In Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, the main character Troilus depicts the overt and covert ideology of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy. Clearly, Troilus meets with the Boethian question of free will, views it from the perspective of a Boethian universe, and closes with Boethius's suggestion to serve God. Less apparently, Troilus shows that in order to discern the ultimate Boethian position on free will, the conflict between reason and passion must also be resolved. Because he succumbs to passion and loses his ability to reason, Troilus appears illogical and negative when he discusses free will. In heaven, though, Troilus experiences the ultimate Boethian state and acclaims the final Boethian pronouncement that results from the resolution of not only the free will-necessity question but also the reason passion issue. Perceiving his situation intuitively and thus circumventing the deductive process, Troilus rejects a life given to following "blynde lust" and commends one dedicated to God. In doing so, he illustrates both the apparent and the obscure of Boethian philosophy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181585 |
| Date | January 1977 |
| Creators | Ross, Margaret K. |
| Contributors | Fifield, Merle |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | i, 34 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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