Medieval British Literature

Works and Authors

• Beowulf (by anonymous - epic poem)
• Anglo-Saxon Riddles
• Piers the Ploughman (possibly by William Landland - epic poem)
• York Mystery Play Cycle 42, The Ascension (by anonymous - play)
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (by anonymous - epic poem)
• Selection from The Gest of Robyn Hode (by anonymous - epic poem)
• "St. Thomas Becket" from The Golden Legend (by anonymous - biography)
• Selections from The Canterbury Tales (by Geoffrey Chaucer)

Topics

• Foreshadowing
• Metaphor
• Allegory
• Old English and Middle English
• Theater
• Tone
• Ballad
• Biography
• Humor

Recommendations

This course is especially recommended for the following students:

• Students who have already taken at least two previous high-school level Lightning Literature courses
• Students studying medieval history
• Students interested in medieval literature

These should not be viewed as restrictions; this course can profitably be used by high-school students of any grade regardless of which previous Lightning Literature courses they have completed. Generally speaking, this course is more difficult than all the other Lightning Literature courses except the Shakespeare courses. Much depends on student interest in the material, however.