Topics in Medieval Lit.: Medieval Poetry
Nida Surber profile
TR 1:30-3
In this course we shall be dealing with the extremely varied
definitions of identity one encounters when reading a series of Middle
English poems. Our main preoccupation stems from the fact that the
medium for these definitions is poetical. Hence, the reception of
poetry, its way of functioning, its role both then and now, will
interest us. These definitions - whether they be circumscribed by the
human element, the divine element, sexual difference,class
differentiation,labour division as well as the interactions of these
categories (feminine/divine, feminine/human,masculine/divine,
masculine/human etc) - are complex, but a shared close reading will
show that they constitute good tools for analysis. Although some of
the poems might seem specifically English, the troubadour poems and
songs are part of a larger European literary tradition, so we might
also examine the question of literary genres unattached to particular
geographical areas and languages: indeed some of the poems included in
the edition we will be using are written in more than one, and even
two, languages. This particular aim in analysing the Middle English
poems is, in turn, embedded in a more general one, namely, that of our
way of dealing with these texts today, our own way of relating to
their immense freedom of expression (sexual, social) and to their
religious tolerance. Two short papers and a long one will be required
for this class.
updated 2006-03-29
