English 111: The Age of Chaucer

							English 111: Medieval Literature (WQ11)                                     Professor M. Karnes
TTh 4:15-6:05                                                               karnes@stanford.edu
Classroom 460-334                                                           (650) 725-6485
Office Hours: TBA                                                           Office: 460-311


COURSE REQUIREMENTS: THE AGE OF CHAUCER


This course will provide a survey of late-medieval English literature, focusing on major authors and
genres. Medieval literature is strikingly diverse, as our readings in romance and autobiography,
drama and political literature, religious satire and lyric will reveal. The authors we will read are
committed more or less explicitly to the project of creating a national body of literature in the
vernacular, and we will consider throughout what our authors think literature itself should be.
Emphasizing entertainment, instruction, formal beauty, and/ or spiritual enlightenment, these texts
are alternately playful and earnest, and their tone likewise ranges from raunchy to didactic. In other
words, we will find in medieval literature a rich and variegated foundation for the later English
literature that builds from it. For the most part, readings will be in Middle English, and as such, will
require extra care and diligence.


REQUIRED TEXTS:

Marie de France, Lais of Marie de France , ed. Burgess (Penguin)
Abelard and Heloise, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, ed. Clanchy (Penguin)
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, ed. Jill Mann (Penguin)
Langland, The Vision of Piers Plowman, ed. Schmidt (Everyman)
Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe, ed. Staley (Western Michigan University)
Anonymous, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, ed. Winny (Broadview)

All texts are available at the University bookstore. Additional readings will be made available to you
via Coursework.


CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE:

Since this is a seminar, you will be expected to participate frequently and thoughtfully in the
conversations that occur in it. I do not intend to harass the most shy among you, and I respect the
occasional desire to keep one’s ideas to oneself, but try to keep such reticence to a minimum;
successful class discussion requires the exchange of several ideas. Class participation also figures
heavily into your final grade.

Regular class attendance is required. If you are so unfortunate as to miss a class, it is your
responsibility to learn about and promptly complete any work that was assigned in it. Please show up
to class on time as well.

ASSIGNMENTS:

The ability to write subtle, persuasive, and elegant literary analysis is the defining skill of the English
major, and for this reason your grade will depend heavily on the two papers that you will write for
this class. Your papers are your opportunity to work through your own ideas about a given text, to
propose a creative yet plausible account of some theme or image in it, to argue for your reading
effectively, and to express that reading gracefully. A good paper is hard and time-consuming to write,
and although we will talk about the components of a good paper in class, I encourage you very
strongly to come talk with me as you are working on yours. If you have not written many college-
level English papers, then I encourage you all the more strongly to come meet with me.

You will also be asked to write four short analyses during the quarter. In each, you will select no
more than 5 lines from the day’s readings and offer a detailed, coherent analysis of them in 1-2
double-spaced pages. This is not a thesis-oriented paper, but it should still be organized, coherent,
and polished. Do make sure to quote the passage you have selected at the beginning of the paper.
Middle English can be daunting, and the purpose of these assignments is to give you multiple
occasions to confront the language head-on and become more proficient in your analysis of it. You
will likely want to make use of the Middle English dictionary (available through the Stanford library’s
databases) when writing these mini-papers.

There will be a final exam for this course. Its whole purpose is to determine whether you’ve done the
readings with sufficient care and paid attention to class discussion. To that end, it will consist of
quotations from the readings upon which you will be asked to comment, and I will select only
passages that we have discussed in class. If you’ve done the reading carefully and attended class
diligently, the final should be quite straightforward and easy.

CONSULTATION:

I enthusiastically encourage you to come to office hours to talk about course readings, assignments, or
other matters relevant to the course. I will also happily schedule a meeting with you outside my office
hours if you are unavailable during them. Short questions are appropriate over email, but please
come see me if you have a question that requires more than a 1-2 sentence answer. Do not expect
immediate responses to emails: I will respond to all messages that require response within 48 hours.

GRADES:

Your final grade will be determined by the sum of your work. The papers play the largest role, but
class participation and quizzes will figure prominently as well. Keep all of your work throughout the
quarter.

First paper                                                      20%
Second paper                                                     25%
Analyses                                                         15%
Final Exam                                                       25%
Class Participation                                              15%

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

Students who have a disability that may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of
auxiliary aids and services in a class must initiate the request with the Student Disability Resource
Center (SDRC). The SDRC will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend
appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in
which the request is being made. Please contact the SDRC as soon as possible: timely notice is needed
to arrange for appropriate accommodations. The SDRC is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone 723-
1066; TTY 725-1067). Its web address is: http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC/.
SYLLABUS: THE AGE OF CHAUCER


T 1/4          Introduction
               Marie de France, Laüstic
Th 1/6         Abelard, Historia calamitatum; Marie de France, Guigemar


T 1/11         Abelard and Heloise, Letters 2-5, plus letters to and from Peter the Venerable;
               Marie de France, Eliduc
Th 1/13        Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue to The Legend of Good Women

T 1/18         Chaucer, Squire’s Prologue and Tale
Th 1/20        Chaucer, Franklin’s Prologue and Tale


T 1/25         Chaucer, Wife of Bath’s Tale; The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell
Th 1/27        Chaucer, House of Fame


T 2/1          Sir Orfeo
Th 2/3         Floris and Blancheflour


T 2/8          Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe, Preface-Chapter 7, Chapters 11-18, 20-2,
               26-9, and 78-82
Th 2/10        The Book of Margery Kempe, Chapters 35-6, 46-55, 60-2, 75-7, and 85-9
                                                                         First paper due (5-7 pages)

T 2/15         Julian of Norwich, Revelation of Love
Th 2/17        Julian of Norwich, Revelation of Love


T 2/22         William Langland, Piers Plowman, Prologue-Passus 2
Th 2/24        Langland, Piers Plowman, Passus 3-5


T 3/1           Langland, Piers Plowman, Passus 6-7
Th 3/3         Winner and Wastour

T 3/8          Cloud of Unknowing
Th 3/10        Pearl
                                                                      Second paper due (6-8 pages)
Final exam: Wednesday, March 16th, 12:15-3:15 pm