Antiochus's Riddle in Gower and Shakespeare
- Author/Editor
- Goolden, P
- Title
- Antiochus's Riddle in Gower and Shakespeare
- Published
- Goolden, P. "Antiochus's Riddle in Gower and Shakespeare." Review of English Studies n.s. 6 (1955), pp. 245-251.
- Review
- Goolden discusses Antiochus's riddle about his incestuous relationship with his daughter. The riddle occurs in Shakespeare, in Gower, and in the medieval Latin prose romance "Apollonius of Tyre." Goolden suggests that the key to solving the riddle is to notice that the secret marriage between father and daughter creates complex "in-law" relationships. For instance, Antiochus becomes his "wife's son" because he is taking the place of the man who should be his son-in-law. Gower, according to Goolden, copies a slightly corrupted version of the riddle, but whether he is aware of its deeper meaning is unclear. Shakespeare changes the subject of the riddle from Antiochus to the daughter and renders the riddle more easily comprehensible. [CvD]
- Date
- 1955
- Gower Subjects
- Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations
- Confessio Amantis
- Influence and Later Allusion