Chaucerian Tragedy

A study of Chaucer's definition of tragedy — with special reference to Troilus —and its lasting influence on English dramatists.

This book is concerned with the medieval idea of what constituted tragedy; it suggests that it was not a common term, and that those few who used the term did not always intend the same thing by it. Kelly believes that it was Chaucer's work which shaped notions of the genre, and places his achievement in critical and historical context. He begins by contrasting mod...