Summer Institute 2004

English Modern European and British Literature Renaissance Unit
Mark Bell
Introduction Rationale Primary Texts Additional Texts Important Terms Primary Themes Historical Considerations Class Discussions Class Activities Coursework Evaluation	Discussion One Discussion Two Discussion Three Discussion Four Discussion Five Discussion Six Discussion Seven Discussion Eight Discussion Nine Discussion Ten	Discussion Eleven Discussion Twelve Discussion Thirteen Discussion Fourteen Discussion Fifteen Discussion Sixteen Discussion Seventeen Discussion Eighteen Discussion Nineteen Unit Test


Introduction This project is a Renaissance Unit designed for a tenth grade English course that was originally entitled "The History of British Literature." In the past two years, I have restructured this course to two ends. One, I have opened up the course to more European influences and texts while at the same time maintaining an emphasis on British literature. Two, I have adapted the course to fall in line with the scope and sequence of the accompanying tenth grade Modern European History course in order to minimize redundancy and overlap and to encourage consistency and commonality between the two courses. In this sense, the two course can be viewed as two parts of one larger Humanities course. The Renaissance Unit is the first unit of the course and should cover approximately six weeks. The text of emphasis is "The Canterbury Tales," chosen because of their British subject and because of the way in which they bridge the Medieval and Modern periods on so many levels. In addition, I have incorporated into this unit relevant examples of literature from several European countries as well as representative art of the Renaissance. The format of this unit is a word document divided into the various readings, assignments, discussions, and activities. The texts are either included or accessible on the Internet, with the exception of a couple of texts and some slides of pieces of art. As with all lesson plans, there is a wide margin for adaptation and revision as well as a few errors, I am sure. The questions, discussions, and materials are geared toward the level of student I have taught for the past three years and may need to be revised meet the level of another teacher's students. However, I think this unit accomplishes the goals I set out to achieve in developing the unit and should be helpful for another teacher in need of a resource for teaching the Renaissance to high schoolers. back to top
Rationale:	This unit is designed to analyze and evaluate the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in continental Europe and Britain, in particular. In this unit, we will consider the ways in which literature reflects these social and cultural shifts as well as changing attitudes on the Black Death, love, religion, women, and other important issues of the period. We will focus on the contrast between the “High Style” and “Low Style” of literature of this period and consider the social implications of each. Our primary text of study will be The Canterbury Tales, but we will also pay close attention to the Renaissance lyric tradition as well as other notable texts of the period. This unit will lay the foundation for our study of the relationship between literature and society in Modern Europe and Britain over the course of the year. In addition, we will introduce and establish themes and traditions that we will pursue throughout the course of the year, such as Individualism, Secularism, Self-Consciousness, Urbanization, Emancipation, and Democratization. back to top
Primary Texts:	Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (Texts from the Harvard Chaucer Webpage’s Interlinear Translations: http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/) 1. “The General Prologue” (858 lines) 2. Synopsis of “the Knight’s Tale” 3. “The Miller’s Tale” (745 lines) 4. “The Reeve’s Tale” (449 lines) 5. “The Merchant’s Tale” (1227 lines) 6. “The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale” (681 lines) 7. “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” (856 & 407 lines) back to top
Additional Texts:	1. “Prologue” from Boccaccio’s The Decameron 2. Story Nine from Marguerite de Navarre’s The Heptameron 3. Petrarch’s Sonnets # 1, 3, 61, 74, 90 4. Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” 5. Andrew Marvell’s “The Garden” and “To His Coy Mistress” 6. Selections from Erasmus’ Praise of Folly 7. Selections of Renaissance Humanist prose from Boccaccio, Petrarch, Poggio, and Ciriaco of Ancona. 8. Selections from Henricus Cornelius Agrippa’s Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex and Moderata Fonte’s The Worth of Women back to top
Important Terms:	humanism secular vernacular sonnet virtue vulgar high style low style persona frame tale fabliau romance courtly love pastoral churl reformation lyric Black Death pilgrimage unrequited love back to top
Primary Themes:	1. the medieval man versus the Renaissance man 2. social identification based on occupation 3. life in the city versus life in the country 4. courtly love and the chivalric code 5. absorbing the past and bringing the classics in the Christian tradition 6. what is the good life? what does it mean to be noble and to live nobly? 7. the institutional corruption of the church 8. rights, roles, and honor of women back to top
Historical Considerations:	1. the Black Death 2. urbanization and the role of the modern city 3. the rediscovery of ancient texts 4. increased exchange of ideas throughout Europe 5. changing attitudes toward religion and the Church 6. Renaissance Humanism and the re-birth of classical civilization in a Christian structure back to top
Class Discussions:	1. Introduction to the Harvard Chaucer website and the webtexts 2. Background to Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, and pilgrimages during Chaucer’s time 3. The Knight & the Squire: the medieval man versus the Renaissance man 4. The Pilgrims and their social identification 5. The Black Death and the “Prologue” to Boccaccio’s The Decameron 6. “The Knight’s Tale,” romance, chivalry, courtly love, and Story Nine from Marguerite de Navarre’s The Heptameron 7. Petrarch’s sonnets and Renaissance lyric poetry 8. “The Miller’s Tale,” fabliau, ‘the low style,’ churlish humor, and the violation of idealized love 9. “The Reeve’s Tale,” resentment, and ‘requiting’ an injury 10. Marlowe’s “Passionate Shepherd” and the Renaissance lyric poem in English 11. “The Merchant’s Tale” and the merging of genres and styles 12. Marvell’s “The Garden” and the pastoral of love versus the pastoral of solitude, and Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and the evolution of the Renaissance lyric poem 13. “The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale” and the man of God as sinner 14. Erasmus’ Praise of Folly and the institutional corruption of religion 15. “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” and the question of what it means to be noble and to live nobly 16. Renaissance Humanism and the Re-Discovery of Ancient Manuscripts 17. Agrippa, Fonte, and the rights and roles of women in the Renaissance 18. Art during the Renaissance 19. Renaissance Unit Test Review back to top
Class Activities:	1. Video: “Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims” (23 minutes) 2. Listen to a recording of “The Miller’s Tale” 3. Listen to a recording of “The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale” 4. Listen to a recording of “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” 5. Renaissance Art Project/Tour the National Gallery of Art back to top
Coursework:	Reading questions on all assigned reading. Write an obituary of one of Chaucer’s pilgrims back to top
Evaluation:	Unit Test back to top