There are three of these during the course. They are progressive, and will help you gain a greater handle on Chaucer's language. These assignments will be posted as they come up during term. Projects are due on the dates listed below (and on the Course Calendar). I will hand out copies of these in class, and I will also post them here as the assigments come up during term.
Project 1: You will learn to read at least 18 lines of Chaucer out loud. The apparently random number (why not 20 lines?) is because the first sentence is 18 lines long. You may pick any 18+ lines of the General Prologue to pronounce; they must comprise one or more complete sentences. Due by September 13th.
Here is some on-line help with this:
- The Geoffrey Chaucer Website includes a set of lessons which are an immense help, and include some spoken text.
- The Chaucer Metapage has a page of audio files for you to peruse.
- Jane Zatta's homepage has a section with readings of the GP to play.
Project 2: Middle English vocabulary analysis. Due in class on October 2nd. Here is the grading rubric.
Project 3: Passage analysis. I will hand out an example of this kind of analysis to show what I am looking for (not attached as a .pdf). Due in class on October 23rd. If you like, consider this as work towards your final paper. Here is the grading rubric.
Project 4: Passage analysis. The same assignment as the previous project, but you'll use a different passage. Due in class on November 6th. Here is the grading rubric.
Extra Credit Opportunity! You can receve up to 30 points of extra credit by doing the passage analysis again with another passage--one from the assignment, or another of your choosing (6 lines or less). Use this as work towards your final paper if you like.
Format: Project 1 is orally delivered. Projects 3 and 4 should be a minimum of 2 pages, formatted in MLA Style, typed in a professional font (11 or 12 point, Times New Roman), and have 1" margins all the way around. MLA Style, which applies to both layout and documentation, is described in any writing handbook (such as those which I assume you purchased for a composition course). READ THIS on how to Quote! Not following this style will adversely affect your grade. In an upper level English course, I assume knowledge of this coming into the course. Writing too short an analysis will also hurt your grade; you should be able to develop and manage this much information.