Chaucer, Gower, and the English Rhetorical Tradition.

Author/Editor
Murphy, James J.

Title
Chaucer, Gower, and the English Rhetorical Tradition.

Published
Murphy, James J. Chaucer, Gower, and the English Rhetorical Tradition. Ph.D. Dissertation. Stanford University, 1956. Dissertation Abstracts International 42: 849-50.

Review
Re-examination of the evidence presented over three decades in support of the thesis that Chaucer and Gower followed precepts of medieval rhetoricians. Concludes that no hard evidence exists to show Gower knew more about rhetoric than he could have gleaned from standard grammatical texts and popular French poets. Apparently Gower was not working within any kind of a rhetorical tradition in England, and this assumption about his reading and education should be re-examined and adjusted. [RFY1981]

Date
1956

Gower Subjects
Style, Rhetoric, and Versification