Paul Wiles' Essays


“‘Troilus & Criseyde’ presents at once the claims of two contradictory but equally valid points of view”. Discuss some aspects of the poem’s ambiguity.

Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV

by Paul Wiles

The ‘Troilus’ is usually cited as the work in which Chaucer reached the height of his powers and as one of the best examples of sustained narrative in Middle English.

Though so obviously an enjoyable piece of literature, the enjoyment of some critics appears to be marred by the poem’s inherent ambiguities and inconsistently resolved contradictions. For yet, ironically, these same critics spend page after page elaborately arguing the case. The fact that there is such a divergence of views on the ‘Troilus’ suggest that there are undoubtedly difficulties and ambiguities that the reader must come to terms with.


In the poem, there is a great range of style which makes it impossible to see it as a Romance, or a naturalistic ‘novel’ type of literature. It is neither highly idealised nor highly realised. The world of

‘The double sorwe of Troilus to tellen
That was the byng Priamus sone of Troye,
In lovynge, how his adventures fellen…’(I, 1-3)

Is an idealised world, full of superlative heroes, suggesting superlative qualities? It seems far removed from the moving, yet comic scenes between Pandarus and his niece.

‘With that his arm al sodegnly he thriste
Under hire nebbe, and at the last hire kyste’ (111 1574/5).


This ambiguous oscillation between Romance conventions and naturalism is an area that is explored to the full by Chaucer in the figure of Pandarus.

One of the most striking features of Pandarus is that he is presented to us as a practical realist, and yet nowhere does he betray a lack of confidence in the high ideals of love. These two elements may at first appear contradictory, but the function of Pandarus in this is to provide a critique of the idealisms of love by placing them against a realistic background. The effect of his own love-suit is a good example of this because its mock seriousness and comedy stands in juxtaposition to the deadly seriousness of Troilus and his love for Criseyde:

(she asks)
‘How perforth be ye put in loves daunce?’
‘By God,’ quod he, ‘I hoppe alwey behynde!’
And she to laughe, it thoughte hire herte breste? 11 1106-8

He certainly shows by helping Troilus, an unrivalled knowledge of the theory of Love, but is unable to put it into practice.