Lucy Mookerjee

This course will introduce students to the poetry produced and read in England during the period 1150–1500, with particular emphasis on the literary phenomenon of the “dream vision.” Typically, dream-vision narratives adhere to a sequence in which an anguished dreamer falls asleep, wakes in a beautiful otherworld, encounters a guide, and ultimately wakes from the dream before its significance can be explained. The audience is left to interpret the “vision.” These medieval dream-visions predate Freud’s theory of “the interpretation of dreams” by 500 years, yet they suggest eerily similar insights about personality, self-delusion, and self-discovery. Over the course of the semester, we will explore how authors such as Chaucer, the Pearl-poet, William Langland, and the anonymous compilers of Middle English romance capitalized on the dream-vision as a “safe-space” to explore controversial topics. Alongside works by these authors, we will look at scientific literature on medieval psychology, as well as digital images from the manuscripts discussed in class. In biweekly group conferences, students will interrogate the role of the medieval dream-vision through an inclusive collision of perspectives. Throughout, the course will embrace a broader set of questions: If dreams—like poems—need to be interpreted in order to be understood, does this suggest that poetry is capable of producing knowledge? What, ultimately, is the “value” or “purpose” of poetry?