大象传媒

Writer Henry Eliot explores Geoffrey Chaucer鈥檚 surreal Dream Vision poems and their contemporary relevance.

Chaucer, the father of English literature, is best known for his long narrative poem聽The Canterbury Tales, but his witty and imaginative dream visions are also wild, funny and surprisingly relevant today. Henry Eliot considers three of these medieval poems -聽The Parliament of Fowls,聽The Book of the Duchess聽and聽The House of Fame - and how they changed the course of English poetry.

They all begin with a narrator falling asleep, before quickly slipping into surreal and fantastical dream worlds, where talking birds debate the nature of true love, eagles fly into space and men grieve in forests. There are desert wildernesses, ice mountains, glass temples, wicker houses and emerald palaces.

Chaucer depicts the cacophonous worlds of rumour, debate, gossip and hearsay, invoking uncanny parallels with today鈥檚 world of social media frenzies, celebrity culture, post-truth and聽fake news. But he also explores the complex and messy nature of psychology, experience and what it means to be human.

Readings by Daniel Weyman
Producer: Jo Wheeler

A Just Radio production for 大象传媒 Radio 4