This seminar focus on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the literary and historical world in which they did their work, with some additional readings in his other poetry. Readings will be in the original Middle English, with close attention to questions of the idea of literary authority, gender, and the cultural and political upheaval that marked late fourteenth-century England. Classes will center on discussion, with occasional short lectures introducing important concepts. The class will begin with a series of exercises to show that Chaucer's language is easily mastered; other requirements include presentations, short response papers, a midterm, and a final.

--Lawrence Warner lwarner@english.upenn.edu http://www.english.upenn.edu/~lwarner/