Troilus and Criseyde

The three Oxford Guides to Chaucer are written by scholars of international repute, with the purpose of summarizing what is known about his works and offering interpretations based on recent advances in both historical knowledge and theoretical understanding. Barry Windeatt's volume on Troilus and Criseyde examines the poem that is Chaucer's most ambitious single achievement, his masterpiece, and one of the very finest narrative poems in the English language. The story of love fulfilled and trust betrayed - of how Troilus and Criseyde discover love, and how she abandons him for Diomede after her departure from Troy - is presented by Chaucer with profound insight into human character and explored through its philosophical and spiritual dimensions. This Oxford Guide is the most comprehensive introduction to Troilus and Criseyde yet produced. It includes the fullest and most convenient account of Chaucer's imaginative use of his sources, the first extended analysis of the poem's originality of genre, and a readable commentary on all aspects of the work, its structure, themes, characterization, and style. It also contains a survey of literary responses to Troilus in the three centuries following Chaucer's death. The Guide combines the informative substance of a reference book with the coherence of a critical reading, and is set to establish itself as a standard work on Troilus and Criseyde.