In fourteenth-century London, Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower were “frenemies.” Chaucer was the upwardly mobile bureaucrat, ready to poke fun at everyone; Gower was the well-heeled and straitlaced lawyer. Their bodies of poetry, spanning four decades and three languages, influence and respond to one another. We will read the two poets side by side, with attention to topics of mutual relevance such as multilingualism, politics, literary form, source study, and social status. This seminar has no overlap with the syllabus of ENGL6041: Game of Thrones: Medieval English Political Poetry. No prior knowledge of Middle English required. Gower’s French and Latin texts read in translation.

Click here for the syllabus.

All assigned readings not found in required course texts and not provided with an external link on the syllabus can be found by clicking Files to the left of your screen.

Middle English Dictionary Online.