ENGL 2173 X1
Mediaeval Literature 2: Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Instructor:  Kevin Whetter

There is no connection between Mediaeval Literature 1 and 2, so you may take this course without taking the Arthurian Mediaeval Course (2163). Mediaeval Literature 2 focusses on Chaucer; 1 focusses on King Arthur. The courses are entirely independent of one another.

Geoffrey Chaucer is the only English author to have been read continuously since before the introduction of the printing press to England. His readers and admirers have included other mediaeval authors, Renaissance dramatists, eighteenth-century poets and critics, modern film-makers and Monty Python. English 2173 explores a representative selection of one of Chaucer’s most famous works, the Canterbury Tales, an interconnected series of stories encompassing --  amongst much else -- tales of chivalry, love, sex, murder, trickery, religion, and epic-heroic chickens. The diverse range of genres, stories, and characters hopefully supplies something of interest to all kinds of readers.

This course has two principal aims: to introduce you to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and their critical and cultural heritage, and to help you to develop and hone your critical, analytical, reading and writing skills. There is thus considerable onus on you to read the material and think for yourselves. Assessment will be based on term papers, a short written assessment, a final examination, and participation.

Texts:
Chaucer, Geoffrey.  The Canterbury Tales.  Ed. Jill Mann.  London: Penguin, 2005.
[NB: Do not confuse this original-language edition with the older translation by Coghill, also published by Penguin.]

Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing.