Laughter and Love: Patterns in Medieval Comedy

ENGL 310 Medieval & Renaissance British Literature Spring 2016

Instructor: Dr. Christopher “Chip” Crane Office: Tawes 1204 Office Hours: Mon/Wed 8:30-9:00 or by appointment Cell Phone: 410-507-6938 Email: [email protected]

Teaching Assistant (TA): Genna Godley, [email protected]

Class Meeting time: MWF 9:00-9:50 Tawes Classroom: Tawes 0201 Section: 0101

Welcome to Medieval and Renaissance Britain! As a literary and cultural period, the Middle Ages is often viewed as dry, somber, overly-religious, and (with a few exceptions) aesthetically unrefined. The Renaissance has usually been contrasted with the Middle Ages as a time of artistic, political, philosophical, and social liveliness, sophistication, and subtlety. In this course we will explore the these stereotypes and seek to gain, through some representative English literature of both periods, a clearer grasp on major characteristics of both, including the tremendous love of life, laughter, religious joy, romance, and ambition expressed in the literature from those periods. Class meetings will be a combination of lecture and guided discussion, and you will demonstrate your engagement with and grasp of the course material through these discussions, quizzes, short written exercises, 2 papers (5-7 pages each), and final exam.

I expect the course to be fun as well as challenging, and I have the following general goals for the semester:  To expose you to various elements of the English literary culture from (roughly) 500 to 1600 and the place of this period in general English literary history.  To help you compare that culture with our own in 21st-century America, and through that comparison, to help you understand both cultures better in general.  To introduce you to general facets of medieval and renaissance English culture, including different genres of literature and that literature’s expression of romance, gender roles, religious faith, class (“estate”) distinctions, everyday life, and fun.  To train you, mainly through practice, to read Middle English and Early Modern (also known as “Elizabethan” or “Shakespearean”) English.  To challenge you to think critically about this literature and about your own responses to it.  To help develop your ability to respond critically to literature through writing. Ye Course Policies I will expect from you a high level of engagement with the course material and participation in discussions. I will also expect top-notch writing and other work from each of you. I want to help you gain the maximum combination of learning, intellectual growth, and fun out of this course, so please seek me out for assistance at any point with reading or writing if you are having difficulty. To achieve these ends and the goals described above (and the best grade of which you are capable and which demonstrates that achievement), you should expect to invest, on average, two or three hours of study and preparation for each hour the class meets, probably more during weeks with an exam or paper due.

Attendance and Professionalism With few exceptions, attendance is required. No excuses. If you miss a session, I expect you to explain your absence in an email to me (or in person or via phone); you must also stay current with the class by contacting another student. Tardiness to class is not acceptable, as the classroom environment involves an active community, and you will be graded on your participation in class discussions. Obviously, if you are not in class, you cannot participate in those discussions.

In the event that you must miss class due to an illness, the policy in this class is as follows:  For every medically necessary absence from class (lecture, recitation, or lab), a reasonable effort should be made to notify the instructor in advance of the class. When returning to class, students must bring a note identifying the date of and reason for the absence, and acknowledging that the information in the note is accurate.  If you are absent more than once, I may require documentation signed by a health care professional.  If you are absent on days when tests are scheduled or papers are due, you should notify me in advance, and upon returning to class, bring documentation of the illness, signed by a health care professional.

Late work is also unacceptable. Assigned work must be turned in no later than the start of class on the due date. I will occasionally extend a deadline in special circumstances, but you should discuss your circumstances with me at least a week prior to the deadline. The penalty for late work submitted without prior arrangement is a letter grade (10 points) for each calendar day past the due date.

Attendance and timeliness (of your attendance and your assignments) are all really subsets of the overall high level professionalism I expect from you. I expect you to conduct yourselves both in class and with assignments like the professionals (in whatever field) you are studying at the university to become.

Class Participation Class participation is essential to successful learning of the course material. Contribute constructively to the course, even if by simply asking good questions. All of you have had experiences and insights from which other students in the class can benefit. Even if you are just beginning to take courses as an English major or are not an English major at all, you have knowledge and the capacity for insight that neither I nor the other students in the class possess and from which we can all benefit.

I will consider the following classroom activities as detrimental to class discussion and class participation and therefore detrimental to your grade: • Computer use unrelated to the course, including unauthorized emailing or messaging • Use of cell phones

I may, from time to time, remind the class or specific individuals of the unprofessionalism of these activities; however, I may choose not to disrupt class with a comment and yet still make a note in my records. If you do these things in class, it should not surprise you if at the end of the semester your grade is significantly lower than the sum of just your assignment grades.

Your attendance in class is a vital element in your ability to participate; therefore, your class participation grade will reflect your consistent presence in class as well as your engagement with assignments and discussion.

Office Hours / Contacting Me My office hours are at the top of this syllabus. Normally I will be in my office during these times, though I may occasionally be out. I encourage you, therefore, to schedule an appointment with me during these times so I will know to expect you. If these hours will not work for you, we may be able to find another time to meet or else confer via phone or email. If you email me with a question, I will normally get back to you within one working day (24 hours during the week) and at the most within 72 hours.

Writing Center I encourage all of you to make use of the Writing Center. Through an interactive consultation, a tutor can help you at any stage of the writing process. The Writing Center will not turn a D quality paper to an A paper for you, but the staff can help you develop the skills you need to successfully move your paper to the next step in the process. The Writing Center is located near the entrance to Tawes and provides appointment and walk-in hours during the week. Although the staff will not “correct” or “proofread” your papers, they can help you review and improve your English composition skills. Your visits to the WC are documented and forwarded to me.

Academic Integrity Another facet of your professionalism is Academic Integrity. The University has approved a Code of Academic Integrity (http://www.shc.umd.edu/code.html) which prohibits students from cheating on exams, plagiarizing papers, submitting the same paper for credit in two courses without authorization, buying papers, facilitating academic dishonesty, submitting fraudulent documents, and forging signatures. Plagiarism policy: all quotations taken from other authors, including from the Internet, must be indicated by quotation marks and referenced. Paraphrasing (putting other’s ideas into your own words) must be referenced as well. In addition, the following University of Maryland Honor Pledge, approved by the University Senate, should be handwritten and signed on the front page of all papers (or submitted with your email for electronic paper submistion), projects or other academic assignments submitted for evaluation in this course: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination." Students with Disabilities This course complies with University policy regarding students with disabilities as described in the current Undergraduate or Graduate Catalog. You should let me know at the start of the semester if you have a disability which requires special accommodation on my part.

Religious Holidays Any student's assertion of a religious observance will be taken at face value; advance warning of any classes, tests, etc., to be missed for religious observance should come to me in writing in the first week of the semester. (http://www.president.umd.edu/policies/iii510a.html)

Missing class or a deadline for a religious observance does not excuse a student from material taught in the class or any course assignments.

In Case of Inclement Weather or Emergency which closes the University or otherwise causes the cancellation of class, you should continue with all reading assignments and other work as scheduled unless you hear otherwise from me via email or ELMS/Canvas posting. We may even hold class remotely via the conference feature in ELMS, so don’t assume you have the day off class until you hear from me.

Ye Graded Material Your final grade will be comprised of the following, in approximately the proportions indicated. You are to read all assignments on the syllabus prior to each day’s class. Bring all assigned course texts to class, including class material read online or posted to Blackboard, which you should print out beforehand.

Homework/Class participation: 20% (includes short writing exercises, quizzes, attendance, contribution to class discussion, participation in online discussions, engagement with reading assignments, other in-class activities, and general professionalism)

Recitation of memorized pieces: 10%

Papers: 40%

Final Exam: 30% Ye List of Texts The following texts are required for the course.

Beowulf: A Dual-Language Edition, trans Howell Chickering, Anchor ISBN-10: 1400096227 ISBN-13: 9781400096220

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo: Trans. J.R.R.Tolkien, Del Rey ISBN-10: 0345277600 ISBN-13: 9780345277602

Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays, ed. Cawley, A.C., Everyman paperbacks ISBN-10: 046087280X ISBN-13: 9780460872805

Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: Fifteen Tales and the General Prologue, ed. V. A. Kolve, Norton Crticial Edition ISBN-10: 0393925870 ISBN-13: 9780393925876 (this may have been updated—check the bookstore’s ISBN if you don’t buy it from them)

Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene Book 1, ed. Carol V. Kaske, Hackett ISBN-10: 0872208079 ISBN-13: 9780872208070

Thomas More, Utopia, trans David Wooton, Hackett ISBN-10: 087220376X ISBN-13: 9780872203761

Christopher Marlowe, Dr Faustus, Dover ISBN-10: 0486282082 ISBN-13: 9780486282084

Isabella Whitney, Mary Sidney, and Aemeila Lanyer: Renaissance Women Poets, ed. by Danielle Clarke, Penguin, 2000. ISBN-10: 0140424091 ISBN-13: 978-0140424096

Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library), Washington Square Press, 2004. ISBN-10: 0743482751 Additional readings, especially of shorter poetry and literary criticism, will be via course handouts (mainly via ELMS) MON WED FRI Wk 1 27 Jan 29 Jan  Course Intro  Intro to Old English,  “The Battle of Maldon” Middle English, Early (in class) Modern English  Chaucer’s General Prologue to The SNOW DAY! Canterbury Tales, lines 1-27  “The Seafarer” (ELMS)  “The Dream of the Rood” (on ELMS)

Wk 2 1 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb – No regular mtg  Beowulf Intro (pp 1-28) Reading aloud from Online discussion (at 9:00) & Guide to Reading Beowulf (25 lnes in OE) & disc. post (by midnight) Aloud (29-37) due—Sign up for time  Beowulf, lines 2200-  Beowulf, lines 1-1250 slot 3182 (end)  Beowulf, lines 1251- 2199 Wk 3 8 Feb 10 Feb 12 Feb  J.R.R. Tolkien,  C.S. Lewis, Recitation of memorized “Beowulf: The “Imagination and piece #1 DUE: Chaucer’s Monsters and the Thought in the Middle General Prologue, lines 1- Critics,” pp.1-15 Ages” (ELMS) 27. (ELMS) Sir Gawain and the Green Sign up/Make appt to Knight, Introduction + Part recite to me before or I after class Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part II

Wk 4 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb Sir Gawain and the Green Pearl Sir Orfeo Knight, Part III-IV (end)

Wk 5 22 Feb 24 Feb 26 Feb  Genesis 1-4 In Mystery Plays  Genesis 6-8, 22 In Mystery Plays: o “The Fall of Man”  In Mystery Plays 1. Cawley’s o “Cain and Abel” o “Noah’s Flood” Introduction o “Abraham and 2. “The Creation Isaac” and Fall of Lucifer,” 3. “The Creation of Adam and Eve” MON WED FRI Wk 6 29 Feb – LEAP DAY! 2 Mar 4 Mar Luke 1-2  Luke 23; John 19 Matthew 25 In Mystery Plays  In Mystery Plays In Mystery Plays o “The Annunciation” o “The Crucifixion o “The Last o “The Second o “The Harrowing of Judgment” Shepherd’s Hell” o Everyman Pageant”

Wk 7 7 Mar 9 Mar 11 Mar  Chaucer, The General Chaucer, The Miller’s Chaucer, The Pardoner’s Prologue (selections Prologue and Tale Prologue and Tale tba) Donaldson, “Chaucer the  The Knight’s Tale (this Pilgrim” is really long)  Kittredge, “The Dramatic Principle of the Canterbury Tales”

SPRING BREAK! Wk 8 21 Mar 23 Mar 25 Mar  Chaucer, The Wife of  Chaucer, The Friar’s  Chaucer, The Nun’s Bath’s Prologue and and Summoner’s Priest’s Tale Tale Prologues and Tales

THURS 24 MARCH— PAPER 1 DUE Wk 9 28 Mar 30 Mar 1 Apr  More, Utopia, Book  More, Utopia, Book  Spenser, Amoretti One pp 52-60 (top Two, pp 97-160 selected sonnets paragraph only); Book (ELMS) Two, pp 90-97  English Bible translation (handout on ELMS) Wk 4 Apr 6 Apr 8 Apr 1  Spenser, Epithalamion  Spenser, The Faerie  Spenser, The Faerie 0 (link & handout on Queene Book 1, Queene Book 1, Canto ELMS) Cantos 2-3 4  Spenser, The Faerie  Sixteenth-century lyric Queene Book 1, poetry: Petrarch, Introduction & Canto 1 Wyatt, and Surrey (handout on ELMS) MON WED FRI Wk 11 Apr 13 Apr 15 Apr 1  Spenser, The Faerie  Spenser, The Faerie  Spenser, The Faerie 1 Queene Book 1, Queene Book 1, Queene Book 1, Cantos 5-7 Cantos 8-9 Cantos 10  Sixteenth-century lyric poetry: Sir Phillip Sidney (handout on ELMS)

Wk 18 Apr 20 Apr 22 Apr 1  Spenser, The Faerie  Isabella Whitney (in Online discussion post (no 2 Queene Book 1, Whitney, Sydney and regular class) Cantos 11-12 Lanyer) pp 1-43; Intro  Sixteenth-century lyric pp x-xvi poetry: Queen Notes start on p. Elizabeth & (handout 283 on ELMS)

Wk 25 Apr 27 Apr 29 Apr 1 Mary Sidney (in Whitney,  Aemelia Lanyer (in Whitney, Sidney, and 3 Sydney and Lanyer), pp ; Whitney, Sydney and Lanyer wrap up Intro xvi-xxx Lanyer), Salve Deus  Christopher Marlowe, Rex Judaeorum, pp. Dr. Faustus (sc. I-IV, 205-213 & 228-274; pp 1-17) Intro pp xxx-xxv

Wk 2 May 4 May 6 May 1  Christopher Marlowe,  Shakespeare, Much  Shakespeare, Much 4 Dr. Faustus, IV-end Ado About Nothing Act Ado About Nothing Act  Shakespearean I-III IV-V sonnets (handout on  Last day to recite ELMS) **Attend Maryland memorized piece #2 Shakespeare Players  Paper 2 Due performance of Much Ado About Nothing May 5 – 8 starring Genna Godley Wk 9 May – Last Day of 1 Class! 5  Course Wrap Up and Final Exam review