Traditionalists receive short, stinging chop to back of neckDid Chaucer invent free verse?
An English professor is taking a new look at Geoffrey Chaucer’s often-neglected short poems, and suggests the writer intentionally broke some of the rules he is so well known for following.
English professor William Quinn will present his paper, “Chaucer as the Father of Free Verse,” during the Modern Language Association convention being held from Dec. 27-30 in Philadelphia.
“Chaucer has traditionally been seen as the single poet who determined that, for the next four centuries, we’d be counting syllables,” Quinn said. “My title suggests he broke the rules on purpose, and anticipated change.”
The poet saw that there were problems with absolute regularity in such poetic forms as rhyming sequences and numbers of lines in a stanza, so he would try things, and if they didn’t work, he would move away from them, according to Quinn.
We've seen it before, folks. One academic striving to end the careers of others with one fell swoop. But it's so fun to watch!
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