Literature Appreciation I – Chaucer

Tutor: Hugh Parry

In this course we will range over a sample of the Canterbury Tales, the well-known and the less-known. Like the pilgrims who told them, they are a collection of ‘all-sorts’, from satire to romance, raunchy anecdotes to saints’ lives, chivalry to folklore. Chaucer had no time to finish the project, but he envisaged it as a compendium of the narratives that circulated in the written and oral  culture of the age. The theme of dreams, prominent in the earlier poems, will feature again. The texts will be a combination of modern versions and the originals – no-one will be left bewildered, but Middle English is a delight worth experiencing.

Hugh Parry has offered adult education classes in literature for over 30 years. Although loyal all his life to Shakespeare, he has over the years given courses on a diverse range of topics,  including detective fiction, utopias, ghost stories, Cowper, Swift and R S Thomas.

The second Literature Appreciation event this year is from 12-15 September.