The House of Fame

Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1343–1400), translated by Kline, A.S., (contact-email)

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A modernised translation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s House of Fame, retaining as much of Chaucer’s diction and rhymes as possible. The work is a dream-vision poem that explores celebrity and renown. It examines the ways in which people’s achievements are communicated and remembered or, conversely, how they can be forgotten. Chaucer crafts a narrative where the protagonist, often thought to be a stand-in for the poet himself, is guided by an eagle to a palace made of ice, engraved with names of the famous. This allegorical structure embodies the transient nature of fame. The work, unfinished, consists of three books and melds humour with philosophical musings, reflecting on the arbitrary nature of the fame-granting process.

Author Details

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Kline, A.S.,

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