Reading Griselda's Smocks in the "Clerk's Tale."

This article offers poetry criticism of the poem "Clerk's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer. It outlines the basic undergarment which is the smock that speaks to readers of medieval literature through select details chosen by the author. It examines the detailed evocation of Griselda's costume that reinforces each major development in the plot. Thus, in his sartorial imagery, Chaucer follows literary convention, but with unexpected and inventive twists.