The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Book of the Duchess, also called The Deth of Blaunche.
- Chaucer wrote the poem for the death of Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt.
- It has 1,334 lines
- Blanche was the first wife of John of Gaunt, who died of the plague.
Summary of the poem:
The poet is sleepless. He has been suffering from an undiagnosed disease for eight long years. He is neither happy nor sorrowful. He worries that his insomnia may kill him. He can tell that only one physician can cure him but that won’t happen. He is reading a collection of old stories, which can be predicted as Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The book is about King Ceyx or Seys and Queen Alcyone. Ceyx went to sea and died. Alycone had been waiting for her husband and he didn’t come. So, she mourned in solitude. She was not sure about her husband’s fate and she didn’t eat until she knew about him. So, she prayed to Goddess Juno to send her a dream Vision about her husband.
Juno made Alycone sleep and she sent her messenger to Morpheus to bring the body of Ceyx from the Great Sea, with his own soul and a message for Alycone. The messenger went to Dark Valley, where Morpheus and Eclympasteyr were sleeping. He woke him up and conveyed the order to Morpheus. Morpheus found Ceyx’s body and gave it to Alycone in a dream, three hours before dawn. In her dream, The dead Ceyx instructed his wife to find his dead body and bury him and told her not to worry and added that she was his true love. When Alycone opened her eyes, Ceyx was already gone. Alycone died after three days.
The poet stops reading and wishes that If he had God Juno and Morpheus like Alycone, he could sleep. Then, the poet falls asleep and has a dream. He describes his dream as wonderful yet no one can find its true meaning. Neither Joseph, the biblical dream interpreter nor Macrobius, the Roman author. On a May Morning. When the birds are singing, the poet wakes up in a chamber with a window. On the window, the tale of Troy is painted. The Walls are painted with the story of The Romance of the Rose.
He leaves the chamber after hearing the hunting horn, he enquires about the Hunt. The Hunt is by Octavian. The dogs are ready and the Hunt starts. A small dog accompanies the poet. He goes inside the Forest. The picture is of greenery. He thinks he is in heaven where he can see all the Animals. On his way, he finds a knight in a black dress. He is composing a song for his lady, namely Complaint. After he finishes the song, The Knight becomes pale with chest pain. The poet questions the reason for his melancholy and opens up for help. The Knight tirades that he has lost his Queen in a game of chess with Fortuna. The poet advises the Knight not to worry over a game of chess.
The knight describes his loss of the beloved “Good Fair White”. The poet asks about the chess game he mentioned earlier and later he can explain about lady love still, he cannot understand Knight’s Metaphorical statements. The poet explains Socrates preaching about fate. He lists the famous love suffering of Medea and Jason, Dido and Aeneas, and Samson with Delilah and asks the Knight to quit the idea of suicide. The knight replies that he is not aware of what the poet is talking about and starts with the lady love story again and adds that he was nervous in conveying his love towards his lady love. After a long time, the love was reciprocated by his lady love. They got married. His wife was nice, beautiful, and Kind. She had golden hair and surpassed the beauty of everyone. They were happy for many years.
The poet asks about the whereabouts of his lady love. The Knight replies that she is no more. The poet can understand that the Knight is desperate about his lost love. Then the Hunt ends with a horn. The King’s troops have gone back to the castle. The poet awakes with his book in his hand. He thinks of versifying his dream and he writes this poem.
Thanks for reading.
Wish you abundance in Knowledge.
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