Petrarch and Chaucer on Fame
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If we confine our discussion to the issue of fame, both
Petrarch and Chaucer, as analyzed before, are intimately aware of
the emptiness of worldly fame when contrasted with the effulgence
of divine glory. Yet they express their longing for fame in different
ways. Petrarch is much more candid about his yearning for literary
fame: despite his understanding of the vanity of worldly glory,
Petrarch still strives for immortality through his literary works.
Chaucer’s case is more complicated because of his characteristic
noncommittal style throughout his works. Though patently
disappointed with the rulings delivered by Fame and therefore
determined to disregard any judgment concerning his reputation
after his death (Chaucer, 1997: 1876-1877), the narrator does not
completely forsake the quest of fame. However, the narrator falls
back on himself as the only inerrant arbiter of how he fares: “I
wote my self best how y stonde
—
” (1878).
