The 'Sentence' and 'Solaas' of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (England).

Abstract

The Host's call for "Tales of best sentence and most solaas" is the only aesthetic criterion raised in the Canterbury Tales; yet it has no clearly defined meaning, and has not heretofore been specifically applied to the Tales. Chaucer uses many other words which also invoke the Horatian concept of utile dulci, but has left conflicting evidence about their import and relationships. This study seeks to answer three questions: what kind of sentence and solaas did Chaucer intend to include in his poetry? did those terms imply alternative or interdependent goals? and what judgements of ultimate value can we make about the various kinds of instruction and delight provided by the Tales? Chaucer's literary interests and the testimony of his contemporaries reveal four sources for his sense of the mirth and morality to be offered in literature: the philosophical, Christian, rhetorical, and courtly traditions. Analysis of Boethius' De Consolatione Philosophiae, Augustine's De Doctrina Christiana, Geoffroi de Vinsauf's Poetria Nova, and the Roman de la Rose defines the sentence and solaas most characteristic of each tradition. In that light, I have considered Fragment VII as an "anatomy" of Harry's proposal, a testing out of the connection between "ernest" and "game." The Nun's Priests's Tale, a successful marriage of the two, is also revealed as Chaucer's most striking ( and rather unusual) assertion that they must be combined. Chaucer's reactions to the four traditions are examined in representative tales: the Knight's philosophy ( and the Miller's reply), the Christian tales in rhyme-royal, the Manciple's fable, and fin amour as seen by the Merchant and Franklin. Although Chaucer shows the difficulties of making any tradition seem worthwhile and convincing in literature, his continuing efforts to propagate Christian sentence and solaas (culminating in the Parson's Tale) reveal his conviction of its ultimate value. The other traditions have both usefulness and appeal, but are subordinate to its authoritative sentence and eternal solaas. Finally, Chaucer's adherence to the traditional view of the poet as teacher and entertainer conflicts with modern trends to read him as an inveterately ironic poet. What is too often seen as ironic rejection of the tales his pilgrims tell can be better understood as his qualified instruction, based on his perception of their limits or imperfections.