Chaucer and Pagan Antiquity by A. J. Minnis

Benson, C. David

doi:10.1353/sac.1984.0019

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“…This indicates that Chauntecleer's hazardous conversation with the Fox reflects the Cock's belief that everything is determined and that free will cannot interrupt the sequence of actions. For Minnis, it is not a death‐wish, passivity, or stupidity that motivates the Cock to talk with the Fox, but a form of "necessitee" that "ennoble[s] what must be by accepting it bravely" (Minnis, 1982, 133). This reading seems insightful, but it does not explain why Chauntecleer tries later to trick the Fox and fly away.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of destiny and free will in Chauntecleer's dream

Zuraikat

2022

Orbis Litterarum

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The episode of Chauntecleer's dream found in Chaucer's "The Nun's Priest's Tale" is a controversial topic for Chaucer critics. Some critics argue that the downfall-escape experience of Chauntecleer is worthy of investigation because animal figures in fables symbolize people (Finlayson, 2005, 495) and thus their rise and downfall sometimes allude to certain theological or philosophical issues such as the original Fall of Adam and Eve (Payne, 1976, 211-112).Other critics propose, on the contrary, that the episode of Chauntecleer is a "joke" and therefore should not be overestimated (Eliason, 1972, 172). These two opposing perspectives have their own rationale; nevertheless, the centrality of Chauntecleer's dream to the narrative of "The Nun's Priest's Tale" is hard to ignore. Considering the philosophical reverberations of the tale concerning the medieval concepts of destiny and free will, this paper argues that the Chauntecleer episode is not a "joke" but a philosophical exemplar that proposes the absence of any demarcating lines between destiny and free will, bearing in mind that destiny refers to the many options decreed by the deity to be available in every single situation for each individual, while free will refers to humans' freedom to decide what to say and do. The paper contends that Chauntecleer's dream shows how free will and destiny-though they are "inconsistent" forces (Boethius, 1785, 195)-mysteriously connive together to form what can be called conditional free will.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The concept of destiny and free will in Chauntecleer's dream

Zuraikat

2022

Orbis Litterarum

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Chaucer and Pagan Antiquity by A. J. Minnis

Cited by 1 publication

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The concept of destiny and free will in Chauntecleer's dream

The concept of destiny and free will in Chauntecleer's dream

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