ENG 370 Studies in Special Topics: Medieval/Modern Literature
Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot, arguably the greatest Modernists
of twentieth century literature in English, drew deep inspiration from the
Middle Ages. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams, a literary
group known as the Inklings, drew even more directly on the Middle Ages in
their rich fantasies. In this course, we'll read and study some medieval
texts—Beowulf, Chretien's romance, Yvain, some troubadour poetry—and
consider their refractions in one major twentieth-century text, Personae
(Pound), as well as in more popular works, such as Tolkien's The Hobbit
and John Gardner's Grendel. In the process, we will examine the
literary relations between the medieval world and modernism and the
diverse medieval worlds “invented” by several interesting
twentieth-century writers. (Not offered 2005-2006)
Credits: 1
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