The Once and Future Course: Teaching the Arthurian Legend

Abstract

130ARTHURIANA Clear to California, kissed by crashing waves, Winner ofWisconsin in the west by his wiles, Majestic in the majority ofgreat Massachusetts... (etc.) DEREK PEARSALL Harvard University Derek Pearsall is the Gurney Professor of English at Harvard University and was Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York, 1965-85. His numerous publications includeJohn Lyndgate (1970), Old English and Middle English Poetry (1977), The Canterbury Tales: A Critical Study (1985), An A?notatedCriticalBibliography ofLangland(199o), and The Life ofGeoffrey Chaucer (1992). THE ONCE AND FUTURE COURSE: TEACHING THE ARTHURIAN LEGEND Teaching the Arthurian legend presents several challenges to the instructor. Many important works (such as Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur and Tennyson's Idylb of the King ) are difficult for non-specialists to read and understand. Students' preconceptions about the legend, usually derived from the popular tradition, may hinder fresh responses to the primary texts. With this profusion of Arthur-related material—medieval and modern, literary and visual, fictional and historical—comes the challenge ofselecting the works that best reflect the legend as it has evolved. As a Teaching Fellow in Derek Pearsall's undergraduate course, 'The Story ofArthur,' my aim was to help students interpret the primary texts while identifying the legend's broader themes and archetypes—archetypes which have provided fertile ground for re-imaginings (novels, films, and comic strips) since Malory. 'The Story of Arthur' is part of Harvard's 'Core' curriculum, which seeks to introduce students to the major approaches to knowledge in areas the faculty deems indispensable to undergraduate education. Core classes are not aimed at majors in the field and therefore do not require the intellectual background or scholarly skills expected of students in departmental courses. The majority of my students were science and social science majors. Their lack ofexperience with literary analysis, even with close readings, placed a premium on helping them engage with works they might otherwise find obscure. Lectures (given by the professor) emphasized broad themes ('the conflict between secular and spiritual chivalry,' 'Malorian tragedy') and trends ('the revival of medievalism,' 'ideological appropriation'). Discussion sections of about 20, taught by graduate student Teaching Fellows, gave students the opportunity to move beyond the 'what' to the 'why' and from the general to the specific. Section assignments were designed to provide students with ample opportunity to practice their critical reading and writing skills. Rather than attempting to cover the entirety of Malory, the style and sheer length of which daunted many students, in the limited discussion time allotted, I assigned three significant sections: Caxton's books 1-4 (Arthur's rise to TEACHING THE STORY OF ARTHUR131 power), books 13-17 (the Grail quest), and books 18-21 (the affair of Lancelot and Guinevere and the fall of the Round Table). Students responded that they found it more instructive (and less tedious!) to approach Malory in this manner.1 As one student remarked: 'The length and density of the reading was a bit ridiculous but you focused us in on specific passages.' In addition, prior to section meetings I distributed via e-mail discussion questions designed to help students focus on critical issues and passages in each text. One student commented: 'It always helps to know what to look for before you plunge in.' Students also used the questions to prepare for exams and develop paper topics: ? would save them for when I had an exam or paper and they served as a review.' Another type of computer technology I used to help students understand the reading and prepare for section was the on-line Internet discussion chamber. I use this technology in every class I teach, from 'Chaucer's Canterbury Tales' to 'The Postmodern Novel.' Each Teaching Fellow had his or her individual discussion chamber in the course's web page (http://icg.harvard.edu/-arthur), which was accessible to students via personal computer and contained the syllabus, supplementary readings, lecture notes, and other relevant material such as full-color reproductions of works by Sir Fidward Burne-Jones. Each week, I 'posted' an important scene or passage from the reading in the chamber, along with some questions about its significance. I then asked every...