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English 3101: Medieval Literature--Non-Chaucerian
This course provides a brief linguistic introduction to the dialects of Middle English and an introduction to Middle English literature by authors other than Chaucer. It is in no way comprehensive but focuses on a number of major works. The required texts are Middle English Literature (Dunn and Byrne), Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays (Cawley), and King Arthur and His Knights (Vinaver). You may wish to know about Labyrinth on the World-Wide Web, the main server for medieval studies. There is a link to it on the links page of my home page.
There will be translation quizzes, a midterm, a final examination, and one paper (due November 16). Graduate papers should be 12-15 pages long and undergraduate papers 8-10 pages long. Any student wishing to write on a topic of his or her own choice is welcome to do so but must submit the topic in writing for approval by November 9. Use of any secondary sources must be documented and any detected plagiarism, will receive an automatic F. In addition, each graduate student will be required to present a brief review of a scholarly or critical work on Middle English (preferably a book or a section thereof but a substantial article may be used instead). The oral report should occupy a maximum of 5 minutes and the written version must be 2-3 pages long. A report on a particular work should accompany the discussion of the work. The final must be taken at the scheduled time.
The break-down of points is as follows:
Graduate Undergraduate
Quizzes: 40 Quizzes: 40
Midterm: 100 Midterm: 100
Final: 200 Final: 200
Paper: 240 Paper: 160
Report: 20
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Total: 600 Total: 400
SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
Tuesday, September 14 INTRODUCTION
Discussion of selected lyrics, pp. 203-13 and handout
Thursday, September 16 "Dame Sirith," pp. 174-87
Tuesday, September 21 King Horn, pp. 114-49
QUIZ #1
Thursday, September 23 "Sir Orfeo," pp. 216-30
Tuesday, September 28 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part I, pp. 377-92
Thursday, September 30 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part II, pp. 393-412
Tuesday, October 5 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part
Three, pp. 413-41
QUIZ #2
Thursday, October 7 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part IV, pp. 441-59
Tuesday, October 12 Malory - from King Arthur and His Knights:
"Merlin," pp. 3-13, "The Knight of the Cart," pp. 51-70, "Lancelot
and Elaine," pp. 71-100, and "The Holy Grail," pp. 101-112.
QUIZ #3
Thursday, October 14 Malory - from King Arthur and His Knights, "The Poisoned Apple," pp. 113-128, "The Fair Maid of Astolat," pp. 129-156, and "The Death of King Arthur," pp. 157-226
Tuesday, October 19 Gower, The Lover's Confession, pp. 460-84
Thursday, October 21 First Hour: The Parliament of the Three
Ages, pp. 238-63
Second Hour: MIDTERM
Tuesday, October 26 Pearl, Stanza Groups I-VI, 340-50
Thursday, October 28 Pearl, Stanza Groups VII-XII, 350-61
Tuesday, November 2 Pearl, Stanza Groups XIII-XX, 361-75
Thursday, November 4 Langland, Piers Plowman, 279-310,
top line
QUIZ #4
Tuesday, November 9 Piers Plowman, 310 (second line)-338
Thursday, November 11 Cawley: "The Creation, and the Fall of Lucifer," pp. 1-10, "The Fall of Man," pp. 15-22, "Noah's Flood," pp. 35-50, and "Abraham and Isaac," pp. 189-203
Tuesday, November 16 Cawley, "The Annunciation," pp. 65-74, "The
Second Shepherd's Pageant," pp. 79-108, "Herod the Great," pp. 105-124,
"The Crucifixion," pp. 143-156, "The Harrowing of Hell," and "The Judgment,"
pp. 189-203
PAPER DUE
Thursday, Novenber 18 First Hour: Manning - "Prologue" and "The
Sin of Sacrilege," pp. 195-202
Second Hour: Review
Last revised 5/11/04