For your convenience, this page of Background Text Information presents a composite of the "Text Info" sections on the Calendar of Assignments.  Please note that it may be added to or modified in the course of the quarter.

Week 1:

• A "Prologue" refers to an opening statement made by an author at the beginning of his or her narrative, before the beginning of the story itself).  Medieval authors typically used Prologues (and Epilogues, statements found at the end of a narrative, after the conclusion of the story itself) to talk about what they have written, to explain what they are trying to do, and to stake a claim to literary legitimacy.  Prologues and Epilogues may also be used by authors to dedicate a work to a potential "patron,"  a rich and powerful person whom they hope will reward them for the honor, either financiallly or by offering them protection or prestige.
• Marie de France was active ca. 1160s-1190s at the Anglo-Norman court (i.e. the court of the French-speaking rulers of England, descendants of the Norman Duke William the Conquerer who became King of England after defeating the English king in the Battle of Hastings in 1066).  Marie de France spoke and wrote in French.  Her works are in rhyming verse (specifically, octosyllabic rhyming couplets). We are reading the Prologue and Epilogue to her collection of Fables and the Prologue to her collection of Lais (some of which we will be reading next week).
• Text info: Chrétien de Troyes was active ca. 1170-1190. While Chrétien lived and worked in France rather than in Anglo-Norman England, his works, like Marie's, were enjoyed by court audiences on both sides of the English channel.  Also like Marie, his works were written in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets.  We are reading the Prologues to Chrétien's Arthurian romances Erec and Enide and Cligés (a romance which we will read in its entirety later this quarter).

• Béroul wrote his romance, which is in French octo-syllabic rhyming couplets, some time in the second half of the 12th century; it appears to have influenced the work of Chrétien de Troyes (active ca. 1170-1190), so we assume it to predate those of Chrétien's works which show that influence.  It is preserved in only one manuscript, in a fragment of 4,485 lines.  Part of the so-called "common tradition."
• Thomas wrote his romance, also in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets, ca. 1170-75 for the Anglo-Norman court; eight fragments totalling more than 3000 lines have been preserved in five different manuscripts. Part of the so-called "courtly tradition."
• There are two versions of the episode of Tristan's Madness (or "Folie Tristan"), both of which are short episodic French narrative poems by unknown authors, probably dating from the second half of the twelfth century, written in octosyllabic rhyming couplets. One is preserved in a manuscript in Bern (Switzerland) and the other is in Oxford (England).  The text we are reading is the 572-line Bern fragment (often referred to as the "Folie Tristan de Berne"); this text is associated with the so-called "common tradition" of which Béroul's poem is also a part (presumably, the reason our textbook inserts this originally independent work into this translation of Béroul's romance).
• Marie de France was active ca. 1160s-1190s at the Anglo-Norman court; in addition to her Fables (of which we read the Prologue and the Epilogue last week), Marie wrote a collection of twelve lais, short narrative poems in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets.  A lai (often anglicized as "lay") usually includes some sort of supernatural event; its primary focus is a love relationship.  If a romance (like Béroul's Tristan) is the medieval equivalent of the modern novel, a lai is analogous to a modern short story (or perhaps a fairy tale).

• Chrétien de Troyes was active ca. 1170-1190; The Knight of the Cart, his fourth extant romance, was probably written simultaneously with The Knight with the Lion, as the plots of the two works are intertwined.  Like all of Chrétien's romances, it is in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets. It is noteworthy for having introduced into literary tradition the love affair between King Arthur's wife, Queen Guenevere, and Lancelot, his best knight (no trace of which exists prior to Chrétien's romance).  Contrary to what has been argued by some critics, Chrétien's intention was not to glorify an adulterous love affair; instead, the Knight of the Cart offers a witty contestation of the sort of adulterous love affair which is arguably glorified in the Tristan romances, from which it borrows freely (including variations on the flour on the floor episode, the ambiguous oath, a passion inspired by a woman's golden hair, and an adulterous passion linking a King's wife with his best knight).
• Cligés, Chrétien de Troyes's second extant romance, is also written in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets.  It offers Chrétien's clearest and most unambiguous rejection of "Tristan-love." To better understand the literary techniques employed by Chrétien (e.g. his use of numerous Tristan elements), review the online reading "Medieval Attitudes toward Vernacular Literature."

• The Romance of Silence is a French romance in octosyllabic rhyming couplets dating from the second half of the thirteenth century.   Nothing is known of the author other than the name "Heldris of Cornwall," which is found in the opening line and at the beginning of the epilogue (line 6684, p. 313).  Despite what is stated on the back cover of our textbook, it is a post-Arthurian romance rather than an Arthurian one.  It is preserved in a single manuscript at the University of Nottingham in England (see text intro, p. xxiii).

• Geoffrey Chaucer lived ca. 1343-1400.  All of our Chaucer readings were originally written in English rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter (ten-syllable lines with an alternating pattern of unstressed followed by stressed syllables). An "iamb" is a two-syllable unit in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one; five such two-syllable units form an iambic pentameter line with the stress pattern "da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM."
• The Canterbury Tales (taken as a whole) is a "frame narrative" collection on which Chaucer worked during the last 14 years of his life (ca. 1386-1400).  A "frame narrative" is a work in which a group of story-tellers tell stories to each other. The individual stories that they tell are embedded within the narrative framework, which in the case of the Canterbury Tales is a pilgrimage to visit the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
• The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales sets up the narrative framework of the collection.  It also functions independently as an example of the medieval genre known as Estates Satire. (See the online reading The Medieval Estates.)  All 82 manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales begin with the General Prologue, followed by the Knight's Tale, the Miller's Tale, the Reeve's Tale and the Cook's Tale, which are are "glued together" by the dialogue between them.  Critics refer to this "chunk" of text as "Fragment 1."
• The Parson's Tale is a "penitential treatise," a genre which teaches people how to repent for their sins so that they will be prepared for Judgment Day and can hope for salvation rather than damnation.  We are reading: the full text of the Parson's Prologue, in which the Parson redefines the pilgrimage as a metaphorical journey to "celestial . . . Jerusalem" (i.e. salvation); the summary of the Parson's Tale; and Chaucer's "Retraction."  All 82 manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales end with this "chunk" of texts, which critics refer to as "Fragment 10."

• The Knight's Tale is a romance, but note that it was written in English, not French.  By the late 14th-century, the term "romance" no longer means "a narrative in the French vernacular"; it refers to a particular genre, a story which typically has a long-ago-and-far-away setting, aristocratic characters, plots involving both love and warfare, and a happy ending.  Romances often draw on the conventions of courtly love, depicting lovers who suffer from lovesickness and express their feelings in flowery speeches.  A common plot line is the winning of a bride by a brave knight through chivalric prowess.  The Knight's Tale was originally written ca. 1384-5, before Chaucer began work on the Canterbury Tales collection. (In the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women, written ca. 1385, he refers to this poem as Palamon and Arcite.)  Chaucer apparently considered this "translatio romance" to be an appropriate tale for his Knight and a fitting beginning to the Canterbury Tales as a whole when he chose to incorporate it into his frame narrative collection.
• The primary source of the Knight's Tale is an Italian poem by Boccaccio called Il Teseida (the "Story of Theseus"); other sources include Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy(a 5th-century Latin philosophical work which Chaucer had previously translated into English); the Thebaid (a Latin work about Thebes written by Statius in the first century); and the Romance of Thebes (an anonymous mid-twelfth-century French "translatio" of the Thebaid written, like the Romance of Eneas, for the Anglo-Norman court of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine).
• Chaucer's Miller's Tale is a fabliau, a French genre most popular in the 13th century that is adapted into English by Chaucer.  These short humorous narratives are characterized by a "here and now" setting (not the "long ago and far away" of romance); middle-class characters (not the aristocrats of romance); earthiness of tone and subject matter; an emphasis on the body in all its physicality -- sex, defecation, farting, the appetites -- rather than the emotions or the spiritual; and coarse language (rather than the flowery language often used in romance). Fabliaux (plural form) tend to flout authorities of all sorts and are frequently subversive. Characters are often "tricksters" admired for their cleverness; a common theme is the gleeful adultery of a repressed wife and a clever cleric. (For fuller information, see the beginning of the  Miller's Tale study guide.)
• All 82 manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales begin with the General Prologue, followed by the Knight's Tale, the Miller's Tale, the Reeve's Tale and the Cook's Tale, which are are "glued together" by the dialogue between them.  Critics refer to this "chunk" of text as "Fragment 1."

• Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Prologue is a literary confession or "apology," a first-person narrative in which a character explains his or her character and motivation. (Note that despite the modern connotations, these terms do not imply the speaker's sense of guilt or regret about the behavior described.)
• The Wife of Bath's Tale is a miniature Arthurian romance, with a setting in the distant past, aristocratic characters, magical events, and a happy ending. The structure is circular, beginning and ending at Arthur's court, where a knight undertakes a quest and to which he returns when the quest is complete.

• A Midsummer Night's Dream  was written ca. 1595-1596 by William Shakespeare (lived 1564-1616).   This English-language comedy was first published in 1600 in a "quarto" edition (Q1) which is believed to have been printed from Shakespeare's own text, and is the based text used for our edition. An additional "quarto" edition, Q2, appeared in 1619.  A Midsummer Night's Dream was also printed in the "First Folio" (F1), a posthumous collection of 36 of Shakespeare's plays published in 1623 by John Heminges and Henry Condell (Shakespeare's close friends, to whom he left personal bequests in his will; they were actors in his theater company, the King's Men).
• You should bring with you to class a list of the different filmed versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream which are on reserve for this class.  Be sure you know the director, year, theatre company (if applicable) and names of lead actors for each filmed version.  You will need to take CAREFUL NOTES about the film clips shown in class and to keep them straight -- i.e. know which filmed version contained a certain scene screened in class.  For your convenience, here is the list of films on reserve for ENGL 252 (also provided on the class home page) and of the clips screened in class:

• The Oscar-winning Hollywood commercial release from 1935 directed by Max Reinhardt and starring (among others) Olivia de Haviland as Hermia, James Cagney as Bottom, and Mickey Rooney (!) as Puck. Full cast listed in the IMDb. On Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call numbers 822.33 M584R3 2007 (DVD) and 822.33 M584R3 (Vid.C.); may also be available from NetFlix or local video stores.  VHS tapes may be screened in the library.

CLIPS SCREENED:
• Hippolyta dialogue withe Theseus from I.i (two scenes; dialogue is split between opening sequence of Theseus arriving in Athens and scene after the initial introduction of the lovers during the welcome ceremony for Theseus)

 
• The 1968 Royal Shakespeare Company stage version, directed by Peter Hall,  featuring Helen Mirren as Hermia; Diana Rigg (Emma Peel in "The Avengers") as Helena; Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy -- and the voice of Skinner in "Ratatouille") as Puck; and an amazingly young and sexy Judy Dench as Titania.  Full cast listed in the IMDb.  On Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call number 822.33 M584B4 2004 (DVD); may be available from NetFlix but not likely to be in local video stores.

CLIPS SCREENED:
• Hippolyta dialogue with Theseus from I.i

 
• BBC version (1981).  Directed by Elijah Moshinsky.  Cast includes Helen Mirren as Titania.  Full cast listed in the IMDb. On Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call numbers 822.33 M584B2 2000 (DVD) and 822.33 M584B2 (Vid.C.); may also be available from NetFlix or local video stores.  VHS tapes may be screened in the library.

CLIPS SCREENED:
• Hippolyta dialogue with Theseus from I.i

 
• Joseph Papp was the producer of this Public Theater version of the play from 1982, an offering of the New York Shakespeare Festival, filmed live on the outdoor stage in New York's Central Park.  Directed for the stage by James Lapine and for the filmed version by Emile Ardolino.  Not a commercial release.  Cast includes William Hurt as Oberon.  Full cast listed in the IMDb. Two DVD copies (each on two DVDs) are on Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call number 822.33 M584P2; not released commercially so unavailable from NetFlix or local video stores.
  
  CLIPS SCREENED:
• Opening of play from I.i through exit of Demetrius, Theseus, Hippolyta and Egeus
• Fairies introduction at top of 2.1 through Titania's exit after argument with Oberon
  
• Puck bringing flower to Oberon; Oberon's enchantment of Titania
• Puck reporting to Oberon; Helena awakening Lysander; Hermia's nightmare
• Bottom's awakening; Rude Mechanical's sadness at Bottom's absence; Bottom's return; Pyramus and Thisbe performance through end of play
  
 

• The 1996 Royal Shakespeare Company stage version, directed by Adrian Noble.  The cast is made up of excellent stage actors largely unknown to U.S. audiences.  Full cast listed in the IMDb. On Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call number 822.33 M584N6 2002 (DVD); may also be available from NetFlix or local video stores.

CLIPS SCREENED:
• Opening sequence with little boy asleep in room up to beginning of I.i
• I.i dialogue between Theseus and Hippolyta and scene with Egeus and the four lovers through Hippolyta's and Theseus's exit
• Arrival of Titania and Oberon and beginning of their scene in II.i
• Oberon telling Puck his plans to help Helena and punish Titania for not giving him the Changeling boy in II.i
• Oberon's enchantment of Titania
  
• V.i from dance after Pyramus and Thisbe play to end


• 1999 commercial release.  Directed by Michael Hoffman.  Cast includes Kevin Kline (Nick Bottom); Michelle Pfeiffer (Titania); Stanley Tucci (Puck); Rupert Everett (Oberon); Calista Flockheart (Helena); Christian Bale (Demetrius).  Full cast listed in the IMDb. On Reserve for ENGL 252 in the Kennedy library under the call number 822.33 M584H6 1999 (DVD); available through NetFlix and at commercial video stores.

CLIPS SCREENED:
• Hippolyta dialogue with Theseus from I.i
• First Rude Mechanicals scene (I.ii) from just before first glimpse of Botton through start of II.i
• IV.i scene with Theseus and Hippolyta going hunting, discovering sleeping lovers, and Hippolyta's influence on Theseus's decision about lovers' fate