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Fame and Her House (Chaucer's House of Fame)

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Fame and Her House (Chaucer's House of Fame)
In Chaucer’s House of Fame, the reader is privy to a momentous dream of Geoffrey’s, a poet protagonist dedicated to love. In this dream, he meets an eagle that promises to bear him to the House of Fame as a reward from Jupiter himself. Once there, Geoffrey is told that he will “here…mo wonder thynges…and of loves folk moo tydynges, both soothe sawes and lesinges, and moo loves new begonne, and longe yserved loves wonne, and moo loves casuelly (Chaucer, Lines 672-679).” This excerpt is meant to outline what is to be expected from Chaucer and his text. However, when Geoffrey finally arrives at the House of Fame in the opening of Book III, he learns less about Love’s tidings and more about one of the sisters of Love, Fame, and her followers. This redirection of intent forces the reader to question Chaucer, and reconsider the real purpose of Geoffrey’s journey to the House of Fame. Aside from learning of Love’s tidings, the eagle states that Jupiter intended “this caas thee [for] thy lore and for thy prow (Chaucer, Lines 578-559).” Considering this, one realizes that Geoffrey obviously learned a great deal from his visit, but has to question exactly how Geoffrey, and in turn the reader, profited from it and what meaning, if any, is meant to be drawn from The House of Fame. Paul G. Ruggiers, author of “The Unity of Chaucer’s House of Fame”, claims that the aim of the text is to illustrate the influence of Fame on all things, including those subject to her sister, Love. Considering this, one can further claim that Jupiter’s true reward for Geoffrey, and also Chaucer’s intent for the reader, is detailed knowledge of Fame and her subjects, which serves as a valuable example of Fame’s very nature.
Ruggiers begins his argument with the story of Dido and Aeneas, the focus of Book I of The House of Fame. Having learned that Aeneas plans to abandon her to move onto Italy, the reader finds Dido in turmoil. However, instead of cursing Fortune or cursing Love on account of


Bibliography: The House of Fame by Geoffrey Chaucer “The Unity of Chaucer 's ‘House of Fame’” By Paul G. Ruggiers Studies in Philology, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Jan., 1953), pp. 16-29 Published by: University of North Carolina Press
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