King Arthur

Catalog description

A survey of the literature of the legend of Arthur, from ancient Celtic fragments and references to medieval chivalric romances, and on to modern reinterpretations in poems, novels, and film. Particular focus on the romances of Marie de France, Chrétien de Troyes, Sir Thomas Malory, and the anonymous author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . Attention to such themes as: the construction of nationality; the tension between the individual and culture; the stylized representation of gender and class; the interplay of reality and fantasy; theories of authorship and audience; connections to history-writing and to other literary genres.