John Gower II Age of Chaucer II History of English Literature II John Gower Biography and Works

 

14^th CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE

Among the contemporaries of Chaucer, John Gower, William Langland and John Barbour are the most outstanding ones.

JOHN GOWER (1330 ? – 1408)

John Gower belonged to a rich Kentish family and was a friend to Chaucer who used to call him as “moral Gower”. He turned blind in 1400 and died in 1408.

GOWER’S CONTRIBUTION:

Gower was more a moralist than a poet. His poetry is full of preaching and didacticism. He wrote three important works in three different languages.

1. ‘Speculum Meditantis’ is written in French. It is an allegorical poem written in 30000 lines describing the attacks of the Seven Deadly Sins on mankind. It is a satirical poem exposing the social vices of the country.

2. ‘Vox Clamantis’ is written in Latin. Here, Gower has represented people as beasts, oxen, dogs, flies and frogs. This poem too presents the evils of the society and leads to social reform.

3. ‘Confessio Amantis’ is written in English in East Midland dialect. It is a collection of stories in poetic form. Written in 33000 lines, it has a prologue followed by eight books. It is written on the theme of courtly love. The poem also presents Christian ideals and is full of moral virtues.

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