Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA English
Department
English
Advisor
Angela Weisl, PhD
Advisor
Nancy Enright, PhD
Keywords
Poetics, Platonism, Boethius, Medieval, Philosophy
Abstract
Often referred to as the last Roman and first medieval, Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy, has been widely received as an unoriginal philosopher who sought to preserve Platonic thought as the Western Roman Empire fell. However, this essay features an investigation into the literary originality of Boethius who initiates a line of Christian and Platonic literatures to follow in the medieval European tradition. Boethius demonstrates himself to be a poet who makes great use of philosophy rather than as a philosopher writing poetry. Boethius’ poetic influence is felt most strongly in major aspects of Dante’s Divine Comedy and in The Knight’s Tale of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Recommended Citation
Hunter, Francis J., "Mythos and Meaning: Medieval Appropriations of Mythological Types in The Consolation of Philosophy and Later Western Literatures" (2024). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 3162.
https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/3162
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, Comparative Philosophy Commons, Continental Philosophy Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Indo-European Linguistics and Philology Commons, Italian Literature Commons, Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Metaphysics Commons, Other Classics Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Translation Studies Commons
