Middle English Literature

TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES:

1. Four Romances of England, ed. Ronald B. Herzman, Graham Drake, and Eve Salisbury (1999), ISBN 1-58044-017-7
2. Four Middle English Romances, ed. Harriet Hudson (1996), ISBN 1-879288-63X
3. The Middle English Breton Lays, ed. Anne Laskaya and Eve Salisbury (1995), ISBN 1879288621
4. King Arthur’s Death, ed. Larry D. Benson, rev. Edward E. Foster (1994), ISBN 1879288389
5. Sir Gawain, ed. Thomas Hahn (1995), ISBN 1879288591
6. histories of English literature on reserve at the library
7. the TEAMS web site:  http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/tmsmenu.htm (which provides glossed online texts of various works of Middle English literature for free)
8. the Middle English Compendium:  http://www.tcnj.edu/%7elibrary/research/name/middleenglish.html (which provides complete information from the Middle English Dictionary and allows searches for particular words within the corpus of extant Middle English texts)
9. “A Basic Chaucer Glossary”:  http://www.towson.edu/~duncan/glossary.html (which provides a helpful glossary of common Middle English words that are foreign to us)
10. For those of you interested in weapons and armor, a “A Complete Glossary of Medieval Weapons, Armor and Costumes”:  http://www.halloweencostumes.com/medival-weapons-armor-costumes

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  In a sense, Middle English literature, as a coherent body of texts, does not exist.  Medieval English culture was very diverse; surviving documents from the period tend to be unconnected to one another; and the English court was Francophone rather than English in outlook.  As a result, we’ll begin the semester by looking closely at one genre (romance) in order to examine the fragmentary nature of that genre’s Middle English manifestations, and then groups of students will divide up the Middle English period by genre in order to choose representative readings for their classmates from each genre (in order to explore the fragmentary nature of medieval English culture further).  Readings will all be in the original Middle English.

GOALS.  In terms of my goals for this course, I want you to

1. enjoy the richness, vitality, and strangeness of Middle English literature;
2. master the challenges of – and develop a healthy appreciation for – Middle English;
3. discover, assert, and insert your own critical “voice” in ongoing dialogues, critiques, and debates – both oral and written, general and specific – that characterize the discipline of English, including debates over aesthetic value, literary historiography, and disciplinary politics;
4. recognize the impact of cultural environments upon language, respecting and understanding language diversity;
5. demonstrate familiarity with a significant body of texts within – and on the margins of – the medieval English literary tradition;
6. demonstrate sensitivity to the concrete historicity of texts and to the development of literary traditions, cultural values, modes of thought, and uses of language over time;
7. understand how the literary, visual, and performing arts reflect and inspire the richness of human expression, and how language and other forms of expression convey meaning and story;
8. analyze how forms of expression are used to reflect, exalt, or challenge the values of a culture;
9. become acquainted with the many purposes for which art is created and the multiple contexts in which it acquires meaning and value; and
10. acquire perceptual habits and conceptual lenses conducive to the appreciation of specific media, genres, and styles.

REQUIREMENTS.  This course has the following graded assignments:

1. 10 response papers (20 points each),
2. a midterm exam (200 points),
3. a group project, including written rationale (200 points),
4. a final paper of 8-10 pages (200 points), and
5. a final exam (200 points).

Your final grade will be based on a 1000-point scale:  A = 930-1000 points, A- = 900-929, B+ = 870-899, B = 830-869, B- = 800-829, C+ = 770-799, C = 730-769, C- = 700-729, D+ = 670-699, D = 600-669, and F = below 600.

ATTENDANCE.  Regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of this class.  Class discussion constitutes important, useful preparation for your graded work.  If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out what you missed and to come fully prepared – without excuses – to the next class meeting.  And please, don’t ask, “Did I miss anything?”  Check out Tom Wayman’s poem about that question.  For more on the College’s attendance policy, please go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~recreg/policies/attendance.html.

Academic Integrity.  Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to: submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral.  TCNJ’s academic integrity policy is available on the web at http://www.tcnj.edu/~academic/policy/integrity.html.

OFFICE HOURS.  My office is Bliss 216, and my office hours this term are 2-4pm on Mondays and Thursdays.  If you cannot see me during these office hours, feel free as needed to call my office (771-2106) or to talk to me before or after class to arrange an appointment at another time.  You may also contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu), or you may leave a message for me in my box at the English department offices in Bliss 124.  Email is generally the fastest way to contact me in an emergency.

I may, on occasion, want to e-mail everyone in class.  I generally only have access to your TCNJ e-mail addresses, however.  As a result, if you regularly use an e-mail address other than your TCNJ address, I recommend that you have mail from your TCNJ address forwarded to the address you use more regularly.  That way, if I e-mail your TCNJ address, my message will be forwarded to your other address automatically.  To forward mail from your TCNJ address, go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~helpdesk/Zimbra.htm and click “Forward Email.”  Follow the directions there to set up mail forwarding.

If you would like to send an e-mail message to one or more of your classmates, you can do so through SOCS.  To access SOCS, go to http://socs.tcnj.edu and, after you have logged in with your TCNJ e-mail username and password, choose this class from the list of your courses this semester.  Then, when our course page comes up, click the “Email” button.  From there, you can select individual e-mail addresses or the entire class and send a message to the address(es) you’ve selected.

Accommodations.  The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability.  The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community.  Individuals with disabilities are responsible for reporting and supplying documentation verifying their disability, and requests for accommodations must be initiated through the Office of Differing Abilities Services (Eickhoff Hall 159).  If you require special assistance, I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities will be respected.  For more information, please go to http://www.tcnj.edu/~affirm/ada.html.

LANGUAGES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM.  A quarter-unit (one-credit) Languages Across the Curriculum independent study may be added to this course for those students who have intermediate level proficiency in Latin or French and who wish to complement the work in this course by utilizing their language skills. Please visit the LAC website at http://internationalstudies.intrasun.tcnj.edu/grant/lac.html or contact dcompte@tcnj.edu for more information. Students must meet with Dr. Compte to enroll in the LAC independent study very soon.

RESPONSE PAPERS.  In the course of the term, you are required to write 10 short, informal papers (about 2 pages each) on the Middle English readings for class.  You may choose which readings you want to respond to, as long as you have completed ten response papers by the end of the term (and I strongly recommend that you complete all or nearly all your response papers before we get to the group projects in the last four or five weeks of class).  For each response paper, choose one of the following topics and analyze the reading assignment for the day with respect to the topic you’ve chosen (you should write at least once on each of these topics over the course of the term):

1. Narrative.  What are the main elements of the narrative?  Don’t simply summarize what happens in the story.  Tell me what seem to be the major sections or main divisions of the story.  Outline the story line into sections.  How do those sections/divisions relate to one another (or not)?  What is the organizing principle?  Is there a sense of a beginning, a middle, and an end to the story?  Does the main story have a frame of some sort around it or an introduction that sets up the major themes and images of the story?  Is there a climactic moment?  Are there any subplots?  How does the narrative of today’s reading assignment relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
2. Language.  What are the distinctive features of the language of the text?  Do not simply point to various random oddities in spelling or vocabulary.  Generalize.  Are there particular words that are foreign to you but that recur frequently in the text?  Are there unusual grammatical forms that recur frequently (e.g., -and for -ing)?  Are there unusual spellings that recur frequently (perhaps suggesting patterns in pronunciation)?  What are the main elements that seem to characterize the dialect of the text?  How does the language of the text relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?  Click here for a website that describes basic differences among the various Middle English dialects (look particularly at the “Forms” listed for each dialect); there is also a document with information about (and examples of) Middle English dialects under “Resources” in SOCS.
3. Form.  What kind of poetry is the text?  What distinguishes it from prose?  Does it rhyme and/or have stanzas (an imported Continental innovation)?  Does it alliterate (a native English tradition)?  Does it use both rhyme/stanzas and alliteration?  Does it use neither?  How long are the poetic lines (i.e., number of syllables or metric feet)?  Does the author use typical poetic techniques of later poetry (e.g., metaphor, imagery, symbolism, syntactic inversion, rhythm, poetic diction, enjambment)?  How does the form relate to the form of previous reading assignments in class?
4. World View and Values.  What kind of world does the text portray?  What are the fundamental elements or principles of the text’s fictive world?  Is the world a benevolent place or a dark, dangerous hell-hole without hope?  How does the text portray humanity?  What are the fundamental nature and characteristics of humanity in the text’s world?  Does the text seem to view/portray the world and humanity in a basically positive or a basically negative light?  What are the fundamental values of the text?  Does the text value hard work, honesty, wealth, breeding, loyalty, physical prowess/beauty, intelligence, humility, learning, action?  How do the text’s values and portrayal of the world and humanity relate to those of previous reading assignments in class?
5. Gender.  How are men and women portrayed in the text?  What seems to be the attitude of the author toward men and women?  What are the characteristics of a good man in the text? a good woman? a bad man? a bad woman?  Does the text generalize about male and female gender roles?  What does the text imply or say about what roles are appropriate for each gender?  Does the text seem to favor, criticize, or attack either gender?  How does the text’s treatment of gender relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
6. Religion.  How are religion and religious ideas portrayed in the text?  How Christian is the work in outlook, doctrine, and/or symbolism?  Does the text use Christian images?  Does it allude to Christian stories?  Does it espouse Christian values (with or without explicit Christian content)?  Does it reflect on or mention Christian doctrine?  How is organized religion portrayed?  How are Church figures (such as friars, monks, priests, and nuns) portrayed?  Is the text critical of the Church?  How does the text’s portrayal of religion relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?  Click here for a list of the most important types of Church figures in medieval England and some brief generalizations about them.
7. Social Class.  How are members of different social classes portrayed in the text?  What seems to be the attitude of the author toward the king and royal court, the nobility, peasants, and/or townspeople (e.g., the guilds, merchants, mayors, lawyers, and bureaucrats of towns and villages)?  Does the author use, endorse, or undermine the stereotypes about particular social classes?  Does the author seem to identify with any particular social class or with the values of a particular class?  How does the text’s portrayal of social class relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?  Click here for a list of the most important social classes in medieval England and some brief generalizations about them.

Response papers will be graded Pass/Fail.  I ask you to type them (so that they are easier for me to read), but they need not be a perfect, polished product.  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says – a response.  Think about one of the topics above; then, write a response.  Don’t worry about typos or comma splices or organization.  Don’t worry about answering every question I ask under the particular topic.  In fact, focus on the one question that seems most interesting to you, and be as specific as you can, getting down as much as you can, as quickly as you can.  Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper.  I don’t want a five-paragraph theme.  Rather, I want an exploration – as detailed and specific as possible – of the reading assignment for the day.

Normally, as long as you submit a response paper of suitable length, detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you turn it in in class on the assigned day), you will receive all the points that the response paper is worth.  The purpose of the response papers is

1. to help you in your preparation for class discussion,
2. to help me see where you’re struggling with the readings for class,
3. to help you develop your intellectual independence and your confidence as a reader of Middle English,
4. to help you explore the relationships (or lack thereof) among the Middle English texts we’re reading, and
5. to practice literary and linguistic analysis on Middle English texts.

You may submit more than 10 response papers in the course of the semester (to make up for any response papers that do not receive a grade of Pass), but no matter how many extra response papers you turn in, you will not receive credit for more than 10.  You may not submit more than one response paper on a single day, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class – absolutely no exceptions.

GROUP PROJECT.  Around the middle of the semester, I will divide everyone in class into groups.  I will assign each group to research a literary genre or author from the Middle Ages (e.g., John Gower, John Lydgate, the Gawain-poet, religious lyrics, love lyrics, ballads, dream visions, mystical literature, or saints’ lives).  Using reserve materials at our library and the TEAMS web site at http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/tmsmenu.htm, the groups will then research and read the major medieval texts for their assigned genre or author and, in consulation with me, decide which text(s) seem most important for their classmates to read.  Based on this research and reading, each group will assign one or more readings for the entire class to do.  The entire class will read each group’s assignment(s) during the final four weeks of the semester.  On the day(s) that we read each group’s assignment(s), the group will lead class discussion, and each person in the group will, individually, submit to me a written rationale (4-5 pages) for the group’s choices in terms of what the group assigned to the rest of class (answering such questions as what texts were considered, what the principles were behind deciding what to assign, what the pros and cons were for assigning each text considered, and why, finally, the particular text or texts assigned were chosen over all others considered).  Your work (i.e., choice of readings, leadership of class discussion, and written rationale) will be evaluated based on

1. how extensive, accurate, and relevant your research and reading were in preparation for making the reading assignment for your classmates and for leading class discussion,
2. how thoughtful your choices and the rationale for them were, and
3. how clear your explanation of your choices was (both in class discussion and in your written rationale).

FINAL PAPER.  For your final paper, you will choose one medieval text that the class read as part of your group project, and you will write a paper of 8-10 pages in which you argue a clear, specific thesis about that text in relation to a romance from roughly the same decade (from among the romances that we read this semester).  As you think about the thesis that you would like to argue, you should consider the following questions:

1. How does the text that we read as part of your group’s assignment(s) compare to the romance from roughly the same decade?
2. Do they share social values, linguistic features, political agendas, cultural assumptions, topical allusions, writing conventions, literary devices (e.g., images, plot elements, stock characters)?  What is the most important element that they share?
3. How do they differ from one another?  Are the differences primarily a function of region, genre, dialect, or social class?
4. What do literary historians say about the literary trends, historical events, and current issues of the decade in which your chosen texts were written?  Are any of those trends, events, or issues relevant to the texts that you are examining?

Keep in mind that you should not answer all these questions in your paper.  You should choose one aspect of one question that you find interesting and come to an arguable conclusion or thesis on that topic.  Your paper will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Does the paper have a clear, specific thesis?  Does the thesis offer an interesting perspective or “hook” that is provocative without being gimmicky or offensive?
2. Does the paper’s analysis progress logically, with a clear, consistent focus?  Does the paper have a coherent overall organization that relates all the ideas of the paper together in support of the thesis (rather than simply providing a list of random observations without relation to one another or to the thesis)?  Does the paper have appropriate transitions to aid the reader (rather than weak transitions, such as "The first...," "Another...," and "Also...")?
3. Does the paper provide relevant, concrete evidence (including brief quotations) and logically persuasive reasons for every assertion?
4. Does the paper show sensitivity to the concrete historicity of the literary works under consideration (rather than treat them as timeless museum pieces or reflect on them anachronistically)?
5. Does the paper exhibit confidence and insight when analyzing literary works or passages not discussed in class?
6. Does the introduction to the paper offer an interesting, helpful preview of the content, logic, and organization of the paper?
7. Is factual information in the paper accurate?  Does the paper use relevant research and secondary sources to support its argument where appropriate?
8. Is the writing in the paper clear, effective, interesting, correct (according to the norms of standard American English), and appropriate to an academic setting?

COURSE SCHEDULE.  The schedule below is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.  I recommend that you check this online syllabus regularly over the course of the term.  Changes and updates will be indicated in red.  All the readings assigned below are available in one or another of the purchased textbooks for class.  Unless line numbers are indicated, you are expected to read the entire text of the titles assigned.

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