Poetry Does Theology – Chaucer, Grosseteste, and the Pearl–poet

What happens when poetry deals explicitly with a serious theological issue? In Poetry Does Theology, Jim Rhodes seeks one answer to that question by analyzing the symbiotic relationship that existed between theology and poetry in fourteenth-century England. He pays special attention to the narrative poems of Chaucer, Grosseteste, the Pearl-poet, the author of Saint Erkenwald, and Langland. Rhodes’ careful analysis describes how the relationship between theology and poetry underwent a radical transformation as the latter half of the fourteenth century progressed.

"As Jim Rhodes demonstrates in this readable and extremely intelligent book, the diverse ways in which Chaucer, Grosseteste, and the Pearl-poet treat theological themes are intricate and subtle. . . . Rhodes's book definitely breaks new ground by advancing our understanding of the theological facets of Ricardian literature." —Studies in the Age of Chaucer

“Rhodes emerges as a reader to whom fictive persons matter, regardless of the century they inhabit, because they and their lives speak about us—not as subjectivities but as souls. His book deserves credit for treating both medieval religion and medieval poetry seriously as liberating elements in human life.” —Speculum

"The influence of Christian thinking on medieval English society is often reflected and refracted through the literature of the period. Analyses of the interplay between poetry and doctrine regularly add to the stream of literary criticism of Middle English texts, a tally to which Jim Rhodes adds his own contribution with this volume." —The Heythrop Journal

"Rhodes's book establishes a provocative topic most worthy of further consideration." —Journal of Religion

Jim Rhodes is professor emeritus of English at Southern Connecticut State University.