Presentation Work Day: April 6th and 7th

1. Abstracts are due on Monday, April 11th OR Tuesday, April 12th. This would be your second abstract this year. There are links to abstracts found under "Writing Links".
2. You will need a 1-page handout for your audience members on presentation day. I have posted two links on how to create effective handouts under "Presentation Links".
3. If you are struggling with developing a thesis, here is a handout for further help:
 Literary Thesis Help

Class schedule: Week of April 4th-April 8th

Monday, April 4th:
1. Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale Quiz

Tuesday, April 5th:
1. Read through the following handout: Reading Shakespeare- Tips
2. Read the entire introduction to Hamlet. Take good notes!
3. Review the Aristotelian Tragic Conventions and Definition (Literary Theory PPT). Mimesis, Hamartia, Anagnorisis, Peripetia, Catharsis, etc.
4. Read Act 1.1-1.2 of Hamlet. 

Wednesday/Thursday, April 6th/7th 
1. Read through and take notes on the following PowerPoint over the introduction to Shakespeare.
Shakespeare PowerPoint
2. Read Act 1.3-1.4  of Hamlet 

Friday, April 8th: 
1. Finish Act 1 of Hamlet. (1.5)

Hamlet Reading Schedule: 
April 5th- 1.1-1.2
April 6th/7th- 1.3-1.4
April 12th- 1.5 (Act 1 is complete) QUIZ over Act 1 and introductory information. 
Study questions due: ACT 1 STUDY QUESTIONS- HAMLET (Turn in is optional on this date. We decided to have them all due at the end of Hamlet. You need to use them, however for guidance for the quiz. 
April 13th- Act 2
April 15th- Act 3
April 18th- Finish the play   QUIZ over full play
April 22nd: Acts 2-5 Study Questions Due 

Class: Tuesday, March 29th

1. We are going to go over the Canterbury Tales presentation assignment today.
2. You are expected to have The Wife of Bath's Prologue done for Wednesday, March 30th/ Thursday, March 31st.  Start working on the Wife's Prologue study questions (found under links). Both the study questions for the Wife's Prologue and Tale will be due Monday, April 4th. 

Quiz over the Prologue and Tale will be on APRIL 4th.. 

The Canterbury Tales Presentation Assignment

In the next few weeks we will be preparing for presenting on The Canterbury Tales.
The assignment sheet is located here: The Canterbury Tales Presentation

The scoring guide is located here: Oral Presentation Scoring Guide

Please review the presentation links found on the left-hand margin.

REMEMBER- We will be finishing the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale this week AND starting Hamlet next week. You will need to manage your time, well.

Class today: March 18th

EXEMPLUM: 
A rhetorical device that is defined as a short tale, anecdote, or narrative used in literary pieces and speeches to explain the doctrine or emphasize a moral point. They are generally used in the form of fables, folk tales, or legends

http://literarydevices.net/exemplum/

EXEMPLUM (plural: exempla): The term exemplum can be used in two general ways. (1) In medieval literature, an exemplum is a short narrative or reference that serves to teach by way of example--especially a short story embedded in a longer sermon. An exemplum teaches by providing an exemplar, a model of behavior that the reader should imitate, or by providing an example of bad behavior that the reader should avoid. In medieval argumentation, a writer might use biblical stories and historical allusions as exempla. Often an entire medieval argument might consist of two individuals asserting exempla to prove their arguments, and the one who comes up with the most exempla is the default winner. We see samples of this type of debate in "The Wife of Bath's Prologue," in which Jankin provides long lists of wicked women to put the Wife in her place, and in "The Nun's Priest's Tale," in which Chauntecleer proves that dreams have significance by asserting a long list of cases in which oneiromantic visions predicted the future. (2) In classical rhetoric, an exemplum is simply any example that serves to prove a point whether the example is couched in story-form or not. In this sense, exemplawork in a variety of persuasive ways in addition to providing a model of behavior. They can, like medieval exempla, provide a model for a reader to imitate, they can demonstrate the reality of a problem, they can serve a pedagogical function by providing illustrative examples or they can demonstrate subtle differences in categorization, and so on, and so on. https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_E.html

How does The Pardoner's Tale function as an exemplum? Why is Chaucer utilizing this genre for this specific Pilgrim? How does it work in conjunction with the apologia?  Provide examples of this genre and its purpose from the text.

Class today: March 16/17th

1. Finish the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale, if you have not done so already.
2. Read the Apologia notes found under the CT links. Take notes.
3. Add the apologia genre to the discussion notes of the first three genres discussed on Tuesday (Estate satire, fabliaux, frame narrative). Make sure these notes are complete from Tuesday on the first three genres. As you add in apologia, examine the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale. 
4. For Friday, you need to read the seminal article by George Kittredge on the Pardoner and his tale. (Found under CT links). Take thorough notes. This will help you process the Tale and Prologue in a larger analytical argument.
5. Start work on the Pardoner's Prologue and Tale discussion questions (hand out in class). These are due March 29th at the beginning of class.

You will be receiving your Canterbury Tales presentation assignment on Friday, March 18th. Presentations will take place on April 13th, 14th, and 15th.

FYI- You will receive Hamlet on April 4th.

Class today: March 15th

We are examining three major genres found in The Canterbury Tales (so far). 
1. Estate Satire
2. Frame
3. Fabliaux

Examining "The Miller's Tale" and "The General Prologue", we are going to look at how these genres are utilized by Chaucer. How does he use each type of genre to reveal more about his characters and overall purpose for writing the Tales? In the "MT", how does the pilgrim telling the tale contrast from the style of genre that his tale is delivered? What is Chaucer saying with this choice. When examining the individual Tales, you need to be able to differentiate the layers of Chaucer the Author, Chaucer the Pilgrim, the individual Pilgrim, and the characters within the tale told by the pilgrim.

In your notes, you will be examining how we see each genre structure in the Tales.