Aufbauseminar Conveying Meaning Truth and Humour Middle English Allegorical Poetry Mi 10:30-12:00

-For the function of allegory is not to hide but to reveal, and it is properly used only for that which cannot be said, or so well said, in literal speech.- (C.S. Lewis) The term allegory derives from the Greek allegorein, meaning to speak figuratively, and it is used to refer to: 1) a rhetorical figure, 2) a text form, 3) a mode of composing and understanding texts. Although being already employed by classical Roman authors, allegory became especially important and popular in the Middle Ages and can be found in various genres of medieval literature, such as fables, dream visions, and morality plays. In this seminar we will anaylse selected Middle English poems (e.g. Pearl, Chaucer’s The Romaunt of the Rose, The Middle English Bestiary) in order to find out about the respective form and function of the ‘allegorical mode’ and the meaning, truth - and maybe also humour – which is conveyed. In order to deepen the understanding of the complexity of medieval allegory we will read, amongst others, theoretical texts by Hans Robert Jauss and C.S. Lewis as well as the commentary on dreams by Macrobius. After attending the seminar, participants will be able to: • elaborate on the origin and development of medieval allegory • distinguish between different meanings and types of allegory • comment on the relationship between allegory and medieval genres such as fables, dream visions, and morality plays • determine the form and function of allegory in selected Middle English poems Literatur Primary Literature: Pearl Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Romaunt of the Rose The Fox and the Wolf The Middle English Bestiary (MS Arundel 292) ... Secondary Literature: Hans Robert Jauss, -Entstehung und Strukturwandel der allegorischen Dichtung.- Alterität und Modernität der Mittelalterlichen Literatur. Gesammelte Aufsätze 1956-76. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1977, pp. 154-218. Hans Robert Jauss, -Ernst und Scherz in Mittelalterlicher Literatur.- Alterität und Modernität der Mittelalterlichen Literatur. Gesammelte Aufsätze 1956-76. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1977, pp. 219-238. C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition. London: Oxford University Press, 1973 [Reprint]. Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by William Harris Stahl. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990 [1952]. Primary Literature: Pearl Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Romaunt of the Rose The Fox and the Wolf The Middle English Bestiary (MS Arundel 292) ... Secondary Literature: Hans Robert Jauss, -Entstehung und Strukturwandel der allegorischen Dichtung.- Alterität und Modernität der Mittelalterlichen Literatur. Gesammelte Aufsätze 1956-76. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1977, pp. 154-218. Hans Robert Jauss, -Ernst und Scherz in Mittelalterlicher Literatur.- Alterität und Modernität der Mittelalterlichen Literatur. Gesammelte Aufsätze 1956-76. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1977, pp. 219-238. C. S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition. London: Oxford University Press, 1973 [Reprint]. Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by William Harris Stahl. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990 [1952]. Bemerkung Raumtausch! Die Veranstaltung findet nicht in Raum 23.21.00.82 sondern in Raum 23.21.U1.69 statt! Voraussetzungen Basismodul und Vertiefungsmodul Ältere Anglistik Leistungsnachweis AP: Mündliche Prüfung oder Hausarbeit Anglistik I: Medieval Literatures and Historical Linguistics Basismodul und Vertiefungsmodul Ältere Anglistik AP: Mündliche Prüfung oder Hausarbeit Universität Düsseldorf SoSe 2016 Hof Annika