Instr:                   Xavier Baron
Office:               CRT 585,   229-4517
e-mail:                fxbaron@uwm.edu
Office hours:    W& TH 4:30-5:20 and by appointment

Course Information:                   W  5:30-8:10pm   CRT 124
 

Course Description

THE HEROIC EPIC is thr first of two courses, to be followed in the Spring 2003 with THE COURTLY LOVE ROMANCE studies representative works that span the entire 1000 years of the European Middle Ages. Epics deal with heroism and the interaction of public and private selves. They deal with both the establishment and rule of the nation and its people and with personal heroism.

They also have heroic combat most often presented as inspiration and demonstration of faithfulness. Epics also give determined attention to the marvelous and supernatural. They honor honor their subjects, even while showing their flawed natures and conduct, suggesting a nostalgic prizing of the past to the present.

Readings include:
The Battle of Maldon (700);
Beowulf (725)
The Song of Roland (1125),
Layamon, Brut (1215)
The Alliterative Morte Arthure (1375}
Thomas Malory, Selections from Morte d’Arthur;
The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (c. 1595);
William Shakespeare, The History of Henry IV-Part One (1597);
William Shakespeare, Henry V (1599)

In addition to Mid-term and Final examinations, an eight to ten page (double spaced) literary critical paper is required.