NOTE FOR ENGLISH
MAJORS: This course fulfills either
the Pre-1700 or the Major Author course requirements, but you cannot use it for
both.
Chaucer was one of the first great English poets, and to
many students he is still one of the most accessible. There is a bit of a learning curve, however,
as you get used to his language, and you should come prepared to do some
deciphering and some memorization during the first couple of weeks. We will make it as painless as possible by going
very slowly, starting with two of Chaucer’s earlier, shorter poems, The Parliament of Fowls and The Book of the Duchess. The reward will come during the remainder of
the semester, as we turn to his two masterpieces, Troilus and Criseyde and The
Canterbury Tales, the highest expressions of Chaucer’s affectionate, comic,
tragic, and wise view of our condition on this earth and of his deep understanding
of the masks that we use to conceal the truth from ourselves and reveal it to
others. Chaucer is very much a poet of
his own time, but we will find many ways in which he speaks to our concerns and
our own time as well.
Required texts: There is more than one good edition of
Chaucer, including some that are available on-line, but everyone will be
required to have the following books so that we are all, quite literally, on
the same page, and so that everyone has access to the same notes. You should have no trouble finding
inexpensive used copies through either amazon.com or abebooks.com.
Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. Ed. Jill Mann. New York; Penguin, 2005.
Geoffrey Chaucer. Troilus and Criseyde. Ed. Barry Windeatt. New York: Penguin, 2003.
Geoffrey Chaucer. Dream Visions and Other Poems. Ed. Kathryn Lynch. New York: Norton, 2007.