The Consolation of Exempla: Gower's Sources of Hope and 'Textual Healing' in the" Confessio Amantis"

Author/Editor
Runstedler, Curtis

Title
The Consolation of Exempla: Gower's Sources of Hope and 'Textual Healing' in the" Confessio Amantis"

Published
Runstedler, Curtis. "The Consolation of Exempla: Gower's Sources of Hope and 'Textual Healing' in the 'Confessio Amantis'." Accessus 7, no. 1 (2022): n.p.

Review
Runstedler focuses on the "exempla" in "Confessio Amantis" in his essay, arguing they "are also sources of metaphorical healing in the text, functioning as what I have termed 'textual healing,' that is, the medicinal aspects of the text (knowledge, understanding, moral instruction) that helps remedy Amans back to full health." Such "textual healing," too, is connected to the act of confession, he adds. Runstedler suggests that the reader may succeed where Amans fails, but also notes that this process is "ultimately successful because it offers Amans and the reader the opportunity for introspection, self-improvement, and consequently a healthier mind." He later adds that the "exempla" offer a means of education that then becomes a way to heal, which, he argues, is because the CA functions as a "consolation" poem. Runstedler offers close readings of the "Tale of Jason and Medea" and the "Tale of Apollonius of Tyre" to illustrate textual healing at work in Gower's poem. He then discusses Shakespeare's and Wilkin's "Pericles," too, perhaps to demonstrate Gower's readers' understanding of this concept, analyzing how the character Gower functions within this paradigm of textual healing. [JGS. Copyright. John Gower Society eJGN 41.2.]

Date
2022

Gower Subjects
Confessio Amantis