Chaucer and the "House of Fame". Discusses the cultural nature of fame and its textual expression with reference to oral heroic poetry and the modern construction of the canon of English literary trad

QUESTION 7. DISCUSS THE CULTURAL NATURE OF FAME AND ITS TEXTUAL EXPRESSION WITH REFERENCE TO ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: ORAL HEROIC POETRY, CHAUCER'S DEPICTION IN THE HOUSE OF FAME AND THE MODERN CONSTRUCTION OF THE CANON OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. YOU SHOULD FOCUS YOUR ANALYSIS ON THE INTERPLAY OF ORAL AND LITERARY TRADITIONS IN THESE CONTEXTS. Many critics have noted the complexities within Chaucer's The House of Fame, in particular, the complexities between the oral …

…stresses the fluctuations of 'fame' and how works can become a part an elite grouping. The modern reader knows, that the books within the English canon may gradually disappear or can reemerge, depending on the attitudes of people like Geffrey, the readers and scholars, and of institutions that continually study the 'classical' texts. According to Chaucer, 'fame' is not considered a noble accomplishment and the result of chance rather than any literatary merit or virtue.