Dreams, Visions, and the Rhetoric of Authority

In Dreams, Visions, and the Rhetoric of Authority, John Bickley explores the ways dreams and visions in literature function as authorizing devices, both affirming and complicating a texts authority. After providing a framework for categorizing the diverse genres and modes of dream and vision texts, Bickley demonstrates how the theme of authority and strategies for textual self-authorization play out in four highly influential works: the Book of Daniel, Macrobiuss Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, Julian of Norwichs Revelations of Love, and Chaucers Hous of Fame.