The Confessio Amantis opens with a prologue in
which the author attributes the anarchy of his times to
corrupt leadership and division within society. Central to
the opening is Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from the book
of Daniel (2:31–45), concerning the giant statue of gold,
silver, brass, steel, and clay, symbolizing the decline of
civilization. The prologue concludes with a prayer that
a new Arion (a legendary harper of classical mythology)
might be found to bring back the golden age of peace and
harmony with his musicianship. Book 1 sets the frame
for the poem itself. The poet, lovesick and seeking sol-
ace, goes one May morning into the woods. He prays to
Cupid and Venus, the king and queen of love, who then
appear to him; Cupid pierces his heart with a fi ery dart,
and Venus commands him to confess his sins to Genius,
the priest of love. Genius presents his method: he will
question Amans concerning his sins, after the manner
of a confessor; but since he is a priest only of love, he
will speak of sin only as it affects love. The remainder
of book 1 is devoted to describing several “branches” of
Pride (Hypocrisy, Disobedience, Presumption, Boast-
ing, and Vain Glory), each made memorable by one or
more illustrative stories, or exempla, of varied length
and complexity. The last section of book 1 offers a de-
scription of Humility, Pride’s opposing virtue, and an
exemplum of humble behavior.
This pattern—the subdivision of a sin into its branch-
es, the use of exempla to illustrate these branch sins, and
(usually) the presentation and illustration of a major op-
posing virtue— recurs in books 2 through 6, which cover
Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, and Gluttony. Book 3 also
includes a digression in which Amans inquires about
the morality of war, a question of great importance to
Gower. Book 7, on the education of Alexander, devotes
most of its space to a speculum principum, or “mirror
for princes,” in which fi ve “points of policy” (Truth,
Largesse, Justice, Pity, and Chastity) are identifi ed as
the central elements of good kingship. Again exempla
of varying length illustrate the points under discussion.
Book 8 turns to Lechery, the remaining cardinal sin,
focusing almost entirely on a single branch sin, Incest.
For most of the book Genius tells the tale of Apollonius
of tyre, which illustrates not merely the commission and
avoidance of incest and lechery but also the other six
sins and their opposing virtues. Book 8 thus simultane-
ously explores the worst kind of lechery and effectively
recapitulates the themes of the fi rst seven books.
Following his confession Amans again meets the
Queen of Love and identifi es himself at last as “John
Gower.” Surprisingly Venus now holds up a mirror so
that the lover can see that he is old, and unfi t for the kind
of dalliance he pursues. She also removes the fi ery dart
from Amans’s heart, releasing him from his passion. Fi-
nally Genius absolves Amans and Venus gives the cured
lover a set of beads and the admonition to “pray for the
peace.” In the poem’s closing lines we are returned to
the universal themes of the prologue, including the evils
of division and the hope for good kingship and loving
harmony in society.
“To King Henry IV, In Praise of Peace” is Gower’s
only other extant English poem. Containing 55 rime roy-
al stanzas, it occurs in one manuscript version (BL Add.
59495, the Trentham Manuscript) and was printed by
Thynne in his 1532 edition of Chaucer’s Wo r k s. As in the
Confessio Gower’s pacifi stic concern for an end to do-
mestic and international strife receives a prominent place.
Although Gower has been slighted by modern critical
opinion (usually, indeed, dismissed as “moral Gower,” as
Chaucer calls him, albeit with no denigrating intent, at
the conclusion of Troilus), recent scholarship is return-
ing his work to its earlier prominence. Clearly Chaucer’s
most signifi cant poetic confi dant, Gower appears to
have infl uenced his friend at least in the tales they
tell in common, notably those of “Constance” (MLT),
“Florent” (WBT), “Phebus and Cornide” (MancT), and
“Tereus” (“Philomela” in LGW). For “Constance” and
the Man of Law’s Tale it is thought that the two friends
exchanged drafts of their work, with Gower’s assumed
to be the earlier version.
Gowers reputation remained high during the 15th
century, his name appearing in paeans by Lydgate,
Hoccleve, Henryson, Dunbar, and others as a co-
founder, with Chaucer, of the national poetic language.
In the 16th and 17th centuries his work was praised
and plundered by Spenser, Milton, and Shakespeare
(whose Pericles adapts the “Apollonius of Tyre” story
and brings “Ancient Gower” onto the stage as chorus).
A moralist and scholar, Gower is often lauded for the
spare, no-nonsense approach he takes to narration—a
quality especially visible in the Confessio Amantis—and
he is increasingly perceived as an independent literary
theorist with strong views as to the role poetry might
play in making a just, peaceful society.
See also Brunetto Latini; Caxton, William;
Chaucer, Geoffrey; Henry IV; Richard IIFurther Reading
Primary Sources
Echard, Siân, and Claire Fanger, trans. The Latin Verses in the
Confessio Amantis: An Annotated Translation. East Lansing:
Colleagues, 1991.
Macaulay, G.C., ed. The Complete Works of John Gower. 4 vols.
Oxford: Clarendon, 1899-1902. Vols. 2 and 3 repr. as The
English Works of John Gower, EETS e.s. 81–82. London:
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1900–01.
Peck, Russell A., ed, Confessio Amantis. New York: Holt, Rine-
hart & Winston, 1968.
Stockton, Eric W., trans. The Major Latin Works of John Gower.
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1962.
Wilson, William B., trans. John Gower’s Mirour de I’Omme. East
Lansing: Colleagues, 1992.GOWER, JOHN