ENGL 459: Love and Death: The Tristan Tradition
 
MW 2-4, Rm. 34-228 Dr. Debora B. Schwartz
Office: 47-35G, tel. 756-2636  http://www.calpoly.edu/~dschwart
Main English Office:  756-2597 e-mail: dschwart@calpoly.edu

Office Hours: M 12-1:30, W 11-12:30, T/R 12:30-1:30, and by appt.

Calendar of Readings and Research Assignments
Spring, 2008

 Aubrey Beardsley, How Sir Tristram Drank of the Love Drink (1893)

NOTE:  DO NOT PRINT OUT THIS CALENDAR OF ASSIGNMENTS!! It is intended to be consulted online.
(Print-out would be VERY long . . . and specific assignments are subject to change.)
 
 
Week  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10   Oral Presentation Schedule

NOTE 1: some required readings are accessed electronically.  Please note that all such readings should be PRINTED OUT and brought with you to class.  Electronically accessed readings may be in one of the following forms:

NOTE 2: Research assignments (found in the right-hand column, below) will guide you in using some of the research tools accessible through the Kennedy  Library website to identify and obtain appropriate secondary sources (scholarly criticism) on your research topic. Contrary to popular belief, most reputable scholarly resources are NOT available for free over the Web to anyone.  They are found in expensive, subscription-only databases which take an increasingly large bite out of the Kennedy Library's Materials Acquisition budget each year -- so you owe it to yourselves to use them effectively!  You can access subscription databases and other restricted resources from off campus in one of three ways:  through the Library Resources tab in Blackboard; through the Library Services tab on your MyCalpoly web portal (click on Robert E. Kennedy Library to access the library website); or directly from the Kennedy Library website using any web browser (Internet Explorer recommended).  To access restricted subscription-only researches from the web, you will be prompted to log in using your PolyCard barcode, the 14-digit number beginning 20150 on the front of your PolyCard, or you can log in at MyPolycat each time you visit the Kennedy Library site.

NOTE 3: This calendar is subject to change.  You are advised to consult it on-line and/or to print out only one day's or week's assignment at a time.  Please remember that the on-line calendar, not any print-out you make, is authoritative.  Check weekly to ensure you are completing the correct assignment, as instructions may change or be added.

Week 1  (March 31 - April 2)
 
Day 1 NO CLASS -- César Chavez Day observed In this class, you will hone your research skills using a number of electronic research tools accessible online through the Kennedy Library's subscription databases.  Please be aware that little if any material found using standard web search engines (Google, Lycos, etc.) is suitable for citation in a research paper.  Relatively few reliable scholarly journals,  ebooks  or encylopedias are currently available free on the web (although many valid scholarly resources can be accessed through online subscription databases).

With the exception of reputable scholarly work (e.g. unpublished conference papers, original or previously published essays, book chapters or journal articles) made available by an academic author, in an online scholarly journal, or on the website of a scholarly project, material found on the web is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to be suitable for citation in a research paper.  If you DO choose to use Web Search Engines for your research, be sure to consult Research Step 6: Finding and Evaluating Web-Based Resources for tips on how to evaluate the scholarly validity of a website or resource found online.

WEEK 1 Research Assignment :  Introduction to Kennedy Library Research Tools. 

  • READ:  Preliminaries I: Types of Sources and Preliminaries II: Modes of Access (follow links to specific assigned sections of Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools). Note: you can print out the full document, or read the assignment online.  Either way, be aware that your assignment for day 2 is ONLY the specific "Preliminaries" sections listed above -- not the whole document!
  • SKIM MLA HB chapters 1-3 (so you'll know what's there).  Pay particular attention to the existence of section 3.2, an overview of basic punctuation rules,  pp. 80-94.  Get in the habit of double-checking this section if you have a tendency to misuse semi-colons, commas, etc.
  • READ CAREFULLY MLA HB sections 3.3 on italics (or underlining) and 3.6 on the Titles of Works (in the chapter entitled "The Mechanics of Writing").  You will need to be clear on this information to write correct bibliographic citations for future Practicum assignments -- starting with our first class meeting next week!
When you come to class next week, you should be able to:
  • list the 5 kinds of sources (primary, plus four kinds of secondary source) and know the meaning of these terms.  NOTE:  the Guide to Research Tools also outlines how to find these kinds of resources and provides basic models for documenting them correctly). 
  • list the 4 modes of access we will use to obtain secondary source materials for this class. 
  • know what "SFX" and "PolySearch"are (and be aware of their limitations). 
  • Know basic MLA rules for transcribing the titles of works in bibliographic citations.  You will need to know:

    •     -- when to use italics/underlining and when to use quotation marks for titles (what sorts of work use each).
        -- that you should never mix italics and underlining in the same document;  pick ONE and use it CONSISTENTLY. (NOTE: for work submitted to me, please use only UNDERLINING, not italics.)
        -- how to indicate a normally underlined (or italicized) title within another underlined (or italicized) title.
        -- how to indicate a normally quotation-marked title (or a quotation) within a quotation-marked title.
        -- that an underlined title remains underlined when it is incorporated into a quotation-marked title.
        -- how to handle punctuation (or subtitles) within the title of a work. 
        -- which words (e.g. parts of speech) should be capitalized in a title.
Please be aware that specific rules govern the punctuation, capitalization, and use of underlining/italics in titles.  If you simply reproduce the formatting found on the title page of a given work or in a Polycat, Link+ or MLA Bibliography entry, you may lose points for incorrect formatting of your bibliographic citations!
Day 2 INTRODUCTION to ENGL 459: course organization, requirements and expectations; Overview of Readings (sign-up for research topics at our next class meeting).

Also, because sign-ups for Oral Presentations will begin at our second class meeting, you are advised to read through the Oral Presentation Guidelines and have a look at the Schedule of Oral Presentations.

REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • Read completely through the class homepage (no need to follow links). YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH THE COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS OUTLINED ON THIS SITE.
REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
  • Joseph Bédier, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (1900).  Ideally, you should have received the email I sent out last quarter and have completed this reading prior to our first class meeting.  Otherwise, it is added to your reading assignment for our second class meeting.
TEXT INFO:  Joseph Bédier based this modern French retelling of the Tristan stories (1900) on extensive comparison of the extant medieval source material; he sought in this way to recreate the lost "original" text (but in fact created a distinctly 20th-century narrative).  Translated into modern English by Hilaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld.

(Please note that you are responsible for all information listed as "TEXT INFO" or "FILM INFO" on the course calendar for your midterm exam -- and on reading quizzes, if I should need to reinstate them!)

HOMEWORK to be completed before our second class meeting:

  • if you have not already done so, read COMPLETELY through the class homepage and familiarize yourself with this calendar of assignments. 
  • Decide on on up to three research topics/dates when you would like to present in class (sign-ups at next class meeting). 

    • Prepare Day 2 required readings (below) and complete the Week 1 Preliminary Research Assignment (at right) before our next class meeting.
REMEMBER: You are responsible for information covered in required readings and in research assignments  (although we will not spend significant time talking about these assignment in class). 

NOTE: If  I perceive that students are NOT keeping up with research assignments (and/or course readings), I reserve the right to reinstate UNANNOUNCED SPOT QUIZZES in ENGL 459!!  I hope this won't be necessary, as quizzes mean 1) more for me to grade; and 2) less time in  class for far more interesting conversations . . . So PLEASE do us all a favor, and KEEP UP WITH RESEARCH ASSIGNMENTS AND READINGS!

Note:  If QUIZZES happen, they will be worth 10% OF YOUR CLASS GRADE!!

Week 2    (April 7-9)
 
Day 1 TOPIC: An episodic romance: Béroul, The Romance of Tristan. 

REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • The Medieval Tristan Tradition (online reading; click on link to access, PRINT IT OUT, and include in your course binder.  This webpage presents essential background information on the Tristan texts dating from the Middle Ages). 
  • Translatio (online reading; click on link to access, PRINT IT OUT, and include in your course binder.  You are responsible only for material which is also covered in lectures; you can safely ignore the rest); and 
  • "Medieval Attitudes toward Vernacular Literature" (online reading; click on link to access, PRINT IT OUT, and include in your course binder).  This online reading refers to the following medieval prologues and epilogues:
  • Marie de France, prologue and epilogue to the Fables and prologue to the Lais (.PDF file, 8 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard). PRINT OUT AND BRING WITH YOU TO CLASS.  (The links take you to relevant portions of the online reading.)
  • Prologues to Chrétien de Troyes's Erec and Enide and Cligés (in your Arthurian Romances textbook, the first two paragraphs of each work, found pp. 37 and 123; please bring the textbook or a copy of these pages with you to class).   (Again, the links take you to the relevant portions of the online reading.) 
(Please note that you are responsible for all required background readings, as well as the information listed as "text info" or "film info" on this course calendar, for your midterm exam!)

REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 

  • If you did not do so prior to our first class meeting, read completely through Joseph Bédier, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (1900) -- a quick and easy read.
  • An episodic romance: Béroul, The Romance of Tristan.   Reading assignment for today is ONLY Béroul's text, found pp. 39-148 of the Béroul textbook.  Note 1: Be aware that the passages printed in italics are not part of Béroul's poem -- they are additions inserted by the translator to smooth out the choppiness of the incomplete narrative preserved in the single extant manuscript of Béroul's romance.  These italicized passages -- which are required reading -- are taken from Bedier's reconstruction of the "whole" story (assigned for our second class meeting).  Note 2:  the episode of "Tristan's Madness" printed pp. 151-164 of the Béroul textbook is likewise not part of Béroul's text; it is an entirely separate episodic poem (assigned for our next class meeting) which the translator chose to incorporate into his narrative. 
TEXT INFO:   Béroul wrote his romance, in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets, some time in the second half of the twelfth century; it appears to have influenced the work of Chrétien de Troyes (active ca. 1170-1190), so we assume it to predate those of Chrétien's works which show its influence.  Preserved in only one manuscript, in a single fragment of 4,485 lines; this fragment is itself divided into various episodes.   Part of the so-called "common tradition."

NOTE: If you'd like, feel free to skim through the Introduction in the Béroul textbook (pp. 9-35) -- but please note that the material you will be tested on is what's found in required background readings and/or listed under "text info" here on the course calendar -- not what's presented in the textbook's Introduction.

 Research Archive Assignment 1: Finding Print Resources in Kennedy Library Collections

PRELIMINARIES: Read carefully through the profile of Polycat on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools.  Be sure you are clear about what Polycat is, what it contains, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. 

Then, click on the link below and read through the instructions for your first research assignment Research Step 1: Kennedy Library via Polycat.  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS if you have any questions about what you will need to do this week.

RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT: Follow the directions in Research Step 1: Kennedy Library via Polycat, to locate some  useful secondary sources -- studies ABOUT your author, topic or work, not an edition of the text itself  -- in the Kennedy Library collections.  Check at least one out. 

Also, BROWSE THROUGH THE LIBRARY RESERVE LIST and CHECK OUT several works on reserve that appear to have potential for your research topic.  There are DEFINITELY some useful sources on reserve for EVERY research topic.

The linked page of directions will also guide you through writing your first two research reports, "Polycat Search Results" and "Kennedy Library Checkouts," and submitting them to the class research archive.

Reminder: the class research archive is located in a Blackboard "Discussion Board."  To access Blackboard, log in at MyCalpoly, go to "Blackboard Access" and select "ENGL 459-01" from the classes you are taking; then click on "Discussion Board" and enter the "forum" for the topic you researching.  (I will create a separate "forum" for each of you under the research topic you sign up for at our second class meeting.)
Day 2 TOPIC:  Competing Versions and Medieval Fragments (Marie de France, "Chevrefoil"; fragments of Thomas's Romance of Tristan; the independent episode of Tristan's Madness) 

REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • Review The Medieval Tristan Tradition (this online reading, assigned for our last class meeting, should already be included in your course binder). 
  • Appendix 1, "A Note on Thomas's Tristan," pp. 355-63 in Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan (a required textbook for this class)
    • REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
  • Marie de France, "Chevrefoil" (.PDF file, 3 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; be sure to PRINT IT OUT, include it in your course binder, and BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS.)
  • Fragments of Thomas's Romance of Tristan: printed in Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan, pp. 301-353 and Appendix 2, p.  364 ("The Scene in the Orchard")
  • Tristan's Madness (an independent episodic poem by an unknown author which is printed in Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, pp. 151-64). 
    • TEXT INFO:
  • Marie de France was active ca. 1160s-1190s at the Anglo-Norman court; "Chevrefoil" is one of her collection of twelve lais, or short narrative poems in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets. 
  • Thomas wrote his romance, also in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets, ca. 1170-75 for the Anglo-Norman court; eight fragments totalling more than 3000 lines have been preserved in five different manuscripts. Part of the so-called "courtly tradition."
  • There are two versions of the episode of Tristan's Madness (or "Folie Tristan"), both of which are short French narrative poems, probably dating from the second half of the twelfth century, in octosyllabic rhyming couplets. One is preserved in a single manuscript in Berne (Switzerland) and the other is in Oxford (England).  The text we are reading is the 572-line Berne fragment (often referred to as the "Folie Tristan de Berne"); this text is associated with the so-called "common tradition" of which Béroul's poem is also a part (presumably, the reason the translator of Béroul's text chose to fold this originally independent text into his translation of Béroul).
    • NOTE: There will be several group screenings of the film which you must see PRIOR TO OUR CLASS MEETING on W 4/16, Tom Donovan's Lovespell (1979),  possibly THIS COMING WEEK-END, Sunday 4/13, from 5:30-7:30 AND from 7:30-9:30 PM.  If there is sufficient demand, we can request an additional screening on T 4/15 (probably from 4:30-6:30 PM).  The VHS cassette of the film (91 min.) is on reserve for ENGL 459 in Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE RESERVE DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  You may also be able to rent this film from NetFlicks or at some local video stores.  (Check with Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store, at 2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866).  To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere!

    Group Screenings of Tom Donovan's Lovespell (1979) to be scheduled in Library 202, possibly on SUNDAY 4/13 from 5:30--7:30 AND from 7:30-9:30 PM, as well as on T 4/15 (possibly from 4:30-6:30 PM).

    Week 3    (April 14-16)
     
    Day 1 TOPIC: An anti-Tristan: Chrétien de Troyes's Cligés

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING: 

    • Cligés Study Guide (online reading; be sure to PRINT IT OUT, place it in your course binder, and bring it with you to class).  NOTE: this study guide should be read BEFORE you tackle the primary text itself; use it to guide your reading of  Chrétien's romance.
    • Review "Medieval Attitudes toward Vernacular Literature" (online reading; assigned for 4/7 which should already be in your course binder).  This reading should help you better understand the literary techniques employed by Chrétien (e.g. his borrowing from prior literary works, including numerous Tristan elements).  Recall that this online reading refers to the following medieval prologues and epilogues:
    • Marie de France, prologue and epilogue to the Fables and prologue to the Lais (.PDF file, 8 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; this reading should already be in your course binder; if not,  print it out and include it in the binder you bring with you to class!)  Links take you to the relevant portion of the online reading.
    • Prologues to Chrétien de Troyes's Erec and Enide and Cligés (in your Arthurian Romances textbook, the first two paragraphs of each work, found pp. 37 and 123; links take you to the relevant portions of the online reading). 
    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING:
    • Chrétien de Troyes, Cligés (in Arthurian Romances, required textbook, pp. 123-203). 
    TEXT INFO:  Chrétien de Troyes was active ca. 1170-1190; Cligés, his second extant romance, is in French octosyllabic rhyming couplets. 

    Optional:  follow link for information on Chrétien's The Knight of the Cart, the first Lancelot and Guenevere romance, which was also modelled on the Tristan romances, from which it borrows freely (includes e.g. variations on the flour on the floor episode, the ambiguous oath, a passion inspired by a woman's golden hair, and an adulterous passion linking a King's wife with his best knight).

    NOTE: you are responsible only for the information listed above under "text info," NOT for additional material found on the linked Knight of the Cart page (an optional reading).  You may also find it helpful to skim through the Introduction (pp. 1-25 in Arthurian Romances) -- but please note that the material you will be tested on is what's found in required background readings and/or listed under "TEXT INFO" on the course calendar -- not what's presented in optional readings such as the introduction to the textbook.

    POSSIBLE PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

    •  Dani Indie
    3rd Group Screening of Tom Donovan's Lovespell (1979) (in Library 202, possibly from 4:30-6:30 PM).     		 Research Archive Assignment 2: Using LINK+ to identify and order secondary sources not in Cal Poly's collections.

    PRELIMINARIES: read carefully through the description of LINK+ and its profile on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools.  Be sure you are clear about what it is, what can be borrowed from it, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. 

    Then, click on the link and read through the detailed instructions for the second research assignment: Research Step 2: Using LINK+.  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS if you have any questions on what you need to do.

    RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT:   By following the directions in Research Step 2: Using LINK+, you will learn how to use LINK+ to identify and order additional secondary sources from cooperating libraries. Note that LINK+ can be used to order books only -- not bound journals and periodicals.  It is fast -- books ordered through LINK+ typically arrive within 2-3 days. 

    The directions will also guide you though submitting your next two research reports to the class research archive, "LINK+ Search Results" and "LINK+ Orders 1." 
    Day 2 [As needed: wrap up discussion of Chrétien's Cligés]

    NEW TOPIC: Tristan Film 1 -- Tom Donovan's Lovespell (1979)

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • Meradith McMunn, "Filming the Tristan Myth: From Text to Icon" (from Cinema Arthuriana, ed. Kevin J. Harty [New York: Garland, 1991], pp. 169-180; .PDF file, 6 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; be sure to PRINT IT OUT, include it in your course binder, and BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS.)
    • IMDB page on Tom Donovan's Lovespell (consult online and/or place print-out in course binder).
    REQUIRED FILM: 
    • Tom Donovan's Lovespell (1979).   NOTE:  This film (91 min.) is REQUIRED VIEWING by today's class.  Group Screenings in Library 202 will be scheduled, likely on SUNDAY 4/9 (from 5-7 AND from 7-9 PM?) AND on T 4/11 (from 4:30-6:30?).  The VHS cassette of the film is on reserve in Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE RESERVE DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  Because this film is also available on DVD, you may be able to get it from NetFlicks or to rent it from Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store (2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866).  (To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere!)
    FILM INFO:  Film dates from 1979.  Director: Tom Donovan; produced and written by Claire Labine (worth noting:  the prior professional background of both Donovan and Labine was primarily in television soap operas).  Starring Richard Burton (King Mark), Kate Mulgrew (Isolt), Nicholas Clay (Tristan), and Geraldine Fitzgerald (Bronwen).  Alternate titles: Summer of the Falcon (UK title); Tristan and Iseult; Tristan and Isolde.

    POSSIBLE PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

    •  OPEN

    Week 4    (April 21-23)
     
    Day 1 TOPIC:  A Mega-Romance:  Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • Review the online reading "Medieval Attitudes toward Vernacular Literature" (which should already be in your course binder) to remind yourself of the issues involved in Gottfried's German adaptation of Thomas's French poem.
    • NEW online reading: "Courtly Love"; read for a better understanding of the treatment of love in Gottfried's poem.
    (Remember, both of these REQUIRED readings will be covered on the midterm exam!) 

    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING:

    • Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan, pp. 41-204. 
    TEXT INFO:    written ca. 1210, Gottfried's Tristan, a German romance that is an adaptation or translatio (more than simply a "translation") of Thomas's romance, contains 19,416 lines in rhyming couplets; it breaks off (presumably because Gottfried died before finishing it) just after the point where the surviving fragments of Thomas begin. Part of the so-called "courtly tradition." 

    NOTE: You may also find it helpful to skim through the Introduction in the textbook (pp. 7-35) -- but please note that the material you will be tested on is what's found in found in required background readings and/or listed under "TEXT INFO" on this course calendar -- not what's presented in the introduction to the text.

    POSSIBLE PRESENTATIONS (no more than three on the text, no more than two of which can take place on any of the the days when we will be discussing Gottfried's text; specific date will depend on the desired focus): 

    •  Kat Gibbs
    		 Research Archive Assignment 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to identify secondary sources (and then figuring out how to access them!) 

    PRELIMINARIES: read carefully through the profile of the MLA Bibliography on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools .  Be sure you are clear about what it is, when (and why) to use it, its strengths and its limitations. Read information on SFX and its limitations.  (Remember:  the MLA Bibliography is NOT itself a mode of access for secondary sources.)  Review information on ILL (Interlibrary Loan) as a mode of access distinct from LINK+. Then, click on the link to read through the detailed instructions for your next research assignment: Research Step 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to Identify Additional Sources on Your Topic (and then figure out how to access them!).  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS if you have questions about what you need to do.

    RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT:   By following the detailed instructions on Research Step 3: Using the MLA Bibliography to Identify Additional Sources on Your Topic (and then figure out how to access them!), you will learn to use the MLA Bibliography to identify additional secondary sources on your topic and Interlibrary Loan to access articles not available at Cal Poly (as well as books which are unavailable at Cal Poly or through LINK+). The directions will also help you prepare your next research reports for the class research archive, "MLA Search Results" and "ILL Orders" (as well as "LINK+ Orders 2" if applicable).
    Day 2 TOPIC:  Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan, cont.

    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 

      Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan, pp. 205-297.
    POSSIBLE PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 
    •  Lauren Sittel
    NOTE: Group screenings of "Extended Scenes from Wagner's Opera Tristan und Isolde," the film which you must see PRIOR TO OUR CLASS MEETING on M 4/28, are THIS COMING WEEK-END,  possibly on Sunday (4/28), from 5-7 and/or from 7-9 PM.  The DVD of the performance (approx. 90 min.) is on reserve for ENGL 459 in Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE CIRCULATION DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  Also, when you screen the DVD, BE SURE TO TURN ON THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES, or you will be VERY confused! Because it is a DVD, you may also be able to get this film from NetFlicks, or to rent it locally (I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store at 2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866).  To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere!

    NOTE: Click on link to read the synopsis of the opera BEFORE viewing the video (approx. 90 min.).

    Group screenings of the film which you must see PRIOR TO OUR CLASS MEETING on M 4/28, Extended Scenes from Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde (based on Gottfried's Tristan) to be scheduled on Sunday 4/28 (from 5-7 AND from 7-9 PM?) .

    Week 5    (April 28-30)
     
    Day 1 [As needed: wrap up discussion of Gottfried's Tristan]

    NEW TOPIC:  Wagner's Opera Tristan und Isolde

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • Synopsis of the opera (online reading to complete BEFORE viewing video; be sure to PRINT IT OUT, place in your course binder, and bring it with you to class).
    • Helmut Reichenbächer, "Richard Wagner's Adaptation of Gottfried von Strassburg's Tristan" (from the University of Toronto Quarterly 67.4 [1998]: 762-67; .PDF file, 4 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard). 
    • Renee L. Curtis, "Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: The Transformation of a Medieval Legend" (from Tristania 8.2 [1983]: 3-14; .PDF file, 13 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard). 
    • Fred Toner, "Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: A Transformation of the Medieval Legend" (from Chimères 1 [1981]: 49-65; .PDF file, 10 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard). 
    PLEASE PRINT OUT THESE ESSAYS AND BRING THEM WITH YOU TO CLASS!

    Also recommended:  explore the Metropolitain Opera's Tristan und Isolde website.

    REQUIRED FILM: 

    NOTE 1: Group screenings on Sunday (4/28), from 4-6 and from 6-8 PM, and on Monday (4/29) from 10 AM - noon..  The DVD of the performance (approx. 90 min.) is on reserve for ENGL 459 at the Kennedy Library Circulation Desk, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE CIRCULATION DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  Also, when you screen the DVD, BE SURE TO TURN ON THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES, or you will be VERY confused! Because it is a DVD, you may also be able to get this film from NetFlicks, or to rent it locally (I encourage you to patronize Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store at 2161A Broad, between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866).  To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere!

    NOTE 2: Click on link to read the synopsis of the opera BEFORE viewing the video (approx. 90 min.).

    OPERA AND FILM INFO:  Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, composed 1857-59, was based on Gottfried's Tristan.  The video of "Extended Scenes" (musical highlights linked by narration) presents excerpts from the 1976 Opéra du Québec production starring Jon Vickers as Tristan and Roberta Knie as Isolde, with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Franz-Paul Decker. 

    PRESENTATIONS (up to two):

    •  OPEN
    		 Research Archive Assignment 4: FindingFull-Text Journal Articles in Kennedy Library Subscription Databases

    PRELIMINARIES: Read about electronic modes of access and the profiles of the four Kennedy Library subscription journal databases we will use to look for full-text, electronically accessed journal articles on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools.  Be clear about what each database includes, what to use them for, and their advantages and disadvantages.  Carefully read information on SFX and on Polysearch (and their limitations).    Know what to add to the citation of a journal article citation accessed electronically  through a subscription database. 

    Then, click on the link for detailed instructions for the fourth research assignment: Research Step 4: Using Full-Text Subscription Databases in the Kennedy Library Collections.  ASK DR. SCHWARTZ IN CLASS (or at an office hour) if you have questions about what you need to do.

    RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT:   The detailed instructions in Research Step 4: Using Full-Text Subscription Databases in the Kennedy Library Collections will help you learn to search for full-text journal articles on your topic in four of Cal Poly's subscription databases.

    The directions will also help you prepare your next four research reports for the class research archive: "Muse Results," "EAI Results," ASE Results" and "JSTOR Results."

      * * * * *
    Begin work on RESEARCH PAPER PROSPECTUS, OUTLINE AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY, DUE IN IN CLASS ON W 5/14 (or with prior permission, NO LATER THAN 6 PM ON FRIDAY, 5/16 ).  Your Prospectus must include a working title which clearly identifies the work(s) discussed as well as the topic of your paper; a fully articulated thesis (not just a statement of general topic); a tentative outline of paper; and a working bibliography of at least eight sources, alphabetized and listed using correct MLA bibliographic format (consult your MLA Handbook!).  Be sure to include at least one example of each of the required Types of Source and Modes of Access  specified in the Prospectus guidlines.
    Day 2 TOPIC: The Victorian Era 1--Arnold and Tennyson

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    Also recommended (but NOT required):  REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
    • Matthew Arnold, "Tristram and Iseult" (1852) (PDF file, 12 pp.)
    • Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Last Tournament" (1871; part of his Arthurian collection The Idylls of the King) (PDF file, 11 pp.)
    Both poems are on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; be sure to PRINT THEM OUT, place them in your course binder, and BRING THEM WITH YOU TO CLASS.

    TEXT INFO 1: British poet Matthew Arnold lived from 1822-1888.  His "Tristram and Iseult" (1852), the first ninetheenth-century English treatment of the theme, is a narrative poem comprising a series of monologues and dialogues written in various forms of rhymed verse (primarily but not exclusively in couplets). 

    TEXT INFO 2: British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson lived from 1809-1892.  His "The Last Tournament" (1871) was published as part of The Idylls of the King (1859-1885), a collection of poems in blank verse (=unrhymed iambic pentameter) recounting the rise and fall of King Arthur.

    PRESENTATIONS (up to two, one on each work): 

    •  Dee Dee Kirkely (on Matthew Arnold)
    •  Stephanie Lossinsky (on Tennyson)

    Week 6    (May 5-7)
     
    Day 1 As needed, continue discussion of Tennyson and Arnold. 

    NEW TOPIC: The Victorians and Pre-Raphaelitism 2 -- Algernon Charles Swinburne 1

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • Review "Tristan and Isolt after the Middle Ages" from the Camelot Project website (assigned for last class meeting; follow link to access the required section of this online reading, which is only a small portion of the page itself; be aware that you do NOT need to print out the entire webpage, just the three final paragraphs of the essay, which begin at this link.)
  • Algernon Charles Swinburne Biography from the Victorian Web.
  • Have a look at the paintings on the class homepage and spend some time browsing the 19th-century images of Tristan and Isolt and of King Mark on the Camelot Project website.
    • REQUIRED PRIMARY READINGS: 
    • Algernon Charles Swinburne, "Queen Yseult" (1857-1858) (.PDF file, 27 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; PRINT IT OUT AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS!!)
    • Algernon Charles Swinburne, Tristram of Lyonesse (1882):  "Prelude"; I. "The Sailing of the Swallow"; II. "The Queen's Pleasance" (.PDF file, 13 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; PRINT OUT THIS SHORT .PDF FILE AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS!!) 
    NOTE: persons without Blackboard acsess can read these poems on the Camelot Project website.  Warning:  Camelot Project texts do not have line numbers, and print-outs of the poems are VERY LONG.  Follow the links provided to access:  ENGL 459 students:  do NOT print out the poems from the Camelot Project site; instead, print out the much shorter .PDF files on e-reserve! 

    TEXT INFO: British poet Algernon Charles Swinburne lived from 1837-1909.  His early poem "Queen Yseult" (written 1857-1858) is divided into six "cantos" (or sections) written in tercets (i.e. three-line stanzas); all three lines of each tercet rhyme with each other, so that the rhyme scheme is "AAA BBB CCC" etc.  The long narrative poem Tristram of Lyonesse dates from 1882; it consists of a "Prelude" and nine sections (which we will read over three class meetings).  This work is written entirely in rhyming couplets (each subsequent pair of lines rhyme with each other, so that the rhyme scheme is "AA BB CC" etc.)

    PRESENTATIONS (up to two, one on each work): 

    • Eric Karnezis (on "Queen Yseult")
    • Mike Manganaro (on Tristram of Lyonesse 1)
    		 Research Archive Assignment 5: Using NETLIBRARY (ebooks available from Kennedy Library Subscription Databases)

    PRELIMINARIES: review information on electronic modes of access and read carefully through the profile of Netlibrary on Dr. Schwartz's Guide to Kennedy Library Research Tools.  Be clear about what it is, when and how to use it, its strengths and its limitations.  Know what to add to the bibliographic citation of an ebook accessed through a subscription database like NetLibrary. 

    Then, click on the link to read through the detailed instructions for the next research assignment: Research Step 5: Searching the E-books in NetLibrary.  Ask Dr. Schwartz in class (or at an office hour) if you have questions about what you need to do..

    RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT:   The detailed instructions in Research Step 5: Searching the E-books in NetLibrary will guide you as you learn to search directly in the e-books found in NetLibrary, another of Cal Poly's subscription databases. The directions will also help you prepare your next research report for the class research archive, "NetLibraryResults."

    * * * * *
    Continue work on RESEARCH PAPER PROSPECTUS, OUTLINE AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY, DUE IN IN CLASS ON W 5/14 (or with prior permission, NO LATER THAN 6 PM ON FRIDAY, 5/16 ).
    Day 2 TOPIC: Algernon Charles Swinburne 2

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • Review "Tristan and Isolt after the Middle Ages" from the Camelot Project website (assigned for last class meeting; follow link to access the required section of this online reading, which is only a small portion of the page itself; be aware that you do NOT need to print out the entire webpage, just the three final paragraphs of the essay, which begin at this link.)
  • Algernon Charles Swinburne Biography from the Victorian Web.
  • Have a look at the paintings on the class homepage and spend some time browsing the 19th-century images of Tristan and Isolt and of King Mark on the Camelot Project website.
    • REQUIRED PRIMARY READINGS: 
    • Algernon Charles Swinburne, Tristram of Lyonesse (1882):  III. "Tristram in Brittany"; IV. "The Maiden Marriage"; V. " Iseult at Tintagel"; VI. "Joyous Gard" (.PDF file, 13 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; PRINT OUT THIS SHORT .PDF FILE AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS!!) 
    NOTE: persons without Blackboard acsess can read this poem on the Camelot Project website.  Warning:  Camelot Project texts do not have line numbers, and print-outs of the poems are VERY LONG.  Follow the links provided to access:  ENGL 459 students:  do NOT print out the poems from the Camelot Project site; instead, print out the much shorter .PDF files on e-reserve! 

    PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

    •   Greg Emilio (on Tristram of Lyonesse 2)
    NOTE: Jean Delannoy's 1943 film L'Éternel retour (107 min.) must be screened prior to our class meeting on W 5/14.  There will be several Group Screenings in Library 202, on SUNDAY 5/11 from 4:00-6:00 and from 6:00-8:00, and on T 5/13 from 6:00-8:00 PM. This film is NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD, so cannot be ordered on NetFlicks. But it may be available locally:  try Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store at 2161A Broad (between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866). To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere! (Be sure to inquire about the French title and both English titles if you do!)   The VHS tape is on reserve in Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE CIRCULATION DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!! 

    Week 7    (May 12-14)

    Film Screenings of  Jean Delannoy's 1943 film L'Éternel retour (107 min.) on SUNDAY 5/11 from 4:00-6:00 and from 6:00-8:00, and on T 5/13 from 6:00-8:00 PM.

    RESEARCH PAPER PROSPECTUS, OUTLINE AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE  IN CLASS ON WEDNESDAY 5/14 (or with prior permission, via email attachment NO LATER THAN 6 PM ON FRIDAY, 5/16 ).

    Also note:  Deadline to submit Research Progress Reports to class research archive is MIDNIGHT on FRIDAY, 5/16 (so you'll have time on the week-end to start reading John Updike's Brazil!)
     
    Day 1 TOPIC: Algernon Charles Swinburne 3 (conclusion); 20th-Century Perspectives on Isolde of the White Hands 

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

  • Oscar Fay Adams biography from Sacklunch.net. 
  • Maurice Baring biography from FantasticFiction.
  • Rhoda Pettit's Dorothy Parker Biography from the Modern American Poetry Site.
  • Have a look at the paintings on the class homepage and spend some time browsing the 20th-century images of Tristan and Isolt and of King Mark on the Camelot Project website.
    • REQUIRED PRIMARY READINGS: 
  • Algernon Charles Swinburne, Tristram of Lyonesse (1882): VII. "The Wife's Vigil"; VIII. "The Last Pilgrimage"; IX. "The Sailing of the Swan" (.PDF file, 13 pp., on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; PRINT OUT THIS SHORT .PDF FILE AND BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS!!) 
  • Oscar Fay Adams, "The Pleasaunce of Maid Marian" (1906; .HTML file from the Camelot Project site); 
  • Maurice Baring, "From the Diary of Iseult of Brittany" (1913; .HTML file from the Camelot Project site); 
  • Dorothy Parker, "Guenevere at Her Fireside" (note reference to Tristan!) and "Iseult of Brittany" (both 1931; together in one PDF file, 2 pp.;on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard).
    • Be sure to PRINT OUT these readings and bring them with you to class! 

    NOTE 1: persons without Blackboard acsess can read Swinburne's Tristram of Lyonesse on the Camelot Project website.  Warning:  Camelot Project texts do not have line numbers, and print-outs of the poems are VERY LONG.  Follow the links provided to access: 

    ENGL 459 students:  do NOT print out the Swinburme from the Camelot Project site; instead, print out the much shorter .PDF files on e-reserve! 

    NOTE 2: On your print-out of the Adams poem, you will need to WRITE IN LINE NUMBERS for every 5th line.  For your numbering, count "Isolt the White, the daughter of a king," as line 1; thus, line 5 (the first you should number) is "Upon an autumn midnight drencht with rain." 

    HINT: the lines to count are those that begin at the left margin, with the exception of the two half-lines "False heart! False love!" in Iseult's song, each of which counts as a full line.  Because lines in this poem are determined by syllable count, one numbered line may be printed over two subsequent lines; you will know to count only one line because the second of the two does not begin at the left margin.  EXAMPLE:  The following should be counted as three lines of text, although it is printed over four lines:
    The sharp-fac'd damsel, clanging to the door,
    Laught shrilly, crying out the while:
                                                 'Your guest,
    Good cousin, is not to your mind, meseems.'
    (Here, the second of the three countable line begins with "Laught" and ends with " 'Your guest,").
    TEXT AND AUTHOR INFO: 
  • The American poet Oscar Fay Adams lived from 1855-1919.  He wrote a number of poems on Arthurian themes (available on the Camelot Project site), including "The Pleasaunce of Maid Marian" (1906), originally  published in the volume Sicut Patribus and Other Verse.  This poem is in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). 
  • British writer Maurice Baring lived from 1874-1945; among his close friends was Hilaire Belloc, the English translator of Bédier's Romance of Tristan and Iseult.  "From the Diary of Iseult of Brittany" (1913) is a witty short story in prose which was originally published in the satirical collection Lost Diaries (London: Duckworth, 1913). 
  • American writer Dorothy Parker lived from 1893-1967.  She was a prominent member of the "Algonquin Round Table,"a literary circle of New York writers and intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s.  A prolific author of poetry, fiction, theater reviews and critical essays, she was a frequent contributor to The New Yorker (among many other publications). "Guenevere at Her Fireside" and "Iseult of Brittany" both date from 1931; they were originally published in the volume Death and Taxes.  Both poems are in quatrains (four-line stanzas) of alternating rhyme (rhyme scheme "ABAB CDCD" etc.)
    • PRESENTATION(S): 
    •  Swinburne, Tristram of Lyonesse 3: OPEN
    • Tierney Carlson (on Adams, Baring and/or Parker)
    NOTE: Jean Delannoy's 1943 film L'Éternel retour (107 min.) must be screened prior to our next class meeting (on W 5/14).  There will be several Group Screenings in Library 202,  onSUNDAY 5/11, M 5/12 nd/or T 5/13 (specific times TBA).  The VHS cassette of the film is on reserve in Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE RESERVE DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  This film is NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD, so cannot be ordered on NetFlicks. But it may be available locally:  try Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store at 2161A Broad (between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866). To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere! (Be sure to inquire about the French title and both English titles if you do!)    		 Don't forget that your PROSPECTUS, OUTLINE AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY are DUE  this Wednesday  (5/14 -- or with prior permission, NO LATER THAN 6 PM ON FRIDAY, 5/16 ). 

    NOTE: I will accept your prospectus via email in an attached Word document.  If submitted as an attachment, please save your document as [yourlastname].doc.

    IN CLASS: Sign up for a conference during weeks 8 and 9 for feedback on your research prospectus weeks.

    Begin review for Midterm Exam.

    NOTE:  THE DEADLINE FOR ALL REPORTS TO YOUR CLASS RESEARCH ARCHIVE AND FOR YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO THE CLASS ILL ARTICLE REPOSITORY IS MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, 5/16.  Take the time NOW to post any remaining research progress reports and upload your ILL article to the repository!  Remember, your reports are the "roadmap" of your research steps, intended primarily to HELP YOUR CLASSMATES who may wish to bring "your" text or film into their own research projects.  So please be as DETAILED AND SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE -- and especially, BE SURE TO POST A LIST OF THE ITEMS YOU HAVE CHECKED OUT OF KENNEDY LIBRARY OR ORDERED FROM ILL AND LINK+!!

    Please do this NOW, while your reports and ILL submissions can still be of use to your classmates in their research projects!! (Not to mention, of use to YOU as I calculate the "Participation" portion of your final course grade!)

     
    Day 2 TOPIC: Tristan Film 2 -- Jean Delannoy's L'Éternel retour (1943)

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READINGS:

    • Phyllis Gaffney, "A Double-Sided Mirror: Cocteau's L'Eternel Retour and the Medieval Sources," Tristania 21 (2002): 105-21 (.PDF file, 9 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; be sure to PRINT IT OUT, include it in your course binder, and BRING IT WITH YOU TO CLASS). 
    • IMDB page on Jean Delannoy's L'Éternel retour (consult online and/or place print-out in course binder).
    • Also review comments on L'Éternel retour in Meradith McMunn, "Filming the Tristan Myth: From Text to Icon," assigned reading for Th 3/17 (.PDF file, 6 pp., which should already be in your course binder). 
    REQUIRED FILM:
    • Jean Delannoy's L'Éternel retour (1943);  this film (107 min.) is REQUIRED VIEWING by today's class. There will be several Group Screenings in Library 202, on SUNDAY 5/11 from 4:00-6:00 and from 6:00-8:00, and on T 5/13 from 6:00-8:00 PM.  The VHS cassette of the film is on reserve in the Kennedy Library, so you can also check it out on your own time for independent in-library viewing  -- BUT BE SURE IT IS RETURNED TO THE RESERVE DESK BY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP SCREENINGS!!  This film is NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD, so it cannot be ordered on NetFlicks.  But it may be available locally:  try Insomniac, SLO's fabulous independent video store at 2161A Broad (between South and Branch; tel. 545-8866). To my knowledge, it is not available at other local video stores -- but feel free to call around, and let me know if you find it elsewhere! (Be sure to inquire about the French title and both English titles if you do!)   
    FILM INFO:
    • Jean Delannoy's L'Éternel retour (1943; also released as The Eternal Return and Love Eternal; black and white, in French with English subtitles).  Directed by Jean Delannoy from a screenplay by Jean Cocteau. Cast: Jean Marais as Patrice (the Tristan role); Madeleine Sologne as Nathalie la blonde (Blonde Nathalie, the Isolde the Blonde/ Isolde of Ireland/ Queen of Cornwall role); Jean Murat as Marc; Junie Astor as Nathalie la brune (Brunette Nathalie, the Isolde of the White Hands role); Piéral as Achille Frossin (i.e.Frocin the Dwarf); Alexandre Rignault as Morholt.


    PRESENTATIONS (up to two): 

    •  OPEN
    NOTE 1: PAPER PROSPECTUS AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE TODAY!! (see note at right)

    NOTE 2: Remember that the deadline for reports to the CLASS RESEARCH ARCHIVE and submissions to the CLASS ILL ARTICLE REPOSITORY is MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY 5/16 (so you'll have time on the week-end to start reading John Updike's Brazil!)

    NOTE:  Deadline to submit Research Progress Reports to class research archive is MIDNIGHT on F 5/16!!

    Week 8    (May 19-21)
     
    Day 1 TOPIC: John Updike's Brazil (1994)

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • John Updike Biography and the two paragraphs discussing Brazil (scroll down within the Sidelights section), both in Gale's Contemporary Authors (a Kennedy Library subscription database).
    • John Updike, "More Love in the Western World," rev. of Love Declared, by Denis de Rougemont; rpt. John Updike, Assorted Prose (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990), pp. 283-300 (.PDF file, 10 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard).
    RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND READING:
    • Denis de Rougemont on "The Tristan Myth."  Excerpted from  Love in the Western World, by Denis de Rougemont, tr. Montgomery Belgion, rev. and augmented ed. (1940; Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983), pp. 15-55 (.PDF file, X pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard). 
    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
    • Brazil, pp.  3-161
    TEXT AND AUTHOR INFO: 
    • John Updike is an extremely prolific, living American author, born 1932, who has won multiple awards for his work (including two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards for fiction, as well as virtually every other major literature prize imaginable with the exception of the Nobel Prize; for the full list of his honors and awards, see his entry in the Gale's Contemporary Authors subscription database).  The Tristan-themed novel Brazil (1994) is a somewhat surreal reimagining of the Tristan story set in late-20th-century Rio de Janeiro with elements of magical realism.


    PRESENTATIONS (up to two; either one each day, or both on Wednesday)

    •   Breanne Gladwell and/or Emilie Egger
    		 Review for Midterm Exam.

    Work on Research paper (due at time of the Final Oral Exercise, or no later than WEDNESDAY, 6/11, un less an extension has been arranged IN ADVANCE!!). 
    Day 2  TOPIC: John Updike's Brazil (1994)

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • TBA
    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
    • Brazil, pp.  161-260
    PRESENTATIONS (up to two; either one each day, or both on Wednesday)
    •    Breanne Gladwell and/or Emilie Egger

    Week 9    (TUESDAY MAY 27 - WEDNESDAY MAY 28)
     
    Day 1 
    Midterm Exam.    		 Work on Research paper (due at time of the Final Oral Exercise, or no later than WEDNESDAY, 6/11, un less an extension has been arranged IN ADVANCE!!). 
    Day 2 TOPIC: 20th-Century Oddities:  Faulkner's Mayday; C. S. Lewis and Owen Barfield, "Mark vs. Tristram"; and two Updike short stories

    RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND READING:

    • Michael Blechner, "Tristan in Letters: Malory, C. S. Lewis, Updike," Tristania 6.1 (1980): 30-37 (.PDF file, 9 pp.; on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard).
    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
    • Faulkner, Mayday (1926; publ. post-humously 1977; .PDF file, ? pp.); hard copy is on reserve for ENGL 459 under the call number PS3511.A86 M36 1976 (check out the color illustrations!)
    • C. S. Lewis and Owen Barfield, "Mark vs. Tristram: Correspondence Between C. S. Lewis and Owen Barfield" (ca. 1947; publ. post-humously 1967; .PDF file, 6 pp.)
    • John Updike, "Four Sides of One Story" (1966; PDF file, 8 pp.) and "Tristan and Iseult" (1994; .PDF file, 3 pp.). 
    Required primary readings are on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard; be sure to PRINT THEM OUT, include them in your course binder, and BRING THEM WITH YOU TO CLASS.

    TEXT AND AUTHOR INFO: 

    • WIlliam Faulkner lived from 1897 - 1962. Mayday is a little known youthful work of this prolific American novelist.  Originally hand lettered, illustrated with his own water colors, and offered in 1926 as a gift to a love interest, Helen Baird, it was published post-humously in a facsimile edition in 1976.  Mayday is an allegorical tale about Sir Galwyn of Arthgyl, a young knight who sets out in quest of a beautiful woman he has seen in a vision.  On his quest, Galwyn travels through an enchanted forest where he encounters both Tristram (whom he kills) and Yseult (whom he seduces and then becomes disenchanted with, leading him to abandon her).  After similar encounters with two other beautiful women, the disillusioned knight apparently commits suicide by entering a river to embrace "Little Sister Death," the beautiful woman of his original vision -- or does he?  Mayday is seen by some critics as an important precursor of The Sound and the Fury and other later Faulknerian works.
    • Updike's ongoing interest in the Tristan tradition is attested not only by Brazil but by these two short fictions: "Four Sides of One Story" originally appeared in the collection The Music School: Short Stories (1966); "Tristan and Iseult" originally appeared in the collection The Afterlife and Other Stories (1994). 
    PRESENTATIONS:
    • Dylan Bowes (on Mayday; Sr. Project)
    • Updike's short stories  (not recommended as a presentation topic unless all other topics are taken):

    Week 10  (June 2-4)

    NOTE: by our final class meeting (on W 6/4), you must have watched TWO assigned films:  Veith von Fürstenberg's hard-to-find Fire and Sword, a German-Irish made-for-European-television movie (1982, 84 min.; available only on VHS; a copy is on reserve in the Kennedy Library under ENGL 459); as well as Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006; available from NetFlicks and at Insomniac or any local video stores). Group Screenings of Fire and Sword (only) will take place in Library 202 at the following dates and times:  Sunday, Jun1 1, 4 PM and 6 PM; Tuesday, June 3, 6 PM; Wednesday, June 4, 10 AM amd 6 PM (for my T/R ENGL 380 students, or if you want to see it again after class!).
     
    Day 1 TOPIC: Contemporary American Fiction -- Steven Millhauser

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READING:

    • Steven Millhauser Biography and the two paragraphs discussing The King in the Tree: Three Novellas (scroll down within the Sidelights section), both in Gale's Contemporary Authors (a Kennedy Library subscription database).
    • other critical discussion TBA
    REQUIRED PRIMARY READING: 
    • Steven Millhauser, "The King in the Tree" (2003; in the required textbook The King in the Tree: Three Novellas, pp. 141-242).
    PRESENTATIONS (up to two; a second person should sign up ONLY if all other presentation days are already covered)
    •  
    •  
    TEXT AND AUTHOR INFO:
    • Steven Millhauser is another living American author, born in 1943.  The author of numerous novels and fiction collections, his awards include a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1997 for Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer (for the full list, see his entry in the Gale's Contemporary Authors subscription database).  "The King in the Tree" (2003) is a novella.
    NOTE: by our next (and last) class meeting (on W 6/4), you must have watched TWO assigned films: 
    • Veith von Fürstenberg's hard-to-find Fire and Sword, a German-Irish made-for-European-television movie (1982, 84 min.; available only on VHS; a copy is on reserve in the Kennedy Library under ENGL 459); as well as 
    • Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006; available from NetFlicks and at Insomniac or any local video stores).
    Group Screenings of Fire and Sword (only) will take place in Library 202 at the following dates and times:  Sunday, Jun1 1, 4 PM and 6 PM; Tuesday, June 3, 6 PM; Wednesday, June 4, 10 AM amd 6 PM (for my T/R ENGL 380 students, or if you want to see it again after class!).    		 Work on Research paper (due at time of the Final Oral Exercise, or no later than WEDNESDAY, 6/11, un less an extension has been arranged IN ADVANCE!!). 
    Day 2  TOPIC: Tristan Film 3 -- Veith von Fürstenberg's Fire and Sword (1982) and Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006)

    REQUIRED BACKGROUND READINGS:

    • IMDB pages on Veith von Fürstenberg's Fire and Sword (1982) and Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006) (consult online and/or place print-outs in course binder).
    • Also review comments on Fire and Sword in Meradith McMunn, "Filming the Tristan Myth: From Text to Icon," assigned reading for Th 3/17 (.PDF file, 6 pp., which should already be in your course binder). 
    • Keith Breese's (highly positive) review of Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde.  (Consider whether you agree with his assessment!)


    REQUIRED FILMS: 

    • Veith von Fürstenberg's Fire and Sword (also called Feuer und Schwert), a German-Irish made-for-European-television movie (1982, 84 min.). 
    • Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006, 125 min.). 
    Group Screenings of Fire and Sword (only) will take place in Library 202 at the following dates and times:  Sunday, Jun1 1, 4 PM and 6 PM; Tuesday, June 3, 6 PM; Wednesday, June 4, 10 AM amd 6 PM (for my T/R ENGL 380 students, or if you want to see it again after class!).

    FILM INFO: 

    • Director Veith von Fürstenberg's hard-to-find Fire and Sword (also called Feuer und Schwert, although it is in English), is a German-Irish made-for-European-television movie (1982, 84 min.; not available on DVD).  Features Christoph Waltz as Tristan, Antonia Preser as Isolde, Leigh Lawson as Mark, and Peter Firth as Dinas. 
    • Director Keith Reynolds's Tristan and Isolde (2006, 125 min.) is the most recent cinematic refashioning of the Tristan legend.  It stars James Franco as Tristan, Sophia Myles as Isolde, and Rufus Sewell as Lord Marke.
    PRESENTATIONS (up to two, one per film):
    •  Will Davis
    •  

    In lieu of a traditional final exam, I hope that our final conversation of the quarter can take place in conjunction with a Class Dinner at my home, to be scheduled at a mutually convenient time on either the week-end before finals or on MONDAY OR WEDNESDAY OF EXAM WEEK. (Unfortunately, my other scheduled final falls Tuesday evening.)  Please note that while it will be graded Pass/Fail, this "final conversation" is a required component of the class.  If we are unable to schedule a class dinner, the final conversation will take place in 34-228 (our usual classroom) at the scheduled exam time: 1:10 - 4:00 PM on Monday, 6/9.  Please note that papers are due (along with your original, marked up prospectus) BEFORE the "final conversation" meeting, on Friday, 6/6 (or if an extension has been arranged in advance, no later than 6 PM on Monday, 6/9).