Spring 2009 Course Description

Title: Literary Forms: Arthurian Romance Course Number: ENGL 142 CRN # 50371 Instructor: Graham Drake Time: TR 8.30-9.45AM Building: Welles 216

• Course Content (scope, purpose, emphasis) Arthurian Romance is one of the most unusual liteary forms in Western literature. For one thing, there’s the nagging question of history: did Arthur really exist? That’s not a question we ask about Chaucer’s Troilus or George Eliot’s Silas Marner. For another, Arthurain Romance cuts across genres, cultures, languages, and time. We find it in obscure alliterative poems and in modern prose, in England and France—and even Spain and Iceland; legends of King Arthur and his companions span the centuries from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and on into the 19th and 20th centuries. Through reading, discussion, and lecture, we will follow these different pictures of Arthur through the ages and consider the figures of Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and Tristan as well. We will also hold class debates on Arthurian subjects.

• Probable Reading List (works arranged in approximate sequence)

Malory. Le Morte Darthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain. Chretien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances. Marie de France. Lais. Tennyson. Idylls of the King. Twain. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

• Evaluation Procedures (including kinds and numbers of papers and exams, role of class participation, oral reports, quizzes and what is going to count in grading)

Quick quizzes 5% of grade Two five-page papers 40% of grade 1 in-class debate 15% of grade (10%: your performance; 5%: your group’s performance) 1 final exam 25% of grade Class participation 15% of grade