For over six hundred years, the character of the Wife of Bath from Geoffrey Chaucer’s fourteenth-century Canterbury Tales has experienced a vibrant and extensive literary afterlife. Balladeers, poets, playwrights, novelists, and cartoonists have all adapted her character as a voice which speaks to the anxieties and interests of different cultures and eras—or as a character who uncomfortably embodies them. In this class, we will examine the afterlife of Chaucer’s character in English literature through the lens of adaptation studies. We will read texts ranging from Chaucer’s Middle English to modern poetic and theatrical productions with an eye to how both text and character are reflected across time. We will also experiment with creating our own ‘Wives of Bath’ as we explore the “double process” of adaptation as defined by theorist Linda Hutcheon. Evaluation will be by Proseminar essay on at least two texts covered in our class.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the semester, you will:
· Be aware of and familiar with the extensive literary afterlife of the Wife of Bath, Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous Canterbury pilgrim
· Have learned about Middle English and about medieval views on some themes relevant to Chaucer’s text, including gender and marriage
· Have learned about adaptation theory as it applies to literary studies
· Be aware of current trends in creative-critical literary analysis
- Enseignant·e: Kristen Haas Curtis