Chaucer's Poetry Essay Questions

What is a frame narrative and what can it bring to a poem? Discuss using an example from Chaucer.

A frame narrative is a device that encloses a story within a broader narrative, such as a story about a dream inside a story about the dreamer going about their day, falling asleep, dreaming, and waking up. The frame narrative can enable an author to pursue unorthodox ideas without attributing them to himself. For example, the frame of The Canterbury Tales distances Chaucer from the content of the work, because each story is told by a different character, distinct from the author.

What is the difference between a writer, a narrator, and an author?

A writer, a narrator, and an author are all part of the voice of a text. Distinguishing between them helps us make more sense of complex works of literature. The writer is just whoever wrote a poem: the text doesn’t ask us to imagine them as a particular kind of person, or attempt to confer authority on them. In contrast, we imagine an author as possessing more knowledge and authority, and we likely see each text they write as part of a broader body of work. Finally, a narrator is constructed by an author or writer as the voice of a particular text. They might have the same perspective as the writer or author, or the text might cast them as naive or unreliable, and ask us to use our own judgment to assess their claims. Chaucer decisively casts himself as an author, and usually does not extend his authority to his narrators, who are often more naive versions of himself.