{"product_id":"framing-the-canterbury-tales-katharine-s-gittes-sandstrom-9780313278068","title":"Framing the Canterbury Tales: Chaucer and the Medieval Frame Narrative Tradition","description":"\u003cp\u003eA clear emphasis on literary antecedents of the \u003ci\u003eCanterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e differentiates this book from most criticism of Chaucer's work. Katharine S. Gittes finds a blending of two frame narrative traditions in the \u003ci\u003eCanterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e, one that originated in India and the Near East and the other in ancient Greece. To illustrate this dual literary tradition, Gittes compares Chaucer's work to a selection of pre-Chaucerian frame narratives that influenced his form directly or indirectly, and other narratives contemporary with Chaucer, that, in their likenesses or differences, illuminate the methodology of the Canterbury Tales. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCovering materials written in eight different languages, \u003ci\u003eFraming the Canterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e includes discussion of the Indian-Arabic \u003ci\u003ePanchatantra\u003c\/i\u003e, Boccaccio's \u003ci\u003eDecameron\u003c\/i\u003e, Gower's \u003ci\u003eConfessio Amantis\u003c\/i\u003e, and both Eastern and Western versions of the \u003ci\u003eBook of Sinbad\u003c\/i\u003e. Gittes addresses the relationship between the framing stories and the tales, the degree of open-endedness in theme and structure, aesthetic principles, didactic elements, the significance of prologues and epilogues, the travel\/pilgrimmage motif, the function of the narrator, and the degree of characterization in both Eastern and Western frame narratives. An examination of Eastern and Western elements in Chaucer's \u003ci\u003eCanterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the existing tension between the two, and the ingenious way Chaucer responds to and makes the most of this tension. Eastern features include the open-endedness, the random ordering of tales, and the mode of narration; Western elements include the dramatic features, the grouping or pairing of tales, the symmetry and the recurring motifs. In examining different cultural outlooks and a variety of different, non-literary disciplines, Gittes expands the field of Chaucer criticism. Her book will interest students and scholars of diverse cultures and literary periods, as well as Chaucer enthusiasts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Katharine S. Gittes Sandstrom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0313278067\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780313278068\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Praeger\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/30\/1991\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.84lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.56d","brand":"Katharine S. Gittes Sandstrom","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44119567728895,"sku":"9780313278068","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ceffdc38-7636-4df2-b262-4ddbcd4e961c.jpg?v=1687409953","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/framing-the-canterbury-tales-katharine-s-gittes-sandstrom-9780313278068","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}