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ENGL 349 English Literature and Folklore

Professor Dorothy Bray Office: Arts 380 Tel.: 514 398 4400, x00960 Email: dorothy.bray@mcgill.ca Office hours: MW 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Fall 2012
MWF 1:30-2:30 p.m. EDUC 216

The study of folklore embraces the popular traditions, literature, customs and beliefs of a society and culture. This course will examine selected texts from the early medieval literature of Britain (Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, Scottish and Welsh) and of Ireland, mostly in translation; we will look as well at some later medieval works of Anglo-Norman England, which embody the folklore and popular tale traditions of the British Isles, including Arthurian tradition and the Robin Hood legends. The main topic will be the study of the folktale in narrative, but we will also consider heroic tradition and the types of the hero, folk motifs, fairy lore, oral tradition, mythology, and folk beliefs. The aim of the course is to explore how folk tradition was incorporated into written narratives, and how they can be approached and interpreted. The goal is not the study of folklore per se, but how authors drew upon such traditional material in the composition of their literary texts. The range is delimited to the literature of the British Isles of the medieval period (ca 9001500 CE), rather than to international tales of later eras. The study of folklore crosses into the disciplines of anthropology and ethnology, and with respect to early literature, into social, cultural and political history as well. The questions we must ask are: how does folk tradition inform and influence these narratives? What meanings can we infer from a literary construct that draws upon folk tradition? And what does that tradition consist of? Beginning with some of the basics of folklore theory, we will then proceed to explore examples of the early national literatures of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman England (Beowulf, King Horn, Sir Orfeo, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Geoffrey Chaucers Wife of Baths Tale, Robin Hood legends), Celtic Wales (tales from the Mabinogion), and Celtic Ireland (the Ulster cycle and other tales) in order to see how these works incorporate folk motifs and tale patterns, and to examine if and how these literatures relate to one another in terms of popular tale tradition. Reading List: The Tin. Trans. Thomas Kinsella. Oxford UP, 1969: Selected tales and chapters. The Mabinogion. Trans. Sioned Davies. Oxford UP, 2007 (also available as an e-book): the Four Branches, How Culhwch Won Olwen. Beowulf, trans. R.M. Liuzza. Broadview, 2000. Coursepack: The Death of C Chulainn, Bricrius Feast, The Dream of Oenghus, The Wooing of tan, The Cattle Raid of Frech, Sir Orfeo, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of

2 Baths Tale, The Weddyng of Syr Gawain and Dame Ragnell, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. King Horn. www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/hornfrm.htm A Gest of Robyn Hode. www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/gest.htm Most tales will be read in translation, but I will be referring to the originals of King Horn, A Gest of Robyn Hode, Sir Orfeo, and The Weddyng of Syr Gawain and Dame Ragnell. Books and coursepack are available at the McGill University Bookstore on McTavish. Some students may already possess some of these texts in another edition or translation. If you are using a good edition or translation, you need not purchase another. However, please check with me first.

Evaluation:

Attendance and participation Essay 1 due October 12 Midterm Test October 19 Essay 2 due November 26 Final exam

10% 15% 10% 20% 45%

Essay topics will be distributed.

Schedule
(tentative and therefore subject to change) September 5 Introduction to folklore and folklore studies

September 7, 10 Folk tradition/popular tale tradition; the folktale, folk motifs and Proppian functions, folktale theory Supplemental Readings: Coursepack #11: Stith Thompson, Nature and Forms of the Folktale. P. 113. Courepack #14: Vladimir Propp, from The Morphology of the Folktale, trans. Laurence Scott, 2nd ed. P. 121. Coursepack #16: Andrew Welsh, The Traditional Narrative Motifs of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. P.157.

September 12 Folktale patterns and themes.

3 Supplemental Reading: Coursepack #12: Axel Olrik, Epic Laws of Folk Narrative. P. 127.

September 14, 17 Mythology and legends comparative mythology; heroic biographies; the liminal space of the hero. Supplemental Readings: Coursepack # 10: Stith Thompson, Myth and Folktales. P. 113. Coursepack #13: Jan de Vries, The Pattern of an Heroic Life. P. 145. Coursepack # 15: Tom Sjblom, On the Threshold: The Sacredness of Borders in Early Irish Literature. P. 151.

September 19, 21 From Classical Myth to Medieval Romance The fairy otherworld and its dangers, the fall in fortune, the bargain, the faithful servant. Text: Sir Orfeo

September 24, 26 A Hero for the Nation The hero Gawain in English tradition, the heros quest (and test); the otherworld bargain; the puella senilis. Text: Coursepack #9: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 79.

September 28; October 1 Texts: Coursepack # 7: Chaucers Wife of Baths Tale, p. 59. Coursepack #8: The Weddyng of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, p. 65. Bricrius Feast, p. 2.

October 3, 5 The Exile and Return of the King The hero unrecognized, the faithful friend and the faithless friend, the royal bride. Text: King Horn online www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/hornint.htm www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/hornfrm.htm (Originally published in Four Romances of England, ed. Ronald B. Herzman, Graham Drake, and Eve Salisbury (Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 1999)- on reserve).

4 NB October 8 Thanksgiving Holiday no class

October 10, 12 Wooing and Bridewinning The impossible tasks, the unattainable bride, the grooms companions Text: The Mabinogion: How Culhwch Won Olwen Supplemental Reading: Coursepack # 17: John Bollard, The Arthur of the Welsh. P. 165.

October 12

Essay 1 due

October 15, 17 Texts: Coursepack # 3: The Dream of Oenghus, p. 27. Coursepack #4: The Wooing of tan, p. 31. Coursepack #5: The Cattle Raid of Frech, p. 43

October 19 Midterm Test NB If you miss the test and have a valid excuse (e.g. medical, legal or family reasons), please speak to me as soon as possible so that a supplemental test, if warranted, can be arranged.

October 22, 24, 26 The Hero and the Monster Saga tradition, heroic types, heroic biographical patterns, monsters and dragons; the Bears Son type and the Two Troll story. Text: Beowulf

October 26, 29, 31 The Hero as Monstrous The heroic exploits of Cchulainn; culture heroes, mythological backgrounds; the Ulster cycle. Texts: The Tin: How Cchulainn Was Begotten; Chapter IV: Cchulainns Boyhood Deeds, Cchulainns Courtship of Emer and His Training in Arms with Scthach

November 2 The goddess Macha; the tragic fate of Deirdre: love, honour and death; Queen Medb.

Texts: The Tin: The Pangs of Ulster, The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, Chapter I The Pillow Talk

November 5, 7 The dilemma of honour and family; the death of the Hero. Texts: The Tin: Chapters VII-IX, Single Combat to Combat of Ferdia and Cchulainn; The Death of Aife's One Son. Coursepack #1: The Death of C Chulainn.

November 9, 12 Becoming the King A return to the king hero; bride-winning; the Calumniated Wife. Texts: The Mabinogion: Pwyll Lord of Dyved

November 14, 16 The Heroine The Calumniated Wife motif revisited; the limits of kingship; the idea of the heroine. Text: The Mabinogion: Branwen Daughter of Llyr

November 19, 21 Transgression and redemption Dealing with the Otherworld; the importance of right speech. Text: The Mabinogion: Manawydan Son of Llyr

November 23, 26 Magicians and Transformations Trickery, treachery, gender transpositions; the Hero revisited. Text: The Mabinogion: Math Son of Mathonwy

November 26

Essay 2 due

November 28, 30; Dec. 3 The Outlaw Hero The outlaw hero; the origins of Robin Hood and the development of the legend; the idea of popular romances and folktales. Text: A Gest of Robyn Hode, ed. Stephen Knight and Thomas H. Ohlgren online: www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/gestint.htm

6 www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/gest.htm (Originally published in Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales, 2nd ed. (Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, 2000), 80-168).

December 5

Review and Exam Questions

Attendance Grade: Students who miss 10 classes without a valid reason will forfeit 50% of their attendance and participation grade. Late Penalty: There is a late penalty of 5% a day (including weekends) on essays; if you need an extension and have a valid excuse, again, please speak to me before the due date (not on the due date!) so that an equitable arrangement can be made. Policy regarding Supplemental Work: Students will not be allowed to substitute other work for the mid-term test or the essays, nor will students be allowed to rewrite an essay unless I request them to do so. Students with grades of D, F, or J will not be allowed to do additional work to upgrade their mark, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Academic Integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information). Plagiarism involves taking someone elses work and passing it off as your own. This includes material downloaded from internet sources. It is not just an academic offence; it is an infringement of copyright law and plagiarists can be sued by the original copyright holder.. Policy regarding Final Examinations: According to Senate regulations, instructors are not permitted to make special arrangements for final exams. Please consult the Calendar, section 4.7.2.1, General University Information and Regulations at www.mcgill.ca.