EN5601 Reading Middle English

Instructor TBA.

Terms 1 & 2. To be taught at Royal Holloway, Egham. Day and time to be arranged.

This course is intended for students whose prior knowledge of Middle English is limited. The course combines close reading with appropriate contextualisation, and aims to introduce students to a variety of Middle English texts. It will enable students to become aware of dialect variation and of the major differences in the nature of Middle English between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. It aims to develop a competent reading skill and to introduce associated disciplines, such as manuscript study and textual criticism. Literary themes and conventions will be studied in some depth, and seminars will develop thematic and formal appreciation, as well as translation skills.

Assessment: open book examination, including unseen translation and commentary.