English 308 - SEM: ONE BIG BOOK

Topics course. A close reading of Chaucer's story of love and betrayal in the time of the Trojan War. Cultural contexts include Boethius's Consolation, Chaucer's Prologue to The Legend of Good Women and the conception of late medieval London as a "new Troy." Attention to the Troilus tradition, including Henryson's Testament of Cresseid, Shakespeare's play and Burne-Jones's cycle of illustrations for the Kelmscott Chaucer. No prior experience with Chaucer's English required.

Topic: Troilus and Criseyde. Instructor permission. Not open to first-years, sophomores