![]() ![]() Fifty-five of these manuscripts are thought to have been originally complete, while 28 are so fragmentary that it is difficult to ascertain whether they were copied individually or as part of a set. This comparison should not be taken as evidence of the Tales' popularity in the century after Chaucer's death, because according to Derek Pearsal, it is unfair considering that Prick of Conscience had all the benefit of the "preservation of a dogmatic religious subject-matter". There are 84 manuscripts and four incunabula (printed before 1500) editions of the work, which is more than for any other vernacular English literary text with the exception of Prick of Conscience. The question of whether The Canterbury Tales is a finished work has not been answered to date. ![]() Although perhaps incomplete, The Canterbury Tales is revered as one of the most important works in English literature. Thomas Becket's shrine (making for a total of about 120 stories). ![]() According to the Prologue, Chaucer's intention was to write four stories from the perspective of each pilgrim, two each on the way to and from their ultimate destination, St. In the General Prologue, some 30 pilgrims are introduced. The Canterbury Tales is generally thought to have been incomplete at the end of Chaucer's life. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was seminal in this evolution of literary preference. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucer's time, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries- John Gower, William Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Julian of Norwich-also wrote major literary works in English. It has been suggested that the greatest contribution of The Canterbury Tales to English literature was the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature, as opposed to French, Italian or Latin. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's magnum opus. This course satisfies the “Pre-1700 Guided Elective" requirement for English concentrators and Secondary Field students.The Canterbury Tales ( Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 13. Wilson to indicate interest before term begins there may be an additional graduate section if there is sufficient demand. If you are a graduate student interested in taking this class, please contact Prof. Students of all years and from all concentrations and programs are welcome. ![]() Course projects include an essay, a collaborative report on one tale, and a creative option. Classes include a short lecture on a tale, and class discussion, which continues in weekly sections. We will also explore the poem's long-ranging impact on English literature, including several contemporary reimaginings. We read the poem in the language in which it was written, Middle English, easy and fun to learn with early help: no previous experience with the language, or with the medieval era, is necessary. Written in a long-ago past, the poem jumps off the page, in turns unrecognisably weird and startlingly modern. Some are serious, others funny, obscene, or offensive some are religious, others not at all some deal with issues local to England, others range across the Europe and the rest of the known world many are told against other pilgrims. The Canterbury Tales consists of a series of tales told by members of a pilgrimage on their way from London to Canterbury, representatives of the internally divided social world of Chaucer’s England. What makes stories so pleasurable and revealing but also so enraging and dangerous? How are we to think about the strong emotions they evoke and learn to resist as well as appreciate their power? This course revisits Geoffrey Chaucer's classic fourteenth-century poem, The Canterbury Tales: the deepest and most caustically entertaining analysis of storytelling ever written. Monday & Wednesday, 1:30-2:45pm | Location: TBD ![]()
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