EWL 415 Chaucer Seminar
This course will examine the “father of English literature,” Geoffrey Chaucer, who is among the first and finest to write in an English dialect rather than the preferred French. Over the course of the semester we will read Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, considered by many to the be the first novel written in English, some of his poetry, and most of his seminal work -- The Canterbury Tales. We will read these texts in their original Middle English. In addition, we will read recent critical approaches to Chaucer, and discuss how different theoretical lenses yield insights into Chaucer’s writing.