Political Allegory in Late Medieval England by Ann W. Astell

Abstract

STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER guing texts in a reliable critical edition. It will undoubtedly contribute to discussions on many issues of late medieval literature: Christine de Pizan's feminism avant la lettre; the intense criticism and ultimate de­ mise of the tradition of courtly love; the importance of the material manuscript for textual interpretation; the presence and significance of historical events in fictional texts; and the growing intrusion of writerly figures into their own texts. RENATE BLUMENFELD-KOSINSKI University of Pittsburgh ANN W. AsTELL. Political Allegory in Late Medieval England. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1999. Pp. xi, 218. $35.00. In her most recent book, Ann W. Astell reproaches many scholars' fre­ quent neglect of political allegory in medieval literature. Responding to scholars who prefer moral and philosophical allegory, Astell wishes to restore political allegory as an element consciously integrated with po­ etic matters by the author and eminently relevant to his contemporary audience. To recognize and decode these allegories, however, Astell de­ ploys her methodology in a way that many medievalists might find trou­ bling. Rejecting the long-held assumption that inventio nearly disappeared after Christians appropriated classical rhetoric, Astell reconsiders inven­ tion as medieval authors' gathering their materia before building their work. She concludes that the poem's materiality (and, by extension, the means of invention) "included the poem's literal subject, its intended allegories, and its anticipated audience-the total discovery of which then directed the poet's decisions concerning arrangement and style" (p. 25). Astell then presents allegorical readings of six texts spanning roughly a century, from the 1381 Uprising to the Battle of Tewksbury; her book becomes a key unlocking the "recognizable codes and proce­ dures" the authors used to transform the "pressing issues of the day" into "artful and rhetorical" political allegory (p. 42). She convenes a host of literary genres and tropes capable of carrying the unspoken message-dream-vision, parable, personification, wordplay, coded mes­ sages, Latin expressions, exempla, and even rhetoric itself-providing 448 REVIEWS many fresh topical connections between the texts and concurrent politi­ cal events. But rather than reading these topical connections as part of the cultural context informing and shaping the texts, Astell pursues the authorial intention behind the political allegory. Beginning her examination with John Ball's letters and Piers Plow­ man, Astell not only locates the political allegory embedded in the re­ bellious priest's letters but also speculates on how he allegorically in­ terpreted Piers. By tying Ball's exhortations to the popular sermon exemplum "Sayings ofthe Four Philosophers" and Langland's poem, As­ tell finds purposely hidden intertextual relationships buried among the letters, the "Sayings," and Piers Plowman. Moreover, she argues, Lang­ land provides a potent model for allegorical reading and writing. Ac­ cording to Astell, where Langland does not mention certain things, Ball considered the unspoken politically dangerous and, accordingly, sup­ plied them himself; Ball then used his interpretation to justify his action and to exhort others to rebellion, thereby illustrating the rhetorical effi­ cacy of political allegory. In her next chapter, "Gower's Arion and 'Cithero,"' Astell locates sev­ eral veiled references to contemporary events, including an unusual dol­ phin sighting that explains Gower's reference to Arion. Based on the date ofthe dolphin's appearance, Astell argues that Gower presented the Confessio Amantis to both Richard II and Henry of Derby around 1393. She confronts directly the question of multiple versions of the Confessio by arguing that Gower did not revise his "bok for King Richardes sake" until the Lancastrian usurpation, when its political allegory no longer obtained. By arguing for concurrent and multiple audiences, she as­ tutely recognizes the interpretive levels available-and frequently found-in Gower. Her fourth chapter, "Chaucer's Ricardian Allegories," begins by revis­ iting the allegorical occasion for The Legend ofGood Women and the topi­ cal issue of Queen Anne as intercessor. Astell's reading derives from the similarities and differences between Chaucer's poem and Richard's highly charged court. Because these narrative arguments repeatedly shift perspectives-Cupid represents not only Richard but also Arun­ del, the lord appellant responsible for executing some of Richard's clos­ est confidants-they aptly illustrate...