| General Resources: Princeton
Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Ref PN 1021.n39); Middle
English Dictionary (PE 679.M62); Oxford Companion
to English Lit (PR19 .D73 1985b); Encyclopedia of
the Medieval World (Ref D114 .e55); Medieval England (Ref.
DA129 .M43 199); Medieval Folklore (Ref. GR35
.M43 2000); and the comprehensive On-line Reference Book
for Medieval Studies, for which click
here.
You may use the same approach as your last paper, but look at new texts. Or, you may choose an entirely new topic. Possible new topics include:
- Genre and expectation. Choose a Canterbury Tale (or the General Prologue). What is its genre? What should readers expect of it? How does it compare to other works of the same genre (choose one or more)? Additional resources: Peter Brown, Companion to Chaucer (PR1906.5 .C66); Beryl Rowland, Companion to Chaucer Studies (PR1924 .R68).
- Characters, some of dubious moral worth, tell tales with vague and sometimes contradictory moral lessons. Discuss the character of a Canterbury pilgrim, and illustrate your claims with evidence from the text. How does the pilgrim's character match or conflict with the story he or she tells?
- The Wife of Bath sets authority against experience. What does she mean? How does she deal with both authority and experience in her Prologue?
- The Wife of Bath's Tale describes the quest of a knight in a world of female authority and victimization. What are the moral issues at stake in this tale, and how does the ending resolve or complicate them?
- Chaucer's General Prologue begins with an implicit argument that Spring impels people to go on pilgrimage. What is the logic behind this claim? More generally, how does nature interact with human life in the GP or in one of the tales?
- How does Chaucer illustrate our obligations to one another?
- What does Chaucer imply about the role of class in maintaining standards of behavior?
Or, your own topic.
let me know if you'd like some ideas for reference works or to talk
through a topic.
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