Style and Consciousness in Middle English Narrative 0691065802, 9780691065809

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Style and Consciousness in Middle English Narrative

st^Le anr) consciousness in miOoLe engUsh norzrzotiue

John M. Ganim

Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey

EDWARD TOBIN

^ TiuCKVILLE

AVOiUS CENTER,

N.V. 11570

81553

Copyright © 1983 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom; Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be found on the last printed page of this book ISBN 0-691-06580-2 This book has been composed in Linotron Aldus Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Paperbacks, although satisfactory for personal collections, are not usually suitable for library rebinding. Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey

for Alice

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Contents

Acknowledgments ix Introduction 3 1 I Community and Consciousness in Early Middle English Romance 16 2 I Disorientation, Style, and Perception in Sir Gaivain and the Green Knight

55 3 I Consciousness and Time in Troilus and Criseyde

79 4 I Mannerism and Moralism in Lydgate's Siege of Thebes

103 5 I The Limits of Vision in Henryson's Testament of Cresseid

123 Epilogue 142 Notes 155 Index 173

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the research committee of the University of California, Riverside, for assistance in the preparation of the manuscript and the Humanities Institute for time to pursue my ideas. The library staff, especially the Interlibrary Loan De¬ partment, at the University of California, Riverside, was ex¬ tremely helpful. The editors of PMLA, ELH, and The Literary Review have allowed me to reprint parts of articles that origi¬ nally appeared in those journals. I am especially grateful for the teaching, friendship, and schol¬ arship of Alfred David, who inspired and guided the earliest versions of this book. Steven Axelrod and James Dean also read the entire manuscript and made many helpful suggestions. Paul Strohm read some early versions of certain chapters. The re¬ sourcefulness and sheer hard work of my research assistant, Linda May, were remarkable. I would also like to thank my editor, Tam Curry. I have plagiarized shamelessly from the brilliant conversation of Linda David. Kathy, Mary Jane, Mike, and especially May Ganim offered practical assistance over the years with their characteristically amused tolerance of the most puzzling member of their family. The list of old friends who have indirectly contributed to the writing of this book would go on and on, but one. Bob Brown, contributed rather more directly to its production. Special thanks, too, to Martin Green, Dan Rubey, Dennis Taylor, Doug Downard, Sam Gosen, and Mark Bernheim. My greatest debt is to Alice Wexler, to whom this book is dedicated.

IX

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