Every poet arrives at some sense of how Language works. Chaucer's engagement, like that of the greatest literary figures, goes beyond the brilliant, skilful use of Language as a tool of expression, beyond what we usually call "talent." He brings to the creative use of signification a sophisticated philosophical questioning of the very nature of Language, of how we know and how we signify. Chaucer and Language argues that Chaucer's work points to answers to these questions, emphasizing that in various ways Chaucer made Language itself the Subject of his writing. The polyvalent nature of signs and the ambiguity this makes possible are discussed as one aspect of Chaucer's use of Language as Subject, as is irony. Chaucer's extension of the concept of Language to include relics and the Eucharist, his exploitation of equivocation and the lie, and the semiotic dimensions of his poetic themes are also treated. These issues derive directly from the long tradition of mediaeval sign theory and anticipate the major issues of the modern theory of signs that is semantics.

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David Williams is professor of English, St. Paul's College, University of Manitoba, and the author of several novels and critical books, including Imagined Nations: Reflections on Media in Canadian Fiction.

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"Chaucer and Language has a fine group of Contributors addressing a major critical topic. This is a solid contribution to Chaucer studies." Robert R. Edwards, Department of English, Penn State University "Chaucer and Language is solid. New interpretations are offered throughout, bringing together a wide range of Subjects and interests. The authors offer insightful, perspicacious observations and arguments, bolstered by careful, attentive, close reading that is contextualized substantively. " Catherine S. Cox, Department of English, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown