The Canterbury tales

The Parliament of Fowls is a dream-vision. We see even at the beginning, the speaker describes how the narrator falls asleep while reading Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis [The Dream of Scipio], and then dreams of the parliament of birds which follows. The dream is vivid and uses nature as a metaphor for hope.

The House of Fame is a dream vision composed in octosyllabic couplets. Upon falling asleep the poet finds himself in a glass temple adorned with images of the famous and their deeds.Unlike Fowls the speaker contemplates the nature of fame and celebrity. Both poems are effective with the dream motif in exploring their respective themes.