IMOGEN MARCUS
The Proems to Books III and IV.
The prologues of Books III and IV of Troilus
and Criseyde both contain rich apostrophes to the classical
gods. The main source of Book III’s prologue is 3.74 – 79 of
Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato,
where it is part of a song sung by Troiolo. The song itself is derived
partly from Boethius, perhaps with suggestions of Dante. It sees the
narrator appealing to Venus, described variously as ‘blisful light’
(1), ‘Jove’s doughter’ (3) and ‘sonnes lief’ (3). She is therefore
shown to be a versatile power; she represents both the cosmic ‘love’
that binds elements of the universe together and more earthly sexual
attraction. This prologue leads on directly form the end of the third
book. Troilus prays to the god of love, i.e. Venus about the situation.
It is the shown to be the first time he has ever appealed to the gods
about such matters, which illustrates how serious the situation has
become for him. The narrator himself calls to Venus at the start of
Book IV, thereby achieving an effective narrative flow from one book to
the next.
The start of the fourth book contains another elaborate invocation,
this time to a very different set of powers; the malevolent Mars and
the three furies, Megera, Alete and Thesiphone. Fortune herself appears
as a fickle woman, who has decided to turn her ‘brighte face’ away from
Troilus. There is an implicit link here between Criseyde as a character
and fortune herself; both are graceful ladies who turn away from
Troilus. Fortune is a figurative representation of both herself and
Criseyde, who is carrying out her will. This prologue uses the abstract
imagery of fortune’s wheel, as well as invocations to the furies and
Mars, to foreshadow what is to come in books four and five.
These invocations to higher powers affect the overall tone of the poem,
and affect how the reader views Chaucer as poet. He augments the
pseudo-historical mode of the poem with these apostrophes, and they
form part of the general adaptation that has been made to Chaucer’s
most direct source, Boccaccio's Il
Filostrato. Astrologizing the gods was common medieval practice,
yet in this context it is also a nod towards the original sources of
the story Chaucer is retelling, classical and pseudo-classical accounts
of the Trojan War from writers such as Dares and Dictys.
He is showing himself to be a learned, authoritative poet who is in
touch with the culture from which the story he is retelling sprang. The
prologues add a personal dimension to a story that was well known to
his audience already; they are a stamp of his individuality as a writer
because they are extra-textual. Someone else who knew the story would
not be able to execute them in the same way as himself. They also make
us aware of the generic considerations of the poet. The calls to the
furies, traditionally a source of malignant retribution, imply that
Chaucer meant his version to fall more on the side of tragedy than
romance. However they also give the poem a hint of the epic, lining the
action with details of the gods who control the deeds and in the case
of Caliope, invoked alongside Venus, the thoughts of men. These
prologues provide contrast to the earthly action that they puncture by
being concerned almost exclusively with higher powers. They put the
action into a wider frame and therefore add dimension to an already
lively and eventful narrative.