Medieval English Literature
The following topics will be discussed:
1. An introduction to Middle English literature.
2. Geoffrey Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde.
3. Criseyde over the centuries: Robert Henryson, The Testament of Cresseid; William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida.
Lectures are given in English, and will start from a general overview of Middle English literature to focus then on the texts listed in the syllabus. Special attention will be paid to text analysis, and students will be invited to participate actively with reading and comprehension workshops. The Moodle platform shall be used to update students on class activities, and also to provide them with audio-visual and critical material that will complement what is present in the bibliography. Should the number of participants allow it, students will also be invited to hold brief seminars (twenty-thirty minutes each) in which they will discuss independently some of the themes of the course. Attendance is warmly recommended.
Textbooks:
John Anthony Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre, A Book of Middle English. Blackwell, 2020.
Note: a list of texts to be studied shall be given in class, and uploaded on Moodle.
Thorlac Turville-Petre, Reading Middle English Literature. Blackwell, 2006.
Note: this text must be studied in its entirety.
Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, Edited by Stephen Barney. Norton, 2006.
Note: it includes also Robert Heryson's The Testament of Cresseid.
William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida.
Available at https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/troilus-and-cressida/read/
The following topics will be discussed:
1. An introduction to Middle English literature.
2. Geoffrey Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde.
3. Criseyde over the centuries: Robert Henryson, The Testament of Cresseid; William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida.
Lectures are given in English, and will start from a general overview of Middle English literature to focus then on the texts listed in the syllabus. Special attention will be paid to text analysis, and students will be invited to participate actively with reading and comprehension workshops. The Moodle platform shall be used to update students on class activities, and also to provide them with audio-visual and critical material that will complement what is present in the bibliography. Should the number of participants allow it, students will also be invited to hold brief seminars (twenty-thirty minutes each) in which they will discuss independently some of the themes of the course. Attendance is warmly recommended.
Textbooks:
John Anthony Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre, A Book of Middle English. Blackwell, 2020.
Note: a list of texts to be studied shall be given in class, and uploaded on Moodle.
Thorlac Turville-Petre, Reading Middle English Literature. Blackwell, 2006.
Note: this text must be studied in its entirety.
Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde, Edited by Stephen Barney. Norton, 2006.
Note: it includes also Robert Heryson's The Testament of Cresseid.
William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida.
Available at https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/troilus-and-cressida/read/
- Docente: Alessandra Petrina