(12 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
By examining texts from his short love lyrics to the copious profusion of character and incident in The Canterbury Tales, this course makes clear why Chaucer is the "father" of English poetry.
You plumb the richness and depth of Chaucer’s poetry and explore his life, the range of his work, and his impact on English language and literature.
Course Lecture Title:
1. Introduction to Chaucer's Life and World
2. The Scope of Chaucer's Work
3. Chaucer's Language
4. Chaucerian Themes and Terms
5. Troilus and Criseyde - Love and Philosophy
6. Troilus and Criseyde - History and Fiction
7. The Canterbury Tales - The General Prologue
8. The Canterbury Tales - The First Fragment
9. The Wife of Bath
10. The Pardoner
11. God's Plenty - The Variety of The Canterbury Tales
12. Chaucer's Living Influence
