ENG 310 – LITERATURE OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Context
Lears
TR 12:45-2:05
“Men should not make earnest out of game,” says Chaucer as he warns readers not to take the bawdy
language he attributes to his Miller too seriously. His story is simply for trifling pleasure or entertainment—not
for “deep” things like philosophy or moral edification. What is the ethical, political, and/or aesthetic purpose of
poetry and fiction? As Chaucer’s formulation above suggests, medieval thinkers were keen to explore these
issues in their own work. With these key terms and questions in mind, this course introduces students to the
poetry (and some prose) of medieval England with a focus on the late fourteenth century, just as literature
written in English was coming into its own. In exploring authors like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland,
Margery Kempe, and more, we will survey some of late-medieval England’s most important genres (fabliau,
dream vision, romance), regions (London, the West Midlands, East Anglia), literary forms (alliterative poetry,
tetrameter, pentameter), and historical developments (the Black Death, the rise of the Wycliffite heresy). Along
with regular reading and class participation, course work will include several short writing assignments and a
longer research paper. Attention to early forms of the English language will prove surprisingly easy and fun!