Description: This course serves as an introduction to one of the three most important poets in the English tradition—Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton—and the earlier form of the English language in which he composed through an intensive reading of his most famous poem, The Canterbury Tales. Focusing exclusively on the reading and interpretation of the stories that make up this unfinished medieval tale collection, this course operates in terms of some medieval scribal practices: copying, translating, memorizing, and glossing passages as part of a classroom commentary tradition. Rehearsing some of these original practices in our post-modern classroom, we will investigate the clerical, courtly, and intellectual culture in and about which Chaucer writes in both serious and comic forms.
In reading Chaucer’s story collection, we will pay particular attention to the medieval veneration of “old bookes,” noting throughout the semester the various ways Chaucer’s “book” looks toward and depends upon other texts for its significance. We will also perform some book veneration of our own by visiting the HRC, where we will see medieval manuscripts of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the flesh – literally, on the vellum (sheepskin) on which they were written – and in facsimile as we work to recapture something of late medieval textual culture before the advent of print. We will also take some time to look at the transmission and development of Chaucer’s works by looking at translations, popular serializations, and adaptations of the Canterbury Tales in modern culture.
Requirements: Reading Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales requires learning Middle English, and much of the first few class periods will be devoted to acquiring the necessary language skills. Therefore attendance, preparation, and participation are not simply recommended but mandatory. All readings below are from the course’s required text, The Canterbury Tales: Complete, ed. Larry D. Benson (Houghton Mifflin, 2000) available at the University Co-Op. An introductory text on the Canterbury Tales by Derek Pearsall or by Helen cooper is also required reading (see which one is avaialbe at teh Co-op). Also available for order from me, CD’s of the individual tales. Most cost $10. I will place an order during the second week of class. You may order as many as you like, but I recommend that you get at least one to help you with Middle English pronunciation, which in turn will help your reading comprehension generally.
Grading:
There will be three exams (worth 20%) each and a final (worth 30%). The remaining 10% will be comprised of a score on your preparation and participation. We will work on various in class assignments, which may be collected and marked as part of this grade.
Schedule of Classes:
Tu. 1/19 Introduction—The most famous opening sentence in English literature
Th. 1/21 General Prologue
Tu. 1/26 General Prologue
Th. 1/28 General Prologue
Tu. 2/2 Knight’s Tale (part 1)
Th. 2/4 Knight’s Tale (part 2-3)
Tu. 2/9 Knight’s Tale
Th. 2/11 Examination #1
Tu. 2/16 Miller’s Tale
Th. 2/18 Miller’s Tale
Tu. 2/23 Reeve’s Tale
Th. 2/25 Reeve’s Tale and Cook’s Tale
Tu. 3/2 Examination #2
Th. 3/4 Wife of Bath’s Prologue
Tu. 3/9 Wife of Bath’s Prologue
Th. 3/11 Wife of Bath’s Tale
Tu. 3/16 SPRING BREAK
Th. 3/18
Tu. 3/23 Clerk’s Tale
Th. 3/25 Clerk’s Tale
Tu. 3/30 Merchant’s Tale
Th. 4/1 Franklin’s Tale
Tu. 4/6 Franklin’s Tale
Th. 4/8 Examination # 3
Tu. 4/13 Pardoner’s Tale
Th. 4/15 Pardoner’s Tale
Tu. 4/20 Prioress’s Tale
Th. 4/22 Nun’s Priest’s Tale
Tu. 4/27 Nun’s Priest’s Tale
Th. 4/29 Manciple’s Tale
Tu. 5/4 Parson’s Prologue and Retraction
Th.5/6 FINAL EXAMINATION
Classroom Policies: Though not a writing flag course, this is an upper-division, reading-intensive English course. I expect students to attend class every time, to have a copy of the Canterbury Tales with them, and to have prepared the material on the syllabus for that day. If you will be absent for any reason, I would appreciate an email letting me know. Three absences (or 10% of our scheduled meetings) will result in a course grade deduction by 10 points—a full letter grade Each absence thereafter will reduce the grade by another five points.
The grade scale for the course will be as follows. Grades are not automatically rounded up:
100-95 A; 94.99-90 A-; 89.99-86 B+; 85.99-83 B; 82.99-80 B-; 79.99-76 C+; 75.99-73 C; 72.99-70 C-; 69.99-65 D; 64.99 and below F.
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.