Petrarch and Chaucer on Fame
19
his conception of literature and literary fame, and it is small
wonder that Howard views it as Chaucer’s “most puzzling poem”
(Howard, 1987: 232). As a budding poet, Chaucer reveals his
uncertainty about the ends of literature in the
House of Fame
, and
his reflection on fame is closely intertwined with his mulling over
the nature of literature. As this paper will demonstrate, despite all
these uncertainties Chaucer betrays a yearning for literary
recognition, as evidenced by the literary conventions he emulates
and the attention he lavishes on the nature of fame.
The “Second Nun’s Prologue” affords a clue to what
prompted Chaucer to engage in literary writing. In this prologue,
the Second Nun prefaces her story of St. Cecilie with a short but
intriguing commentary on how to ward off sloth by “leveful
bisynesse” (1987: 5).
19
For the prim lady, lethargy is the scourge
of evils in that the devil tends to smite the feckless by planting the
seeds of laziness in them and to seize whatever chance to take
control of them when they are enfeebled by idleness (1-21). As the
nun considers her storytelling a “feithful busyness” (24) to expel
idleness, we can assume that provision of refreshing entertainment,
among other things, constitutes a possible justification for
Chaucer’s engaging in creative writing. While it is generally
acknowledged that Chaucer’s early works, such as his vision-poems,
are only intended to entertain a small and intimate group in the
court, a notable concern about the reception of his works among
the general public is keenly felt throughout Chaucer’s corpus
(Strohm, 2003: 5).
If we begin our discussion with Chaucer’s portrayal of Aeneas
and Dido in the
House of Fame
, our first impression of fame is
definitely unfavorable. For example, in his telling their story, the
narrator, though genuinely sympathetic towards Dido, nevertheless
casts aspersions on her credulity and impaired judgment.
19
Throughout this paper, citations from the
Canterbury Tales
are cited by line
number and in accordance with Chaucer (1987).
