The "Parlement of Foules" is a 700-line poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which survives in fifteen manuscripts. As with most medieval poems, these manuscripts all differ from each other slightly, and it is difficult to know which is the oldest or most "authoritative" manuscript. However, scholars generally agree that the poem was written around the time of King Richard II's marriage, and it has been posited that Chaucer may have written the piece to commemorate the event. This is supported by the subject matter of the poem: it plays upon the common medieval idea that birds congregate, like humans, to share wisdom and make social decisions. In this case, the birds are putting forward their case for marriage, presided over by the personified figure of Nature. Nature, in this poem, helps Chaucer present a key theme of free choice: in allowing the birds their right to decide, Nature accepts that birds (or people) are not submissive to instinct but can make individual decisions for the common good of their society and themselves. Given the structure of the poem—it begins and ends with a dreamer seeking advice and wisdom—this theme may be considered more important than the superficial theme of romance or even that of justice as an instrument of society.
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