The concept of kingship was a major preoccupation for the Ricardian poets, as this full treatment shows.
The idea of kingship forms a recurrent theme in the poems of the so-called ‘Ricardians’, John Gower, William Langland, the
Gawain-poet and Chaucer – unsurprisingly, during a period of considerable turmoil. This book aims towiden understanding of these poets through an examination of the theme in
Confessio Amantis,
Piers Plowman and the works of the
Gawain-poet and then setting these against the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the most well-known and studied of the Ricardians. It brings the other poets’ work into sharper focus, showing that despite a diversity in style and approach, common concerns and attitudes underpin all of the poets under consideration.
SAMANTHA RAYNER gained her Ph D from Bangor University; she is currently Senior Lecturer in Publishing, University College London.
Table of Content
Introduction
Gower: The
Confessio Amantis
Langland:
Piers Plowman
The
Gawain-poet
Chaucer: The Dream Poems
Conclusion