Quote:
Originally Posted by haertig
I remember that in college. I didn't know what English it was at the time, but it was not easy to read by any means. It would have been incomprehensible without the translations (in the margins of the book, IIRC). I don't remember it enlightening me or making me a better or more intelligent person in the slightest. But I did pass the course, which being required for my major, allowed me to get my degree (question: Why does an Electrical Engineer need to read Chaucer?)
|
Oh I wouldn't think it'd bring about enlightenment, it's just not something you'd get to in high school and below. If you wanna be truly lost check out an Old English edition of Beowulf, it's utterly incomprehensible to Middle and Modern English, the two of which have more in common with each other than they do with Old English.
I've no idea why they'd make you read Chaucer, but I can tell you my college roommate who was a Computer Science major I don't recall his focus, had to take classes which focused on building compositional skills, because the university had found that if it wasn't required those in the major tended to graduate and struggle to communicate effectively in text.
Note -I- am not making that claim, that's literally what they told the comp. sci majors at the time. Granted they put a bit of polish on it and made it sound pretty.