IV
Wljnsatt, Chaucer and the French Love Poets . p . 10^.
2 Ib id .
- Hoepffner, Oeuvres de Guilloume de Machaut. I n t r o . I I , p .
XXXIX.
^ J . A. W. Bennet t , The Works of John Gower.
^ Legouis , Geoffrey Chaucer, p . 68.
^ Tupper, "Chaucer 's Tale of I r e l a n d , " pp. 1P6-187.
" Clemen, Chaucer 's Early Poetry , p . 172.
^ Efetrich, "A Poss ib le Provencal Source ," p . 3^?.
9 Muscatine, Chaucer and t h ^ French Trad i t i on , p . 109.
^^ S t i l l w e l l , "Convention and I n d i v i d u a l i t y , " p . 86.
^^ I b i d .
^2 Joseph J . Mogan, "Further Aspects of Mutabi l i ty in Chaucer 's
T r o i l u s . " Papers on English Language and L i t e r a t u r e . I (lQ^5)» P» 72.
^^ Robinson, WorVs, p . 826.
^^ S ledd, "Dorigen 's Complaint ," p . 4 3 .
^5 I b i d . , p . 47 .
^^ Knight, "Rhetoric and P o e t r y . " p . 29.
CHAPTER V
THE MINOR COMPLAINTS
The minor complaints a r e d i s t i ngu i shed from the major complaints
by t h e i r r e l a t i v e b r e v i t y and t h e i r l e s s e l abora te ornamentation.
In a d d i t i o n , t h e i r con ten t i s gene ra l ly more influenced by the r e
quirements of t h e p l o t . Like t he major pieces considered in the
p reced ing c h a p t e r , however, t hese minor complaints seek t o evoke
pathos and use one or another of t h e r h e t o r i c a l and s t y l i s t i c d e
v i c e s found in t h e longer compla in ts . For the most p a r t , t he s t y l e
i s he igh tened . Less of ten found i s t h e impersonal and a b s t r a c t view
of t h e s i t u a t i o n t h e complaint d e s c r i b e s . At t imes , r a t h e r than a
passage of a b s t r a c t r ea son ing , t h e use of a proverb achieves a s i m i l a r
e f f e c t of broadening t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of t he moral poin t and of s h i f t
ing t h e focus of t h e complaint from the personal t o the Impersonal.
Some of t h e complaints or r e fe rences t o complaint conta in comment
on t h e custom of compla in t . For example, t he complaint i s descr ibed
in t h e C l e r k ' s Tale as an a p p r o p r i a t e mode for a peasant or one of
a lower e s t a t e t o use t o address h i s s u p e r i o r . As he comes t o take
her c h i l d from h e r , W a l t e r ' s f a i t h f u l manor sergeant explains t o
G r l s e l d e ,
Ye been so wys t h a t f u l wel knowe ye That l o r d e s hees t e s mowe nat been yfeyned; They mowe wel been b iwa i l l ed or compleyned,
But men moote nede un to h i r e l u s t obeye. (528-531)
This passage c o n s t i t u t e s a change from Chaucer 's sou rce . In Petrarch
t h e corresponding passage makes no mention of complaint . P e t r a r c h ' s
m
85
sergeant merely says, "Spare me, my lady, and do not lay to my blame
what I am forced to do. You are right knowing, and you understand
what it is to be subject to a master; nor is the harsh necessity of
obedience unknown to one endowed with so much sense, though inexper
ienced." Chaucer is describing a somewhat less authoritarian society
in his version of the story of Grlselde.
In the same tale Chaucer Illustrates this kind of appeal on the
part of the people to the Marquis. When they approach their lord
to ask him to take a wife, their spokesman's mode of address is
complaint. The spokesman says,
0 noble markys, youre humanltee Asseureth us and yeveth us hardinesse. As ofte as tyme is of necessltee. That we to yow mowe telle cure hevynesse. Accepteth, lord, now of youre gentillesse That we with pitous herte unto yow pleyne, And lat youre eres nat my voys desdeyne. (92-98)
In the stanzas that follow, the speaker uses the logical argu
ment that the lack of a legltijnate heir to the title is a cause of
fear and unrest among the people. This reasonable argument is pre
ceded by emotional appeals. Notably, the possibility of sudden death
is elaborated. An entire stanza is devoted to the development of this
idea in a manner typical of complaint. Only the first line of this
stanza applies to all mankind and speaks generally of the univer
sality of death. The speaker continues.
And thogh youre grene youthe floure as yit. In crepeth age alwey, as stllle as stoon. And deeth manaceth every age, and smyt In ech estaat, for ther escapeth noon; And al so certein as whe knowe echoon That we schul deye, as uncerteyn we alle Been of that day whan deeth shal on us falls. (120-126)
86
The s t y l e of t h i s passage is less elevated in the soiree than
i t i s in the Clerk 's Tale. Whereas Petrarch wri tes , "in the flower
of your youth," Chaucer wr i tes , "in youre grene youthe f lou re . "
Petrarch wr i t e s , " s i l en t old age fol lows," Chaucer writes "in crepeth
age alwey, as s t l l l e as s toon." For Petrarch, "death . . . i s very
near. and for Chaucer "deeth manaceth." Chaucer's more poetic
d i c t i o n Is cons is ten t with the formal nature of complaint.
The spokesman appeals t o the l o r d ' s compassion with p i t i f u l
pleas and exclamations t
Dellvere us out of a l t h i s bisy drede.
And taak a wyf, for hye Goddes sake! (13^-135)
0, wo were us alyve! ( l39)
The emotional qua l i t y of the appeal wins the Msurquisi
Hlr meeke preyere and h l r pitous cheere
Made the markys her te han p i t e e . (1^1-1^2)
This r eac t ion t o the complaint character izes the Marquis as a man
capable of being moved by p i t y . The primary function of the com
p l a i n t , however, i s t o i n i t i a t e the act ion of the t a l e .
The Knight 's Tale offers another example of such a pe t i t ion
when the Theban women approach Theseus as he proceeds into Athens.
These women beg Theseus' aid against Creon, who has refused to allow
b u r i a l of t h e i r husbands k i l l ed in the siege against Thebes. Here
they appeal t o the p i ty of the noble Theseusi Lord, t o whom Fortune hath ylven
Victor ie , and as a conqueror t o lyven, Nat greveth us youre g lor ie and youre honour, But we blseken mercy and socour. Have mercy on cure wo and cure d i s t r e s s e ! Sci d'-opc^ 0'" p i t e e , thurgh thy g e n t i l l e s s e . Upon us vrrecched wommen l a t thou f a l l e . (915*921)
87
The spokeswoman expla ins how each of the women had suffered a
r e v e r s a l of For tune:
For , c e r t e s , l o r d , t h e r i s noon of us a l l e . That she ne hath been a duchesse or a queene.
Now be we cay tyves , as i t i s wel seene. (922-92^)
The d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n i s followed by a
g e n e r a l i z a t i o n of t he f i ck l enes s of For tune!
Thanked be Fortune and h i r e f a l s e wheel.
That noon e s t a a t a s s u r e t h t o be weel. (925-926)
The spokeswoman expla ins t h e cause of t he su f fe r ing of t he noble
l a d i e s . The d e s c r i p t i o n of t he bodies of t h e i r lo rds p i led in a
heap with dogs e a t i n g them i s an emotional appea l . There i s no over t
appea l t o j u s t i c e . The women desc r ibe t h a t Creon
Hath a l l e t h e bodyes on an heep ydrawe. And wol not su f f ren hem, by noon a s s e n t . Neither t o been yburyed nor yb ren t . But maketh houndes e t e hem in d e s p i t . ( 9 ^ - 9 ^ 7 )
The c a p t i v e l a d i e s succeed in moving t he hea r t of t he dukei This g e n t i l due down from h i s courser s t e r t e With h e r t e p i t o u s , whan he herde hem speke.
Hym thoughts t h a t h i s h e r t e wolde breke . (952-95^)
The Duke's r e a c t i o n t o t h e complaint c h a r a c t e r i z e s him as a com
p a s s i o n a t e gentleman. Dramat ica l ly , t he complaint funct ions t o send
Theseus back t o Thebes where he t akes c a p t i v e t he two young k n i g h t s ,
Balamon and A r c l t e . Theseus b r ings them back t o Athens t o the tower
whence t he young kn igh ts f i r s t s e t eyes on Ebiily. The s t age i s s e t
f o r t h e c o n f l i c t t h a t f o l l ows .
The complaint of t h e people t o t h e Marquis in t h e C l e r k ' s Tale
and t h e complaint of t he Theban l a d i e s t o Duke Theseus in the K n i r h t ' s
Ta l e i l l u s t r a t e ;he s o c i a l custom of complaint as i t i s explained
88
by t h e se rgean t t o Gr l se lde . This q u a s i - o f f i c i a l use of complaint
seems r e l a t e d t o t h e t e c h n i c a l , l e g a l sense of t he word "compla in t . "
Complaint i s I l l u s t r a t e d in i t s l e g a l sense in the Phys ic ian ' s T a l e .
where Claudius p re sen t s a b i l l of complaint aga ins t Vi rg in ius .
Claudius addresses t h e judgei
Lord, i f t h a t i t be youre w l l l e . As dooth me r i g h t upon t h i s p i tous b i l l s . In which I pleyne upon Vi rg in ius . (165-I67)
The t e x t of t h e b i l l s e t s f o r t h t h e a l l e g a t i o n Claudius i s making
a g a i n s t V i r g i n i u s . The complaint i s a s t ra igh t forward d e c l a r a t i o n
of t h e claim and con ta ins no r h e t o r i c a l embellishment. Claudius
s a y s .
To yow, my l o r d , s i r e Aplus so dee re , Sheweth youre povre se rvan t Claudius How t h a t a knyght, c a l l e d Vi rg in ius , Agayns t he l a s e , agayn a l equ i t ee , Holdeth, expres asiiyn the wyl of me. My s e r v a n t , which t h a t i s my t h r a l by r i g h t . Which f ro myn hous was s t o l e upon a nyght, Whil t h a t she was fu l yong; t h i s wol I preeve By w i t n e s s e , l o r d , so t h a t i t nat yow greeve. She nys h i s doghter n a t , what so he seye . Wherfore t o yow, my lo rd the juge, I preye , Yeld me my t h r a l , i f t h a t i t be youre w l l l e . (178-I89)
A s i m i l a r use of t h e word "p leyne" i s found in the F r i a r ' s
T a l e , he re wi th r e f e r e n c e t o t he e c c l e s i a s t i c a l c o u r t s . Explaining
t h e p r a c t i c e of t h e archdeacon, t h e f r a i r s a y s .
And smal t y t h e r e s weren fou le yshent ,
If any person wolde upon hem p leyne . (1312-1313)
Complaint as a poe t i c genre i s r e l a t e d t o complaint as a c u s
tomary mode of address fo r one ' s s o c i a l s u p e r i o r s and t o complaint
as a l e g a l b i l l . The formal address of se rvan t t o master or r i l s t r e s s
forms t h e conce i t on which many complaints a r e based. Norton-Smith
89
notes Chaucer's use of "the allegoria of the loyal retainer warning
his lord that there is treason in the household" in the Cc^.plaint
JLfi Pitv.-^ The convention of the love complaint in which the mistress
i s addressed as an adversary undoubtedly derives from the association
of complaint with the courtroom procedtire. Thus in A Complaint to his
lady, the lover addresses his mistressi
My deere herte and best beloved fo. (58)
A minor complaint in the Knight's Tale i l lustrates the use of a
complaint to advance the action of the narrative. The complaint
occurs after Arclte, who has gone out to a grove to "doon his obser
vaunce of May," (1500) has just expressed his joy in a roundel. At
the same time, Palamon l i e s hidden in the bushes in fear and "no
thing ne knew he that i t was Arclte." (l519) Arclte suddenly becomes
dejected and utters a complaint. The conventional beginning,
Alas! quod he, that day that I was bore! (15^2)
i s followed by an apostrophe to Juno cast in the form of a rhetorical
questiont
How longe, Juno, thurgh thy crueltee Woltow werreyen Thebes the Citee? (15^3-15^)
Arclte reca l l s Juno's punishment of Thebes and of the House of Cadmus.
He points out that he i s of that family and has fal len to a low estatei
Of his lyTiage an I and his ofspryng By verray l igne, as of the stok ro la l . And now I am so caytyf and so thral . That he that i s my mortal enemy, T serve hym as his squier povrely. (1150-155^)
Arclte bemoans the fact that he, through Juno's wrath, may not 'jse
his own nane, Arclte, but must be known as Philostrate. In a passage
90
of exclamatio. addressed to Mars and Juno, who have destroyed the
l i n e of Cadmus but for the two knights , Arclte exclaims.
Alias , thow f e l l e Mars! a l i a s , Juno! Thus hath youre i r e cure lynage a l fordo.
Save oonly me and wrecched Palamoun. (l559-1561)
The complaint closes with a passage describing in the courtly love
imagery h is suffer ing for love of Shily. Arclte expresses his s t a t e
with a typ ica l hyperbolic expression and apostrophe to Ehilyt
Ye s leen me with youre eyen, Ehilye!
Ye ben the cause wherfore I dye. (1567-I568)
The contents of t h i s complaint a re shaped by the requirements of the
p l o t . Arcl te Iden t i f i es himself as of the House of Cadmus, as Arclte
disguised as Ph i l o s t r a t e , as a r e l a t i v e of Palamon's and as a lover
of Einlly. After t h i s elaborate descr ip t ion, Palamon cannot f a i l to
discover the i den t i t y of the disguised Arcl te .
The minor complaints of the Troilus show great f l e x i b i l i t y .
Chaucer appears t o make a conscious attempt to provide a r t i s t i c
va r ia t ions of the genre of complaint. To that end he uses conceits
drawn from a va r i e ty of t r a d i t i o n s from court ly love poetry,
p e n i t e n t i a l poetry, and contempt of the world poetry. An analysis
of the f ive minor complaints of the Troilus follows.
The Cantlcus T r o i l i found in Book I of the Troilus is adapted
from a Petrarchan sonnet. This complaint deals with the paradox of
love , a t r a d i t i o n a l theme in court ly love poetry. I t consis ts chiefly
of r h e t o r i c a l quest ions! If no love i s , 0 God, what fe le I so? And if love i s , what thing and which is he? If love be ^ood, fron whennes cometh my woo? If i t be wikke, a wonder thynketh me.
91
When every torment and a d v e r s i t e That Cometh of hym, may t o me savory t h i n k s . For ay t h u r s t I , t he more t h a t ich i t drynke. (400-406)
The oxymorons of t he next s tanza a r e t r a d i t i o n a l in poetry dea l ing
with t h e paradox of l ove !
And i f t h a t a t myn owen l u s t I brenne. From whennes cometh my wal l lynge and my pleynte? I f harm agree me, wherto pleyne I thenne? I noot , ne whl unwery t h a t I f eyn te . 0 qu lke d e t h , 0 swete hajrm so queynte . How may of t he in me swich q u a n t i t e , But i f t h a t I consents t h a t i t be? (4407-4413)
The l a s t two s t a n z a s of t h e complaint a r e Chaucer 's own. These
s t a n z a s a r e addressed t o t he God of Love and a r e developed by t he
use of t h e r h e t o r i c a l co lo r s of exclamatio and d u b i t a t i o !
0 l o r d , now youres i s My s p i r i t , which t h a t oughte youres be . Yow thanke I , l o r d , t h a t han me brought t o t h i s . But whei ther goddesse or womman, iw i s . She b e , I no t , which t h a t ye do me s e rve . (422-424)
The complaint ends with T r o i l u s ' pledge t o the God of Love t o be
l a d y ' s man!
For myn estat rolal I here resigns Into hire hond, and with ful humble chere
Bicome hlr man, as to my lady dere. (432-434)
A second complaint in Book I concerns Troilus' discovery that he
who had once laughed at lovelorn knights is himself a victim of Love.
This irony is the chief cause of this complaint. The complaint
begins with a passage of exclamatio in which Troilus addresses him
self*
0 fool, now artow in the snare. That whilom japedest at loves peyne. (507-50^)
l^e next stanza er.rloys the color of sub.iectlo!
92
What wol now every lovere seyn of the . If t h i s be wist? but evere in th in absence Laughen in scorn, and seyn, "Loo, ther goth he That i s the nan of so gret sapience That held us loveres l e e s t in reverence. (512-516)
The complaint bewails the l ady ' s cruel ty and pleads for death. I t
concludes with an apostrophe to both God and the lady and hyperbole!
But now help, God, and ye, swete, for whom I pleyne, ikaught, ye nevere wight so fas te! 0 mercy, dere he r t e , and help me from The deth , for I while that my lyf may l a s t s . More than myself wol love yow to my l a s t s . (533-537)
This complaint i s e s sen t i a l ly unchanged from the F l lo s t r a to .
Another of T ro i lu s ' complaints i s quoted by Pandarus to Criseyde
a f t e r she asks i f Troilus can "wel speke of love" ( l l , 503)• Pandarus
answers her by quoting the tex t of Tro i lus ' complaint. The under-4
ly ing conceit of t h i s complaint i s the "penitent before his confessor."
Troi lus begins by beseeching the God of Love for p i ty !
Lord, have routhe upon my peyne, Al have I ben r e b e l l in myn entente; Now, mea culpa, lo rd , I me repente! (523-525)
In the next stanza Troilus again addresses the god in a passage
of exclamatio!
0 god, t ha t a t t h l dlsposicioun Ledest the fyn, by jus te purveiaunce. Of every wight, my lowe confessioun Accept in gree, and sonde me swich penaunce. (526-530)
The th i rd stanza describes the suffering Troilus undergoes for his
l a d y ' s sake. The stanza ends with a proverbial expression. The
proverb functions in the manner of the general izat ions in other
complain'ts. The effect i s t o broaden the focus of the complaint.
Troi lus conclude?.
93
And wel the hotter ben the gledes rede.
That men hem wrien with asshen pale and dede! (538-539)
The focus is thus shifted from the personal and concrete situation
to a more general condition. A complaint occurs at this same point
in Boccacio's poem, but that complaint is very much more conventional.
In Book II Criseyde complains as a response to Pandarus' sug
gestion that she love Troilus. This complaint is different, not
because of an unusual conceit, but because the lines of the complaint
echo the complaint of social protest or satirical complaint. The
complaint begins with an exclamation of grief, rhetorical questions,
and the employment of the topoi of virtue departed or exiled, a
convention of the satirical complaint! Alias, for wo! Why nere I deed?
For of this world the feyth is al agoon. (409-410)
In the language of those complainants who reject the world' evils,
Criseyde exclaims.
This false world, alias! who may it leve?
What! is this al the joye and al the feste? Is this youre reed? Is this my blisful cas? Is this the verray mede of youre byheeste? Is al this paynted proces seyd, alias!
Right for this fyn? (420-425)
Finally Criseyde addresses Pallas and concludes the complaint with
hyperbole! 0 lady myn, Pallas!
Thow in this dredful cas for me purveye. For so astoned am I that I deye. (425-42?)
This entire stanza is Chaucer's addition to his source as are the
other l ines which castigate the world for i t s f a l s i t y .
Cr'seyde eir^ploys the mode of complaint twice in Book V of the
94
T r o i l u s . The f i r s t complaint seems designed e s s e n t i a l l y t o convey
t h e information t h a t Cr i seyde ' s p lan t o get her f a t h e r t o send her
back t o Troy has f a i l e d . She begins her complaint wishing for dea th !
A l i a s ! she seyde. That I was born! Wel may myn h e r t e longe After my d e t h ; fo r now lyve I t o longe . A l i a s ! and I ne may i t nat amende! For now i s wors than evere yet I wende. (689-693)
In t h e next two s t anzas Criseyde a r t i c u l a t e s her fea rs and indec i s ion .
These s t anza s a r e e n t i r e l y Chauce r ' s . Criseyde explains the f a i l u r e
of he r p l a n !
My fader nyl for nothyng do me grace To gon ayeyn, for naught I kan hym quene; And if so be that I my terme pace. My Troilus shal in his herte deme That I am fals, and so it may wel seme. (694-698)
She explains why she is afraid to sneak back inside the walls of
Troy I
And if that I me putte in jupartie. To stele awey by nught, and it bifalle That I be kaught, I shal be holde a spie; Or elles—lo, this drede I moost of alle— If in the hondes of som wrecche I falle, I nam but lost, al by myn herte trewe. (701-706)
Criseyde concludes with a plea for pity!
Now, myghty God, thow on my sorwe rewe! (70?)
This informational complaint is almost immediately followed by a
second complaint.
The complaint, delivered from the Greek camp as Criseyde gazes
upon the walls of Troy, begins with a reflective, nostalgic statement
addressed to herself, for, as the narrator points out, there was no
one "to whom she dorste hire pleyne" (727). An exclamation of grief
95
begins the complaint!
Alias! quod she, the plesaunce and the j o i e . The which tha t now a l torned into gal le i s .
Have ich had ofte withinne the walles! (731-733)
Criseyde apostrophizes Troilus and addresses questions to him!
0 Tro i lus , what dostow now? she seyde.
Lord! wheyther thow yet thenke upon Criseyde? (?34-735)
The second stanza expresses Criseyde's regre t for her decision,
motivated by fear of scandal, to allow herself to be taken to the
Greeks. The f u t i l i t y of her r eg re t s she expresses in general terms in a proverb!
But a l t o l a t e comth the l e t u r a r i e .
Whan men the cors unto the grave ca r l e . (741-742)
The t h i r d stanza develops the idea tha t the cause of Criseyde's
complaint i s t ha t she lacks fores ight . She addresses Prudence!
Prudence, a l i a s , oon of thyne eyen thre Me lakked alwey, er that I come here! On tyme ypassed wel remembred me, And present tyme ek koud ich wel i s e . But future tyme, er I was in the snare, Koude I nat sen; tha t causeth now my care . (7^-749)
Neither t h i s stanza nor the stanza which follows is found in the
F l l o s t r a t o . Chaucer adds t o the complaint of the F l los t ra to Criseyde's
general observations on the subject of allowing one's behavior to be
Influenced by gossip . The change points out the un iversa l i ty of
Criseyde 's pa r t i cu l a r s i t u a t i o n . She says.
No fors of wikked tonges j ang le r i e . For evere on love han wrecches had envye.
For whoso wol of every word take hede. Or reulen hym by every wightes wit , Ne shal he nevere thryven, out of drede; For that that so:n men blamen evere y i t , Lo, other manere folk comenden i t . (755-761)
96
Criseyde re turns from the general view of the s i tua t ion to her
spec i f ic case!
And as for me, for a l swich variaunce, F e l i c i t e clepe I my suffisaunce.
She concludes with a resolve to r e tu rn t o Troy Immediately.
The techniques and pat terns of development observed in the major
ccMnplaints may be observed in the minor complaints. EVen in these
b r i e f e r complaints, Chaucer includes a passage which broadens the focus
of the complaint t o include a l l mankind. Sometimes t h i s univer
s a l i t y i s achieved in these short complaints through the use of a
proverb, but more often by exp l i c i t statement. In two complaints
Chaucer amplifies h is source by including such passages of genera l i
za t ion . In one of these complaints ( l l , 409-42?) Chaucer employs
the d i c t i o n , tone, and imagery of the Complaint against the World,
a type of s a t i r i c a l complaint described in the study by Thomas
Kinney mentioned e a r l i e r . The s t y l e of the passage added to Criseyde's
complaint in Book V (731-763) i s more akin t o that of homily.
97
Notes t o Chapter V
Robert Dudley French, A Chaucer Handbook (New Yorki F. S,
C r o f t s , 1929) p . 300.
^ I b i d . , p . 292.
^ Norton-Smith, p . 22 .
^ Robinson, p . 819.
CONCLUSION
My analysis of the intercalated complaint in Chaucer's works
has established several distinguishing tra i t s of Chaucerian com
plaint . In the beginning of Chaucer's l i terary career, the complaint
was essent ia l ly a lyric monologue Intended to evoke pity. It always
employed the rhetorical device of exclamatio, an emotional outcry.
Sometimes the complaint was set off by i t s own rhyme scheme. The
complaint of the Black Knight in the Book of the Duchess represents
th i s type of early complaint.
Chaucer apparently began to think of the complaint as a type of
apostrophe (an emotional address to a person, a personified abstrac
t ion , or inanimate object) and began to use the rhetorical colors of
apostrophe extensively in his complaints. Geoffrey of Vinsauf's
popular complaint on the death of Richard the Lion-Hearted i s cited
in the Poetrla Nova as an example of apostrophe. Although the in
fluence of this particular complaint on Chaucer's early poetry cannot
be established, s t i l l the complaint of Anelida in Anelida and Arclte.
dated in the f i r s t half of the 1370's, clearly reveals the influence
of the rhetoricians on Chaucer. Anellda's complaint retains the
characterist ics of the lyric poetry of the French court poets! the
elaborate rhyme scheme, the lack of progression in thought, and the
emphasis on emotion; but, s ignif icantly , the complaint uses a l l of
the rhetorical ornaments of apostrophe. Every complaint after
Anelida. and Arclte i s developed by means of the rhetorical ornaments,
while the highly a r t i f i c i a l lyric elements so prominent in the
98
99
Anelida disappear.
The complaint of Dido in the House of Fame, written in approxi
mately the same period as Anelida, introduces a new tone into the
complaint of romance. The cr i t i ca l sp ir i t of Dido's attack on the
inconstancy of men resembles the so-called complaint of social
protest . Dido's complaint also detects in her specific situation a
universal truth about men and women, and, conversely, finds in this
universal behavior an explanation for her particular situation.
Chaucer's practice of relat ing the particular situation to a universal
truth or perception i s a constant feature of complaints written after
the House of Fame.
The Complaint of Mars, furthermore, considers the particular
s i tuation of Mars and Venus, powerful gods who, nonetheless, are
compelled to suffer the vagaries of love just as mortals are. Mars'
t h e s i s , that the ultimate cause of mankind's suffering in love is
the Creator, i s supported by analogies which makes concrete the
abstract principle involved. The universal principle found at the
heart of th is complaint i s deeply philosophical.
Certainly, however, the philosophical context of the complaints
of the Knight's Tale re f lec ts Chaucer's Interest in the Boethian
philosophy. Arcite's generalization on man's limited knowledge as
compared to God's inf ini te knowledge provides ironic comment on his
own complaint. Palamon's complaint generalizes on man's lot in an
unjust world. Bach knight finds his own particular case an example
of the universal truth he c i t e s .
In several complaints in the Troilus. Chaucer adds a passage of
100
general izat ion t o the complaints found in his source. In every case
the passage es tabl ishes the un iversa l i ty of the complainant's ex
perience. T ro i lus ' major complaint (IV, 260-335)» for example, invi tes
a l l lovers to learn from his sad pl ight of love ' s i n s t a b i l i t y .
Criseyde 's major complaint (IV, 473-84?) concludes tha t a l l worldly
b l i s s ends in woe. In the minor complaints of the Troilus the
universa l implication i s often s ta ted in a proverb. The un iversa l i ty
of Dorigen's complaint in the Frankl in ' s Tale r e s u l t s from the
accumulation of exempla together with the several interrupt ions in
which Dorigen e x p l i c i t l y r e l a t e s her predicament t o those described
in the exempla.
The complaint of romance changed in Chaucer's hands from the
empty wailing of a beref t lover t o a vehicle for more profound comment
on the human condi t ion. This change i s a r e s u l t of Chaucer's inclu
sion of a passage in which the un ive r sa l i ty of the s i tua t ion of the
complainant i s made e x p l i c i t . These passages of general izat ion are
sometimes c r i t i c a l , i ron ic , or phi losophical . Heretofore, genera l i
zat ion such as t h i s has been thought t o be an aspect peculiar t o the
complaint of soc ia l p ro t e s t . I t would be d i f f i c u l t , however, to
l abe l Chaucer's complaints e i ther complaints of soc ia l protes t or
love complaints. Chaucer has fused conventions from every type of
complaint. In the same manner he has combined the teachings of the
rhe to r i c i ans and the examples of the poets . The r e s u l t is the
Chaucerian complaint.
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