ABSTRACT
The Golden Targe is an allegorical dream vision heavily indebted to Chaucer. The poet falls asleep on a May morning, is attacked by the forces of Venus, is overcome by Beauty despite the protection of Reason’s Golden Shield, is delivered over to Heaviness, and then awakens. Graceful though this highly conventional vision may be, the main point of interest is the modest conclusion excerpted below. Here Dunbar (see p. 543) acknowledges his indebtedness to Chaucer, Gower, and Lydgate as the masters who have inspired him.
