THEORY:

1. Middle-English Literature in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

• 1.1. Medieval Romance: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
• 1.2. The Writings of Geoffrey Chaucer. The medieval frame narrative.
• 1.3. The Medieval Lyric.
• 1.4. Margery Kempe. The Book of Margery Kempe.

2 Medieval Theatre
3. Tudor and Elizabethan Poetry
4. The Rise of Professional Theatre
5. Jacobean Poetry.

PRACTICE:

1. Analysis and commentary of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
2. Analysis and commentary of Chaucer’s “The Franklin’s Tale”.
3. Analysis and commentary of a selection of medieval lyrics.
4. Analysis and commentary of The Book of Margery Kempe (excerpts).
5. Analysis and commentary of a selection of Tudor and Elizabethan poetry.
6. Analysis and commentary of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
7. Analysis and commentary of a selection of Jacobean poetry.

Compulsory readings

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Franklin’s Tale”. In The Riverside Chaucer, edited by Larry D. Benson. Houghton Mifflin, 1987. https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/text-and-translations.

Shakespeare, William. The Oxford Shakespeare: Twelfth Night. Edited by Roger Warren and Stanley Wells. 1st ed., Oxford UP, 1994.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A Close Verse Translation, edited and translated by Larry D. Benson. West Virginia UP, 2012.

The additional selection of works will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Recommended bibliography

Abrams, Meyer Howard & Geoffrey Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Heinle & Heinle, 2008.

Baugh, Albert C. ed. A Literary History of England. 4 vols. Routledge. 1959

Bennett, J.A.W. Middle English Literature, 1100-1400. Oxford UP, 1997.

Birch, Dinah. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford UP, 2009.

Blamires, Harry. A Short History of English Literature. Routledge. 1984.

Burgess, Anthony. English Literature. Longman. 1962.

Cheney, Patrick et al. Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion. Oxford UP, 2007.

Dinshaw Carolyn, and David Wallace, editors. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Women’s Writing. Cambridge UP, 2003.

Evans, Maurice. Elizabethan Sonnets. Everyman, 1977.

Ford, Boris. ed. The New Pelican Guide to English Literature. 9 vols. Penguin. 1982.

Greenblatt, Stephen y Meyer Howard Abrams, eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. W. W. Norton and Co., 2006. 

Jeffares, Norman. ed. Macmillan History of Literature. 12 vols. Macmillan. 1991.

Rogers, Pat. ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature. Oxford UP. 2001.

Sampson, G. A Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. Cambridge UP. 1970.

Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. Oxford UP. 2000.

Spearing, A.C. Medieval to Renaissance in English Poetry. Cambridge UP. 1985.

8.1: Criterios de evaluación:
The final exam will consist of a comparative commentary on texts from the syllabus. Assessment will be based on the following criteria:

• Understanding of the texts.
• Knowledge of poetic and rhetorical conventions, as well as the socio-cultural context of the period.
• Ability to construct an argument based on the texts and to structure the commentary effectively.
• Accuracy in the use of the English language.

8.3: Consideraciones generales y recomendaciones para la evaluación y la recuperación:
The aim of the assessment is to verify the extent to which students have assimilated the competencies and knowledge taught throughout the course, as well as their ability to demonstrate and apply them. Written expression, presentation, and linguistic accuracy will also be taken into account.
Specific assessment rubrics will be provided for each task (in the case of continuous assessment), and will be made available on Studium in advance. English will be used as the language of instruction and communication throughout the course.
Students who attend at least 80% of the in-person classes may be assessed through:

• A written exam (60%)
• Participation in in-person activities outside of regular class hours (40%)

Students who do not attend class regularly will be assessed through a final exam worth 100% of the final grade.
Regular class attendance, reading the materials provided on the virtual course platform, preparing assignments, and active classroom participation are strongly recommended.

Additional expectations:

• Participation in discussions and in-class exercises is expected and may be considered in borderline cases.
• Assignments must be submitted by the deadlines. Late submissions may be penalised unless prior arrangements are made.
• Plagiarism and any form of academic dishonesty are strictly prohibited. All work submitted must be the student’s own, and sources—whether primary or secondary—must be properly cited. Cases of plagiarism will be dealt with according to the university’s academic integrity policy and may result in disciplinary action.