Podcasts – Critical Readings

CR Episode 87: Canterbury Tales IX – The Shipman’s, Prioress’, and Chaucer’s Tales

19 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel considers vice in the Shipman's tale and piety in the Prioress' tale, before moving on to examine Chaucer's humble self-depiction in his rollicking minstrel song, The Tale of Sir Thopas, and in his dialogue on Prudence, The Tale of Melibee.

Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims, by William Blake

CR Episode 86: Canterbury Tales VIII – The Physician’s and Pardoner’s Tales

12 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel looks at the honor-before-death connexion between Fragment V and Fragment VI as exemplified by Virginia in the Physician's Tale, and then considers the multiple levels of moral instruction on offer in the boldly hypocritical Pardoner's Tale.

Dorigen and Aurelius by Mary Eliza Haweis

CR Episode 85: Canterbury Tales VII – The Squire’s and Franklin’s Tales

5 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel discusses Fragment V, with attention given both to scholarly theories about whether Chaucer deliberately left the Squire's tale interrupted and unfinished, and to Chaucer's use of estates satire in his depiction of the Franklin and his tale.

Griselda's Marriage to Walter by Mary Eliza Haweis

CR Episode 84: Canterbury Tales VI – The Clerk’s and Merchant’s Tales

28 June 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel discusses Fragment IV, containing two tales that deal with men who deliberately engage in unequal marriages to both good and ill results, and considers what these tales demonstrate about historical critiques of progress and the human condition.

The Wife of Bath in an Illuminated Manuscript

CR Episode 83: Canterbury Tales V – The Wife of Bath’s, Friar’s, and Summoner’s Tales

21 June 2021 S. P. Cooper

Clinton Collister joins the panel to discuss Fragment III and its potential connexions to The Man of Law's Tale (Fragment II), with a focus on the role of justice, legalism, crime, intent, contractual obligations, and the judicial purpose of punishment.

Constance and Her Child Leaving Northumberland, by Warwick Goble

CR Episode 82: Canterbury Tales IV – The Man of Law’s Tale

14 June 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel examines The Man of Law's Tale and scholarly arguments about whether it is suited to its putative teller, and consider the tale's depictions of crime and justice (temporal and divine), constancy, providence, misadventure, and religious strife.

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