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English literature of the Older Period: The Canterbury Tales [ LGERM2824 ]


5.0 crédits ECTS  30.0 h   1q 

This biannual course is taught on years 2010-2011, 2012-2013, ...

Teacher(s) Latre Guido ;
Language English
Place
of the course
Louvain-la-Neuve
Prerequisites

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Main themes

Particular attention will be paid to Chaucer's sense of humour, to his transformation of medieval literary genres in England and on the continent, and to his ideas that already pave the way for the Renaissance.

Aims

At the end of the course,  the students

- should be able to analyse Chaucer's texts, as well as others related to The Canterbury Tales, on a scholarly basis;
- will have increased their lexical skills. Their analyses will therefore have to reflect a command of the English language that corresponds to their level (Masters), as well as a good grasp of the various cultural concepts discussed in the course.

Evaluation methods

Written exam.

Teaching methods

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Content

Chaucer explores the contrasts between our longing to achieve wholeness, possibly even holiness ("the holy blissful martyr for to seke"), and our comic failure to integrate into our thoughts and experience the simple urges of our bodies and the fragmented visions of our culture. These contrasts are revealed through a subtle manipulation of literary genres from both England and the European continent : chivalric romances, fabliaux, fables, exempla, antifeminist literature, etc. The course studies these genres on the basis of stories from The Canterbury Tales, and tries to define the sophisticated mechanisms of Chaucer's humour.

Bibliography

Course materials: extracts from The Canterbury Tales; BBC-adaptation to a 21st century context of one of the tales (The Man of Law's Tale).

Other information

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Cycle et année
d'étude
> Certificat universitaire en littérature
> Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : German, Dutch and English
> Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : General
Faculty or entity
in charge
> LMOD


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