"If no love is, O God, what fele I so?
             And if love is, what thing and whiche is he?
             If love be good, from whennes cometh my wo?
             (Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde)
             This is an extract of "Troilus' Song", a translation of a Petrarch's Sonnet 88 ("S'amor non è"), included in Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde". The hero of Chaucer's romance made up this song in order to express his violent and confusing emotions after falling in love with Criseyde. However, it is not the only work in which the author brings together the subjects of love, passion and desire since "The Divine Comedy", along with "The Legend of Good Women" echo the theme of the joys and loss of love.
             It is well known, as we can prove in every of his works, the great amount of cultural references used by the author. This fact could be explained as he spent his childhood in the "mercantile atmosphere of London's Vintry", where he would have mixed daily with different language speakers, and then become fluent. This exchanges and a following visit to Florence lead him to direct contact with Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio's manuscripts of works; something that introduce new features in his literary works. The quote mentioned above stands for a clear example of the Italian authors' influence as it is an adaptation of Boccaccio's "Il Filostrato". On the other hand, it is also said that even if he had never written "The Canterbury Tales", "Troilus and Criseyde" would have secured Chaucer a place among the major English poets.
             "Troilus and Criseyde" tells the story of how the Trojan Prince Troilus loved and finally lost his lover, Criseyde, who finished in the Greek warrior's arms, Diomede. . Troilus suffers from her loss and betrayal, fights valiantly against the Greeks, and he is finally killed by Achilles. Onc...