“The key of remembrance”: topos of a book in late medieval English dream vision poems

Ибрагимова К.Р.

Ibragimova Karina Rashitovna – Candidate in Philology, Lecturer at the Department of Foreign Literatures, Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University; ORCID: 0000-0002-9639-3261

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the topos of a book in the works of English and Scottish poets of the late Middle Ages – Geoffrey Chaucer and his followers James I and William Dunbar. The focus is on the genre of the allegorical courtly dream vision, where the topos of a book plays an important role. The book introduces references to other literary works to the text of the poem and functions as a special guide into the world of vision for the visionary. The use of the topos of a book brings in other important features of dream vision poems in their Chaucerian version: the expansion of the part dedicated to the earthly existence of the character, the connection of his vision with the idea of creativity. The Chaucerians James I and William Dunbar retain all these traits and add to them the desire to equal not only the great poets of the past, but also their inspiration, Chaucer.

Keywords

Geoffrey Chaucer; James I of Scotland; William Dunbar; dream vision; book.

DOI: 10.31249/lit/2025.01.02

Download text