Adaptations of Arthur: Medieval, Modern, Postmodern (05033-WiSe20/21)

Adaptations of Arthur: Medieval, Modern, Postmodern 

This seminar will study the Arthurian legend from its roots in the Middle Ages, following its spread in medieval French and German romances to its revival in the nineteenth century, its importance in literary modernism and its pervasive influence in post-modern culture. It is designed to enable students to critically explore relations between literature and other media using adaptation theory. It will also help them develop the skill of assessing connections and intriguing dissonances between classics and popular adaptations, as well as between the medieval material and the modern. Additionally, it will enable students to become astute observers of the ways in which literary phenomena can be recycled and recreated. Importantly, it will aid them in critically assessing the importance of the medieval in the twenty-first century and in understanding the ways in which literature serves as repository of cultural memory.

 To gain a sense of the facets of Arthurian tradition, we will begin with a short overview of the medieval material and read Mallory (available in German as König Arthur und die Ritter der Tafelrunde, Köln 2009). However, our main focus will be on literary classics from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including feminist and young adult adaptations of the material. These readings will better allow us to assess the fortunes of the legend in operatic interpretations by Wagner, paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites, and in the British television series, Merlin.

 Students are expected to complete the required readings (in the original or in German translation) and be able to actively discuss them in class. Short written assignments will be given and in-class presentations will be required. Regular attendance is encouraged. Discussion will be in English, and term papers may be written in English or in German.

Readings: Sir Thomas Mallory, Le Morte d’Arthur (1485); Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King (1859-85); selected poems by Tennyson and William Morris, Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde (libretto); T.S. Eliot, “The Wasteland” (1922). Students will choose between T.H. White, The Once and Future King (1958) and or Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon (1982). All students will be required familiarize themselves with BBC’s Merlin. Selected secondary readings will be announced at the beginning of the course.