Storytellers have been fascinated with the Trojan War for centuries: adapting it, rewriting it, inserting characters, reframing moments to speak to contemporary concerns. One such author was medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, best known for his Canterbury Tales. In this proseminar, we will read and discuss Chaucer’s Middle English masterpiece, Troilus and Criseyde, alongside a translation of one of his source texts, Boccaccio’s Filostrato. In thinking about tellings and retellings, we will also examine other adaptations of this story, from a performance of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida to contemporary poetic adaptations by Lavinia Greenlaw and Francesca Abbate. This course will explore adaptation theory and creative-critical work through hands-on applications of these theoretical approaches. Course evaluation will include class participation, a short oral presentation, and an essay written in MLA style.

At the end of the semester, you will:

• Be versed in the story of Troy as told in medieval English poetry and later reinterpreted through the present day;
• Have developed familiarity with Middle English through reading and discussion;
• Be aware of critical commentary as it relates to adaptations and retellings;
• Have worked both independently and collaboratively to explore your own critical voice through practice presenting and writing.

Bibliography

• Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Stephen Barney. Troilus and Criseyde: Norton Critical Edition. W.W. Norton & Co., 2006. (Available at Librophoros)
• Abbate, Francesca. Troy, Unincorporated. University of Chicago Press, 2012. (Passages available on Moodle)
• Greenlaw, Lavinia. A Double Sorrow. Faber, 2015. (Passages available on Moodle)
• Sawyer, Daniel. How to Read Middle English Poetry. Oxford University Press, 2024. (Passages available on Moodle)