English 336: Chaucer
Professor Denise
Office: 105 Foust Bldg.336-334-5547
Office hrs: MWF 10-11 and by appt.(Send me an e-mail with several times you are available and I will reply with a time for an appt.)
Textbooks:
Geoffrey Chaucer, Dream Visions and Other Poems, ed. Kathryn Lynch (NY: W. W. Norton, 2007) ISBN: 978-0-393-92588-3 (DV)
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue, 2nd ed., ed. V. A. Kolve and Glending Olson (NY: W. W. Norton, 2005). ISBN: 978-0-393-92587-6 (CT)
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- read Middle English with correct pronunciation and understand it well enough to “translate” it into Modern English
- identify some of the classical, Christian, and continental sources informing Chaucer’s poetry
- describe the genres, conventions, and literary techniques Chaucer uses in his poetry
- explain how Chaucer develops the themes of selected dream visions and of individual tales of The Canterbury Tales
- analyze the relationships between various tales in The Canterbury Tales and any connections you discern to the dream visions
- discuss several examples of the cultural, social, and political contexts informing Chaucer’s poetry
- write well organized and clearly developed critical analyses of Chaucer’s poetry
- enjoy Chaucer’s distinctive humor and appreciate the enduring value of his poetry
Written or Oral Assignments:
1. Twenty questions: During the semester you will submit a total of 20 questions about 20 different reading assignments; the questions should be significant ones that demonstrate you have read the text and can identify the issues it raises. Your questions have to be handed in at the beginning of the class period for which that reading is assigned. Students will provide their questions for discussion.
2. Reading Middle English:You will have two assignments requiring that you read Middle English aloud—1) a stanza from a short poem; 2) a passage of approximately 10 lines from the General Prologue description of the pilgrim you are assigned to report on (see 3 below).
3. Report on pilgrim:You will be assigned a pilgrim from the General Prologue and you will explain his or her vocation and how Chaucer’s description of the pilgrim is an example of estates satire. Select approximately 10 lines from your assigned passage to read aloud in Middle English (see 2 above).
4. First paper: 3-5 typed pages analyzing Chaucer’s use of one of the sources for a dream vision; topics will be posted on Blackboard.
5. Second paper: 4-6 typed pages developing a critical argument about an issue in The Canterbury Tales; suggested topics will be posted on Blackboard. Thesis and draft of paper are due beforehand.
6. Midterm exam: Short answer and essay questions about short poems and dream visions.
7. Final exam: Short answer questions will be limited to The Canterbury Tales, but essay questions will be comprehensive.
You are expected to attend class prepared to participate in discussion. I will call on students at random, but I won’t ask you to read Middle English aloud (except for assignments) unless you volunteer. If you have more than four absences, you will loss 1 point from your final grade for each additional class missed. If you come in after I take the roll, it’s your responsibility to let me know after class that you arrived late.
Assignments and GradingPossible points
20 questions (P/F) 20 (1 each)
Reading of stanza from short poem (P/F) 5
Readingof approximately 10 lines from General Prologue(P/F) 5
Oral report on pilgrim in General Prologue (P/F) 10
Thesis and substantial draft of final paper 10
1st paper (3-5 pages) 100
2nd paper (4-7 pages) 100
Midterm exam (no makeup except with prior permission in case of emergency) 100
Final exam (no makeup except with prior permission in case of emergency)100
450
All assignments must be submitted or completed by the class period on which they are due. If you do not ask me before the due date for an extension on a paper assignment, there will be a 2 point penalty for each day it is late.
I will add up to 10 more points to your final grade based on the quantity and quality of your participation in class discussions.
Final Grading Scale
450-441100-98%A+359-35179-78%C+
440-41497-92%A350-32477-72%C
413-40591-90%A-323-31571-70%C-
404-39689-88%B+314-30669-68%D+
395-36987-82%B305-27967-62%D
368-36081-80%B-278-27061-60%D-
It is very disruptive if you leave class to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. Please take care of these personal needs before class starts and don’t walk out except in cases of emergency or when you have notified me beforehand that you need to leave early.
Do not use any electronic devices in class. If you are using a computer or a smart phone, I will ask you to turn it off. If you have a legitimate reason to use these devices during class, please discuss it with me beforehand.
Academic Integrity: All work you hand in for this course must be your own unless you acknowledge your sources following the MLA Style for citations. For the Academic Integrity Policy, see You must write the academic integrity pledge on all papers and exams: I have abided by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy on this assignment. Then sign your name.
Under Course Information on Blackboard, you will find websites about Middle English pronunciation and Chaucer. For help with your paper assignments, make an appointment to see me or go to the Writing Center. If you have problems with sentence structure or punctuation, do the exercises under Writing Handouts on the left-hand menu of the Writing Center’s website:
Aug 21Short Poems, excluding An ABC, DV 216-36; be prepared to read aloud and comment on your assigned stanza
26The Book of the Duchess, lines 1-442, DV 6-16;Boethius, From the Consolation of Philosophy, DV 268-72; From the Romance of the Rose, DV 275-76 (Guillaume de Lorris’s section)
28Book of the Duchess, lines 443-end, DV 16-37; From the Romance of the Rose, DV bottom 280- 281(Jean de Meun’s section)
Sept 2The Parliament of Fowls, DV 97-116 ; Cicero, From Scipio’s Dream, excluding chapters II, IV, VI, VIII [3], DV 258-64; Boccaccio, From the Book of Theseus, DV 299-303; Alain de Lille, From the Complaint of Nature, DV 273-74
4The House of Fame, Books 1 and 2, DV 43-68; Ruth Evans, From Chaucer in Cyberspace, DV 229- 31; skim Macrobius, From the Commentary on Scipio’s Dream, DV 265-68; Dante, From the Divine Comedy, (Purgatorio and Paradisio), DV 283-84
9House of Fame, Book 3, DV 69-92; Ovid, From the Metamorphoses, DV 257-58
11Discussion of first paper assignment: see instructions on Blackboard under Course Documents.
16The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue, pp. 3-23; reports on assigned pilgrims: if your pilgrim’s tale is not assigned below, be prepared to explain the vocation of your pilgrim and comment on the description today; if the tale is assigned below, we will read the description of the pilgrim from the General Prologue before we discuss the tale and you will explain the vocation and comment then.
18General Prologue, lines 43-78; Knight’s Tale, Parts 1 and 2, pp. 23-45
23Knight’s Tale, Parts 3 and 4, pp. 45-71; first paper due
25 GP, lines 545-66; Miller’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 71-88
30GP, lines 587-622; Reeve’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 88-99
Oct 2GP, lines 445-76; Wife of Bath’s Prologue, pp. 102-21
7Wife of Bath’s Tale, pp. 121-30
9Midterm exam (bring blue book)
14Fall break
16GP, lines 285-308; The Clerk’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 154-85
21GP, lines 270-84; The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 185-211
23GP, lines 331-60; The Franklin’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 212-233
28GP, lines 208-69; The Friar’s Prologue and Tale, pp.131-40; discussion of final paper
30GP, lines 623-68; The Summoner’s Prologue and Tale, 140-54
Nov 4GP, lines 669-714; The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 233-48
6GP, lines 118-66; The Prioress’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 248-54;
11Prologue and Tale of Sir Thopas and From The Prologue and Tale of Melibee, pp. 255-68; thesis statement for final paper
13The Nun’s Priest’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 269-85
18Workshop on final paper: bring 2 copies of preliminary draft (2 pages minimum); GP, lines 567-86; The Manciple’s Prologue and Tale, pp. 285-93
20GP, lines 477-28; The Parson’s Prologue, pp. 293-94, and Chaucer’s Retraction, pp. 306-7; review for final exam
24, 25, 26 Conferences (bring complete draft of paper)
Dec 3Email second paper to me as an attachment in WORD by midnight
4Final Exam, 9 to 11 am (bring blue book)