Imagining the Reader: Vernacular Representation and Specialized Vocabulary in Medieval English Literature.
- Author/Editor
- Walther, James Thomas.
- Title
- Imagining the Reader: Vernacular Representation and Specialized Vocabulary in Medieval English Literature.
- Published
- Walther, James Thomas. Imagining the Reader: Vernacular Representation and Specialized Vocabulary in Medieval English Literature. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of North Texas, 2000. ii, 166 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International A62.07. Fully accessible via ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global and at https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2592/.
- Review
- Walther's dissertation focuses on the "ideological horizon of expectations"--a concept derived from Hans Robert Jauss, modified by Mikhail M. Bahktin and Pavel N. Medvedev--evident in "Piers Plowman," considering the work's use of vernacular English, its rural and legal vocabularies, and its rustic protagonist as reflections of audience expectations. He compares and contrasts these features with those found in Gower's "Vox Clamantis," the play "Mankind," and various works by Chaucer to show how such features can help modern readers understand the perspectives of targeted medieval audiences. Walther's treatment of the VC is limited largely to observing that Gower's use of Latin in the work restricts its audience, along with commentary his use of legal vocabulary and on the use of English in the "Confessio Amantis." [MA]
- Date
- 2000
- Gower Subjects
- Vox Clamantis
Confessio Amantis
Language and Word Studies