SOURCE: Ayers, R. W. “Medieval History, Moral Purpose, and the Structure of Lydgate's Siege of Thebes” Publications of the Modern Language Association 73, no. 5 (December 1958): 463-74.

In the following essay, Ayers argues that morality is at the heart of Lydgate's purpose in Siege of Thebes.

Lydgate's Siege of Thebes is presented within the framing fiction of a supplementary Canterbury Tale, and, as one of the pilgrims, Lydgate tells the story of Statius' Thebaid as it had been reshaped by the romancers of the Middle Ages. Following the prologue (1-176),¹ which is eminent as an imitation of Chaucer, Part i (177-1046) of the tale begins with the foundation of Thebes by King Amphioun and ends with the death of Oedipus and the abuse of his body by his sons, Ethiocles and Polymetus; Part ii (1047-2552) relates the joint succession of the sons to the Theban throne and their contentions for...