Fall 2000; Don King; dking@montreat.edu; Belk 300B; 828-669-8012, ex. 3655

Table of Contents:

Course Description
Course Rationale
Texts
Course Objective
Goals
Course Outline
Evaluation
Bibliography
Academic Integrity
Final Comments

Course Description: A study of middle English literature with an emphasis on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Course Rationale: Like Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth, Chaucer is a major figure in British literature. Indeed, although this course is not devoted entirely to Chaucer, middle English literature is almost synonymous with his name. His Canterbury Tales is very influential, and his particular dialect of middle English is the "standard" by which others are measured. For these reasons as well as his wit, imagination, diction, and skill as a poet, he deserves our attention today.

Texts: The following are required texts:

Course Objective: The central objective of this course is to introduce you to middle English language and literature, specifically through a study of various middle English works and of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  Specifically, we will focus upon middle English literature, including a reading knowledge of middle English; the middle English world view including something of its social and religious background; medieval allegory, romance, morality plays, mystery plays, and works of moral instruction; the courtly love tradition; and the structure, design, and plan for the Canterbury Tales, including the genres of the tales as well as the relationship between the teller and the tale (Montreat College Educational Objectives 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8; 3; 7).

Additionally, there are several questions we will consider as we work through Chaucer’s poetry, including, but not limited to:

  1. What aspects of middle English inform our understanding of and appreciation of modern English ? (EO 1.6; 3; 7)
  2. How pivotal is a knowledge of Scripture is when reading, analyzing, and interpreting middle English literature in general and Chaucer in particular? What "views" of Scripture are reflected? Which biblical texts most inform middle English poetry, especially The Canterbury Tales? (EO 1.1, 1.5, 1.6; 3; 7)
  3. What views of the relationship between passion and reason, flesh and spirit, body and soul, matter and spirit do middle English writers hold, particularly Chaucer? Is his view "biblical"? (EO 1.1, 1.3, 1.5; 3; 7)
  4. What views of marriage are reflected by the middle English writers, Chaucer in particular? Of the "proper" relationship between husbands and wives? (EO 1.4, 1.5; 3; 7)
  5. Why is an understanding of literary genres important for a study of The Canterbury Tales? (EO 1.1, 1.5, 1.6; 3; 7)

 

Goals:

  1. That you read in middle English and analyze several middle English lyrics (EO 3 and 5).
  2. That you read and analyze the Second Shepherd's Play, The Play of Noah, and Everyman (EO 3 and 5).
  3. That you read and analyze Chaucer's masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales (EO 3 and 5).
  4. That you be able to define the various literary genres Chaucer uses and describe their characteristics (EO 2, 3, and 5).
  5. That you write one book review concerning middle English literature (EO 2, 3, and 5).
  6. That you write one word review in which you trace the entymology of a middle English word (EO 2, 3, and 5).
  7. That you write an analytic research paper (2,500 to 3,750 words) on The Canterbury Tales (EO 2, 3, and 5).
  8. That you engage in research on middle English literature via the Internet (EO 3, 4, and 5).
  9. That you utilize email to extend class discussion, to communicate with me, and to perform assigned small group work (EO 4, 5, and 6).
  10. That you turn in all important written assignments via email attachments or on diskette (EO 2, 3, 4, and 5).

Course Outline:

Week 1 Introduction to medieval England

Week 2 Second Shepherd's Play

Week 3 Everyman

Week 4 Intro. to Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales; "The General Prologue"

Week 5"The General Prologue" and "The Knight's Tale"

Week 6 "The Miller's Prologue and Tale" and "The Reeve's Prologue and Tale"

Weeks 7-10 "The Man of Law's Intro., Prologue, and Tale"

Weeks 11-15 "The Pardoner's Intro., Prologue, and Tale"

Evaluation: Your final grade in this course will come from your class participation, translation quizzes, tests, book/word reviews and research paper. 

  1. Participation in class discussions and interactions and short assigned writing pieces will count 10% of your final grade. 
  2. The four major tests will measure your knowledge of the material you have read and we have discussed in class. Typically the tests will combine objective and subjective questions. Collectively the major tests will count 40% of your final grade. 
  3. You will also be asked to write a book review on one of the books listed in the bibliography below (or another book approved by me). The book review should be between 3-5 typed pages and will count 10% of your final grade; it is due November 16, 2000.
  4. In addition, you will do two oral presentations that will count 10% of your final grade. 
  5. Finally, you will be required to write an analytical paper on some aspect of the medieval literature we study during the semester. This paper must be thoughtful, interesting, and competently written; in addition, the paper should demonstrate critical thinking and analysis as well as appropriate research techniques at the junior level. All quotations from the tales must be in middle English. The paper must be 2,500 to 3,750 words and will count 30% of your final grade. The paper is due by 5:00 p.m. on December 1.

Bibliography: In addition to the books listed below that are on reserve in the library, you can also find there two journals that may be of help in doing research: The Chaucer Review and the Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:  For all individual assignments students are expected to present their own work; documentation of research must follow the MLA Handbook for Writer of Research Paper or MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources.  Cases of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating and plagiarism, will result in either of failure of the assignment or of the course. For the college's policy on this issue, please click academic integrity. 

FINAL COMMENTS: As you can see, this syllabus is on-line and its hot-links will take you to important notes and related information about the course. Class discussions, tests, and writing assignments will assume you have accessed all this materials on-line. Please feel free to come by my office in Belk 300B, contact me at extension 3655, or email me at dking@montreat.edu if you need help with any aspect of the course.

I freely give permission to anyone to use the information on this page, English 303: Middle English Literature, as long as appropriate acknowledgement is given either to me or to author’s whose works I have referred to and noted.  There are numerous Chaucer Internet sites; click here to get started

All students are encouraged to take advantage of the resources available in the Writing Center, located adjacent to the Bell Library computer lab.

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Last updated July 26, 2001

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