HLI 334 Chaucer: The Journey and the Dreams
This course includes Geoffrey Chaucer’s major works The Canterbury Tales and the dream vision poems. The latter are based on accepted contemporary psychological theory that dreams teach solutions to real life problems. In The Canterbury Tales, pilgrims who meet at a roadside tavern tell each other stories about contemporary morals, love, religion, and war as they journey to Canterbury Cathedral. Students will encounter a range of medieval literary genres (e.g., romance, epic, fabliau, and saint’s life) while studying the mores and customs of the fourteenth century. Topics include medieval ideas on fate and religion, marriage, magic, science, and technology.