ENGLISH 390-01 T. L. Reed
CHAUCER (The CANTERBURY TALES) EC 306 -- Ex 1216
Fall, 2003 Hours: M&H, 1-3 (or appt.)
Required Texts (available in the College Bookstore – please use these editions only):
Lillian Bisson, Chaucer and the Late Medieval World, St. Martin’s
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Complete, ed. Larry D. Benson Houghton Mifflin (abbreviated below as CT/Benson)
Helen Cooper, The Canterbury Tales (Oxford Guides to Chaucer), 2nd ed., Oxford
E-text with translation, to be used only with extreme judiciousness and caution:
http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm (includes hyper-text glossary and facing modern translation)
We will spend the semester on the most interesting product of the man critic Derek Brewer has called, with some justification, "the most interesting poet in English." After some initial reading to place the poem in its cultural and authorial contexts, we'll work jointly towards some hypotheses and conclusions about what Chaucer is up to in his most ambitious work. While (judging from past experience) a fair amount of class discussion may well focus on the ways in which Chaucer uses the tale-telling fiction as a means of exploring the functions and limits of his own narrative art, each of you will -- in discussion and in your own expanding argument about the poem -- address in a focused way interpretive issues that are particularly compelling to you. One of our consistent endeavors will be to enter into a critical dialogue with other (published) students of Chaucer. In this, you'll often have lots of guidance as to who those students are; at other times (and especially in your essays), you'll be expected to find some of them yourselves, using the bibliographical resources available to you (See CT/Benson 313-19; 330-32; Cooper 428-30 and her bibliographical notes at the end of each section; and Bisson 263-89). There is also extensive bibliographical material in the library and on-line.
Requirements: Regular class attendance, preparation, and participation--including coming to class with provocative and productive questions (or structured and forceful responses to the questions on the syllabus); some form of translation exercises, until the instructor is satisfied that everyone has mastered Chaucer's language; possible quizzes, as required, on reading; a twenty-page critical argument (developed over the entire semester through a series of cumulative drafts, and consisting of your own well-reasoned reading of a significant Chaucerian topic, "in conversation" with the class and with the critical literature); engaged and open-minded participation in conferences on essay drafts.
Papers must be machine-printed, double-spaced, leaving one-inch margins on all sides. Make sure you keep hard and magnetic copies when you turn in drafts and the final copy!
Grading: Class work (including participation, translation exercises, and individual conferences) -- 40%; essay (all components) -- 60%. For the system by which averages will be computed, please refer to the appropriate section of the college catalogue. All coursework must be completed by 2PM, Wednesday, December 17 (assigned "exam" time) in order for you to receive credit for the class.
General: You are expected to know what plagiarism and cheating are and how to avoid them completely. Ignorance of accepted College standards is unfortunately no excuse for violations. If you have any questions about what is expected of you, please see me. I am always (in this regard or any other) available during office hours, but feel free to contact me at other reasonable times, should the need arise. I am usually in EC 306 most of each work day, and regularly read e-mail ("reedt").
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Day Topic, Assigned Reading, and Possible Questions for Discussion
T 9-2 Organization and Initial Concerns; The Canterbury Tales in the context of late medieval literature (reading and discussion).
TH 9-4 Chaucerian Times and Language I
Reading: CT/Benson xiii-xxxvi (and xeroxed Word List A. C. Baugh’s edition ); Knapp and Snortum 8-13 (xerox); General Prologue (GP) to The Canterbury Tales, lines (ll.) 1-100. (For this and all other assignments, make certain to read Benson’s Explanatory Notes, beginning on page 336.)
Questions to consider, for today’s reading and subsequently. By the end of the semester, you should be able to answer them all. What did Chaucer do for a living? What was his social rank? Under what kings did he live, and what were their various "agendas"? Was he a "court poet"? Who was his audience? What languages did he know? Which did he write in? What economic changes did the 14th century witness? Changes in social structure? What particular socio-political events were "big deals" in 14th-century England? What poems did Chaucer write? What are their themes? How were they "published"? What books and ideas of the time particularly influenced him? What travels? What poets did he read and how did they influence him? How might you describe his poetic growth or development?
T 9-9 Chaucerian Times and Language II
Reading: CT/Benson xxxvi-xxxviii; Bisson 123-87; GP ll. 101-207
TH 9-11 Chaucerian Times and Language III
Reading: Bisson 49-119; GP ll. 208-308
T 9-16 Chaucerian Times and Language IV
Reading: Bisson 191-240; GP ll. 309-410
TH 9-18 Chaucerian Times and Language V
Reading: Bisson 3-45, GP ll. 411-541
T 9-23 General Prologue I
Reading: Finish the GP, and review ll. 1-269; Cooper 1-43; CT/Benson 1-3 and 333-36.
Some questions to consider for the GP: Is Chaucer seriously concerned here with problems of social order? Of religious piety? Of gender relations? Of artistic expression? What are other possible "agendas" in this section of the poem?
N.B.: For EVERY class, formulate relevant questions OF YOUR OWN that the text itself provokes; consider the emerging thematic relationship of the tales (as linked by Chaucer, as grouped in our edition, and as grouped on the syllabus); consider the relationship of tale to teller (ALWAYS going back to look at the GP portrait of the teller in regard to the tale); consider strengths and weaknesses (including intelligibility) of the secondary reading assigned; consider how the assignment helps you (and others) develop your paper topics--or complicates them.
TH 9-25 General Prologue II
Reading: Review ll. 270-541; Cooper 43-53
T 9-30 General Prologue III
Reading: Review rest of GP (and begin Knight's Tale, a LONG and difficult tale which will require a head start! Use the e-text with caution!); Cooper 53-60; Bisson 243-61
TH 10-2 GENTLES I -- Knight's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 19-48; Cooper 61-91 (as much as possible)
Questions: Why do you think Chaucer has the Knight tell the first tale? Who is/are the hero/s of the tale, and what might the heroism involve? Do Theseus and the Knight have anything in common? Who are, and what is the arguable function of, the gods in the tale? How does the tale treat women? Love? Social order? (Here, as always, review the teller's General Prologue portrait.)
**Week of October 6 -- Conferences on Essay Topics and to check on your Middle English**
T 10-7 GENTLES II -- Knight's Tale and Squire's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 151-59; Cooper 217-29
Questions: Why (and how) was the Squire's tale broken off? What do you think it is "about"? Does it fit the Squire's GP portrait? Is it, relative to the Knight's tale, a realistically "adolescent" fiction?
TH 10-9 GENTLES III -- Squire's and Franklin's Tales
Reading: CT/Benson 160-71; Cooper 230-45
Questions: What might the Franklin's agenda with the Squire be? What, for the three "gentle" pilgrims (Kn, Sq, Fr), constitutes male virtue? Female virtue? What is the status of the marvelous/magical in these tales? Could the Franklin's conclusion seem "too good to be true"? What would the point be if it does?
Mid-Term Pause
TH 10-16 "CHURLS" I -- Miller's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 48-59; Cooper 92-107
Questions: Do you see any thematic logic uniting the Knight's and Miller's tales? Any dramatic logic? Common imagery? How similar are the plots?
Mon 10-20 (Monday) **Five-page Draft of Essay Due** 5PM, EC 306
T 10-21 "CHURLS" II -- Miller's, Reeve's, and Cook's Tales
Reading: CT/Benson 59-68; Cooper 108-21
Questions: Does any thematic logic unite all these tales and/or explain their following the Knight's tale? Does any dramatic logic? Why might the Cook's tale have been broken off? What do the poems say about youth and age? Do they accord in this with the tales of the gentles? Could you make a case, as some have, for Oswald the Reeve wanting to stop the Miller from telling his tale because it is about his own cuckolding?
TH 10-23 WOMEN I -- Man of Law's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 69-86; Cooper 123-37
Questions: What is the textual and thematic evidence for Group B1 following Group A in Chaucer's plans? Why might the Man of Law refer to Chaucer? Do you think the "world views" of this and the other tales of and from "women" differ from those in Group A (e.g., in terms of human autonomy, motivation, activity vs. passivity)?
**Week of October 27 -- Optional Conferences on Essay Drafts**
T 10-28 WOMEN II -- Man of Law's and Prioress's Tales
Reading: CT/Benson 191-94; Cooper 287-98
Questions: Was Chaucer xenophobic/anti-Islamic/anti-Semitic? Is the Prioress's tale effective Christian piety?
TH 10-30 WOMEN III -- Wife of Bath's Prologue
Reading: CT/Benson 87-98; Cooper 139-55
Questions: Activity vs. passivity again? What does the Wife have to say about models for male and female conduct? Do you think she speaks for Chaucer? Is the Wife a gender-bender, or just a nasty woman? Would you say she's motivated by selfless, or selfish, ideals?
T 11-4 WOMEN IV -- Wife of Bath's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 98-104; Cooper 156-66
Questions: How does the Wife's tale--a courtly romance told by a commoner -- compare with the gentles' own romances? What might her motives be for telling it? What do you make of her "final words"?
TH 11-6 WOMEN V -- Clerk's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 119-135; Cooper 185-201
Questions: Why might the Clerk refer to the Wife? Activity vs. passivity again? Is the Clerk an ironist? A religious skeptic? Do you think the tales about women articulate a Chaucerian philosophy of gender? Do they reflect problems with other gender philosophies (like the Church's, the gentles')? Does the social status of Chaucer's women (tellers or characters) affect their natures and values?
T 11-11 WOMEN VI -- Clerk's and Physician's Tales
Reading: CT/Benson 172-75; Cooper 247-59
Questions: Is the Physician’s narrative appropriate to its teller? How does it contribute to Chaucer’s ruminations on gender relations?
TH 11-13 "CHURLS" III -- Shipman's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 185-90; Cooper 277-86
Questions: Would the Shipman's tale have suited the Wife of Bath? What are the Shipman's puns and what do you make of them? Is the theme of verbal intention and sincerity insistent in this tale?
(If we had time, we would have a class here on "CHURLS" IV -- Friar's and Summoner's Tales. Reading would be: CT/Benson 104-118; Cooper 176-83
Questions: What apparently stirs the Friar's and Summoner's animosity? Was Chaucer anti-clerical? Does a particular portrait of womankind emerges from these "churls" tales?)
Mon 11-17 (Monday) **Annotated Bibliography and Outline for Draft II Due** 5PM, EC 306
T 11-18 "CHURLS" V -- Merchant's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 135-50; Cooper 202-16
Questions: Is a coherent Chaucerian attitude towards the lower classes emerging from the CT? What does the Merchant do to the "gentle" code of courtly love--as seen, say, in the Franklin's romance?
TH 11-20 "CHURLS" VI -- Pardoner's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 175-84; Cooper 260-75
Questions: Do you think the tale (together with the Merchant's) continues a Chaucerian agenda with socioeconomic status? What is the significance of the Pardoner's "old man"? What do you make of the imagery of both tales (food, trees, body functions, etc.)? Why might the Pardoner confess his scam--and then still try to sell relics to the Host? Are his last words reminiscent of the Wife of Bath's?
T 11-25 TALE TELLING I -- Sir Thopas (Melibee – read only the first and last couple of pages to get a feel for the Tale – and Cooper 315-16, for summary) and Monk's Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 194-99; 222-34; Cooper 299-309; 323-37.
Questions: Do you think the Prioress precipitates Sir Thopas? How does Sir Thopas reflect on the courtly romances told by the gentles (and the Wife)? Why do you think "Chaucer" tells (these) two tales? Does the Monk's tale suit his character? Does the Monk have a theory of gender and sexuality? What do you make of both Thopas and the Monk's presentation being interrupted?
N.B. I do expect you’ll all be in class, despite the break.
Thanksgiving Break
T 12-2 TALE TELLING II -- Monk's and Nun's Priest's Tales
Reading: CT/Benson 234-43; Cooper 338-56
Questions: (How) does the myth of Eden function in these two tales? Do you think the Nun's Priest is saying something about tragedy as a literary genre? Do you think the tales try to sort out the issue of human self-determination? Why might the Nun's Priest tell a beast fable? How do his tale's beasts compare to its humans? What is the function of (how and why do people manipulate) language in the tale? What is the tale's "fruyt"? Its "chaff"? Do you agree with the many who think the Nun's Priest would have won the Host's competition?
Wed 12-3 (Wednesday) **Ten-page Draft of Essay Due** 5PM, EC 306
TH 12-4 LAST TALES I -- Second Nun's Tale and Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale
Reading: CT/Benson 244-54; Cooper 357-67: Read CYT quickly in translation in the e-text.
Questions: Could you make the case that the Second Nun caps the issue of marriage/gender/sexual relations in the CT? Is it important that her tale come from a uncharacterized pilgrim? Do you see any thematic parallels between these two tales? What do you make of the references to sweat in the two poems? Blindness?
**Week of December 8 -- Mandatory Conferences on Essay Drafts**
T 12-9 LAST TALES III -- Manciple's and Parson's Tales; Chaucer's Retraction
Reading: CT/Benson 264-70 and selections from PT TBA; Cooper 383-412
Questions: Why does the Manciple tell a beast fable? How do its beasts compare to its gods? Do we look at blindness again? What are the functions of language in the tale? In the Parson's prologue? Do you think these final tales offer evidence that Chaucer "changed his mind" about his role as a poet? The Parson speaks in prose: but do the themes and images of his "tale" (and his "prologue") fit the poem? Ditto for the Retraction.
H 12-11 TBA, Course Evaluations
Wed. 12-17 Final Draft of Essay Due -- 2PM -- EC 306