September 11 2007 Professor B.G. Harding ENG 3542-001 Critical Response #1 4. The dreamer and the Man in Black both employ many language and rhetorical
strategies in Chaucers Book of the Duchess. However, Chaucer provides the Man in Black with a more poetic verse than the dreamer and the Man in Black narration is far superior to the dreamers. The dreamer admires the Man in Blacks ability to be rational and reasonable despite his inner turmoil, And I saw that and gan maqueynte; With him, and fond him so tretable, Right wonder skilful and reasonable And me thoughte, for al his bale(lns.535-537). The Man in Black is assumed to be John of Gaunt and therefore is from a higher strata of society than the dreamer. This hierarchy is further developed in the way that the two address eachother with the uses of the formal you and Thou. For example, the Man in Black says, I thank thee that thou woldest so (ln. 561). The dreamer is also impressed with how well the knight spoke to him, Lo, how goodly spak this knight (ln. 529). For this reason, the Man in Black is granted superior interpretational skills to the dreamer and the dreamer admits to the Man in Blacks superior abilities. The Man in Black employs exemplification skills drawing from many different sources when he discusses nature, he refers to Pan, (ln. 513) and also draws from other sources like Ovid, and mythological figures like Orpheus and Dedalus (ln. 571). With the use of references, the Man in Blacks enriches his narration and impresses the dreamer. The discussion of vitals and of his aching heart for his lost Lady are also interesting
description devices the Man in Black uses to enrich narrative. his The dreamer also notes that the Man in Black speaks almost in melody like a song, He seyde a lay, a maner song, Withoute note, withoute song (lns.471-472). The dreamer also uses much description in his imagery of nature. He has a more modest tone in his narration and does not speak with authority or in a poetic sing-song way as the Man in Black. Yet, his imagery of nature is still very striking, For it was on to beholde As though therth envye wolde To be gayer than the heven, To have mo floures schiche seven As in the welken sterres be (lns. 405-410). The dreamer also uses some forms of exemplification in his rhetorical strategies, but they are in the form of his dream, not from his discussion. When he views the murals on his walls, they are of the story of Troy, yet he does not reference the stories in his discussion with the Man in Black, it is merely a part of his dream prior to meeting the Man in Black. 5. The outer frame of the poem and the inner dream vision are closely related as
Chaucer references the story of Ceyx and Alcyone within his dream. The dreamer is also suffering from a state of melancholy. Within the dream, the man goes on a hunt and finds a man in a similar state, but who is a knight and of a more chivalrous attitude towards his state of melancholy. While the dreamer cares of nothing, the knight is in a deep state of remorse and longs for his long lost lady. The dreamer confronts his inner state within his altered state of consciousness in dreaming. The dreamer also establishes his tale by referring to Ovids tale and then creating his own dream vision instead of jumping right into his own dream.