Biblical analogues to the fi rst three lines of the lyric
(Matthew 8.19–20 and Psalms 8.5–9, for example)
argue powerfully that this is, in fact, a poem with a
strong religious orientation.
The poet’s use of paronomasia (punning), however,
confounds any reader looking for an easy interpreta-
tion. The obvious pun in line four is on wod, most
commonly translated “mad,” with a play on “woods.”
In the last line of the lyric, though, the linguistic
paronomasia has a profound effect. The speaker suffers
because of the “beste of bon and blod.” The ambiguous
word here is beste. Does the “I” suffer because of the
“best of bone and blood” or for the “beast of bon and
blood”? The “best of bone and blood” would seem to
suggest Christ. Beast, though, suggests a human being.
There are two different poems contained in this lyric,
depending on the reading of a single word. And
because of the overlapping orthography (spelling) of
beste in the 13th century and the lack of context pro-
vided by either the poet or the manuscript, beste could
be either. Finally, could the speaker be Christ, suffer-
ing for as long as humanity continues to sin?
This lyric responds well to an exegetical reading,
and critics have speculated on its reception—for
instance, was it sung in court or in the monastery?
However, the most fruitful direction for future study
could lie in what this short song reveals about medi-
eval hermeneutics, since its essential meaning always
lies just beyond solution. The central fi gure that prob-
lematizes the poem—paronomasia—is a common
mannerism of medieval hermeneutic writing.
See also EXEGESIS, MIDDLE ENGLISH LYRICS AND BALLADS.
FURTHER READING
Chickering, Howell D., Jr. “ ‘Foweles in the Frith’: A Reli-
gious Art Song.” PQ 50 (1971): 115–120.
Moser, Thomas C., Jr. “ ‘And I mon waxe wode’: The Middle
English ‘Foweles in the Frith.’ ” PMLA 102 (1987): 326–337.
Osberg, Richard H. “Collocation and Theme in the Middle
English Lyric ‘Foweles in the Frith.’ ” MLQ 46 (1985):
115–127.
Tony Perrello
FRAME NARRATIVE A frame narrative is the
sum of a linear narrative and a story or series of stories
embedded within it. The primary narrative provides an
introduction or justifi cation for the tales it supports;
the embedded tales, however, can usually stand on
their own, enriched rather than defi ned by the primary
narrative. In some cases, the embedded stories are
themselves frames, so that the whole becomes a series
of stories within stories within a story. In all cases, the
continued engagement of the reader or listener depends
on the writer’s ability to integrate all these stories into a
single organic form.
The primary narrative, or frame, introduces the nar-
rator and the occasion for telling the tales. In 1001 Ara-
bian Nights, for example, the reader learns that the
virgin Scheherazade must keep the king captivated by
weaving ever more elaborate stories. In the Decameron,
GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO’s narrator introduces a group of
10 who fl ee plague-ridden Florence for a rural villa.
The 17th-century Spanish author Maria de Zayas has
women connect on the complexities of love. Similarly,
GEOFFREY CHAUCER’s The CANTERBURY TALES, perhaps the
most famous of all English frame narratives, begins
with a prologue which introduces each of a group of
pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
The shorter stories vary in content and genre. They
range from the frivolous and fanciful to the bawdiest of
tales to political or religious ALLEGORY. Many of the
tales combine the entertaining and the didactic, thus
refl ecting their folkloric roots. They also vary in their
relationship to the narrator and the frame. The frame
may also encourage the reader to distinguish the narra-
tor from the author, who may include his or her own
views as those of one of the other characters in the
work.
FURTHER READING
Gittes, Katherine S. Framing the Canterbury Tales: Chaucer
and the Medieval Frame Narrative Tradition. Westport,
Conn.: Greenwood, 1991.
J. A. White“FRANKLIN’S TALE, THE” GEOFFREY
CHAUCER (ca. 1395) In the opening of “The Frank-
lin’s Tale” from GEOFFREY CHAUCER’s The Canterbury
Tales, the knight Arveragus falls in love with a lady,
Dorigen. He confesses his love to her at length, and
because of his “worthynesse” and “obeysaunce” (ll.“FRANKLIN’S TALE, THE” 193