7. Chaucer's epic poem Troilus and Criseyde is considered by some to be his best work. Against what war is this tragic romance set?
- The Hundred Years' War
- The Peloponnesian War
- The Trojan War
- The War of the Roses
The answer is c. The Trojan War.
Troilus and Criseyde is based on an earlier medieval romance, probably invented by Benoît de Sainte-Maure in his Roman de Troie, and was also the subject of Boccaccio's work Il filostrato. In it the story of the love affair between the son of the Trojan king and the daughter of a deserter priest is told. Shakespeare was undoubtedly influenced by Chaucer's version as well as others in his own play.
Unlike The Canterbury Tales, this epic romance was not only finished but polished, and therefore reveals the advantages of the time and effort that Chaucer was able to invest.
