The House of Fame
Encyclopedia
The House of Fame is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer
, probably written between 1379 and 1380, making it one of his earlier works.
composed in octosyllabic couplets. Upon falling asleep the poet finds himself in a glass temple adorned with images of the famous and their deeds. With an eagle as a guide, he meditates on the nature of fame and the trustworthiness of recorded renown. This allows Geoffrey to contemplate the role of the poet in reporting the lives of the famous and how much truth there is in what can be told.
The poem is regarded as the first of Chaucer's Italian-influenced period and there are echoes of the works of Ovid
, Virgil
's Aeneid
and particularly Dante
's Divine Comedy. The three part structure and the reference to various personalities suggests to some that the poem was meant as a parody of the Divine Comedy. The work shows a significant advancement in Chaucer's art from the earlier Book of the Duchess. A reference at the end of the work to a "man of great authority" reporting tidings of love has been interpreted as a reference to the wedding of Richard II
and Anne
or the betrothal of Philippa of Lancaster
and John I of Portugal
but such great events are treated so irreverently to make this unlikely. As with several other works by Chaucer the poem is apparently unfinished, although whether the ending was indeed left incomplete, has been lost, or is a deliberate rhetorical device
is uncertain.
The terms galaxy and Milky Way
first appeared in the English language in this poem.
as his The Temple of Fame. John Skelton
made an earlier emendation to Chaucer's vision of Fame, Rumour and Fortune with his A Garlande of Laurell.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
, probably written between 1379 and 1380, making it one of his earlier works.
Overview
The House of Fame is over 2,000 lines long in three books and takes the form of a dream visionDream vision
A dream vision is a literary device in which a dream is recounted for a specific purpose. While dreams occur frequently throughout the history of literature, the dream vision emerged as a poetic genre in its own right, and was particularly popular in the Middle Ages. This genre typically follows a...
composed in octosyllabic couplets. Upon falling asleep the poet finds himself in a glass temple adorned with images of the famous and their deeds. With an eagle as a guide, he meditates on the nature of fame and the trustworthiness of recorded renown. This allows Geoffrey to contemplate the role of the poet in reporting the lives of the famous and how much truth there is in what can be told.
The poem is regarded as the first of Chaucer's Italian-influenced period and there are echoes of the works of Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
and particularly Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divine Comedy. The three part structure and the reference to various personalities suggests to some that the poem was meant as a parody of the Divine Comedy. The work shows a significant advancement in Chaucer's art from the earlier Book of the Duchess. A reference at the end of the work to a "man of great authority" reporting tidings of love has been interpreted as a reference to the wedding of Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
and Anne
Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania....
or the betrothal of Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster, LG was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage with King John I secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and produced several famous children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal...
and John I of Portugal
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
but such great events are treated so irreverently to make this unlikely. As with several other works by Chaucer the poem is apparently unfinished, although whether the ending was indeed left incomplete, has been lost, or is a deliberate rhetorical device
Rhetorical device
In rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading him or her towards considering a topic from a different perspective. While rhetorical devices may be used to evoke an...
is uncertain.
The terms galaxy and Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
first appeared in the English language in this poem.
Adaptations
In the eighteenth century, it was adapted by Alexander PopeAlexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
as his The Temple of Fame. John Skelton
John Skelton
John Skelton, also known as John Shelton , possibly born in Diss, Norfolk, was an English poet.-Education:...
made an earlier emendation to Chaucer's vision of Fame, Rumour and Fortune with his A Garlande of Laurell.
External links
- Translation and Other Resources at eChaucer
- Chaucer's poem The House of Fame in Modern English prose translation
- The Dream Poems – modernised versions A. S. KlineA. S. KlineA. S. Kline, known as Tony Kline is a British poet and translator, living in England.He graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the University of Manchester, and was Chief Information Officer of a large UK Company before dedicating himself to his literary work and interests...