Lesley Kordecki: Ecofeminist Subjectivities: Chaucer’s Talking Birds

• Emily Wingfield

The profusion in recent years of animal studies across a variety of (literary, historical, cultural and scientific) disciplines has taken place alongside the emergence and growth of eco-feminist criticism, broadly defined as a theoretical approach that draws parallels between the representation (and frequent subjugation) of women and nature. Lesley Kordecki’s study of ‘talking birds’ in Chaucer’s House of Fame, Parliament of Fowls, Squire’s Tale, Nun’s Priest’s Tale, and Manciple’s Tale is a timely attempt to bring together these two related areas of critical enquiry.