Sullivan English IV Honors Final

Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

apologia, like other prologues, in which she explains that her wisdom is from her experience not her authority. Her ability to manipulate and outwit her husbands outmatches their supposed superiority as rational males. Her life story is both and antithesis to the prevailing misogynism that held that women were not to be trusted and a confirmation of its view that women are more "earthy." Her tale, modeled on an Arthurian lay like Lanval, counters point by point the criticisms that men make of women, and serves as a fantasy in which women are given power over men in marital relations.

Feudalism

based on loyalty of the thane to the king. Thanes are rewarded with land and gold for fighting. Powerful kings dominate others and demand fealty from them. See lines 2490-2496 for Beowulf's description of a thane's duty.

Chaucer

-son of rich wine merchants -civil serveant as bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, member of parliament -founder of English literature

Courtly Behavior

(devotion and honor toward a lady, including the willingness to engage in polite interaction)

Chivalry

(showing the honor, duty and loyalty of knighthood - devotion to King and Christ)

Reeve's Tale

-Cambridge -clerks boarding visit Miller->stealing from Manciple of Cambridge -2 clerks go, Miller grind grain trying to get them to go away -unbridles horse to distract clerks to go away -steals flour->gives to wife to make cake -catch horse, pay to sleep by Millers house since too late -daughter=20 yrs old -beds in one room -wife=parson's daughter, noble -daughter to marry a noble -john and Alan in a bed together -baby in cradle -clerk jumps into daughters bed -clerk moves cradle from parents bed -wife climbs in w/other clerk -daughter in love w/clerk -clerk jumps in bed w/miller -fights clerk and miller wife hits miller on accident -Reeve one ups miller bc sleeps with daughter and wife

Medieval Period

-Lanval -Gawain and Green Knight -The Canterbury Tales

Modern Period

-Mrs. Dalloway -Araby -Ulysses

ETHNIC AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY OF BRITAIN

-know map

Prologue

-narrator opens with description of Spring -describes April rains, flowers and leaves, chirping birds -around this time, ppl feel desire to go on pilgrimage -devout English pilgrims set off to visit shrines in distant holy lands, but more choose to travel to Canterbury to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral- thank martyr for helping them when they were in need -narrator tells when he prepared to go on pilgrimage, stayed at tavern in Southwark called Tabard Inn, 29 travelers entered -diverse group who were on their way to Canterbury, happily agreed to let him join -slept at Tabard, woke up early to continue journey -before continuing tale, narrator declares intent to list and describe each of the members of the group -begins portrait with the Knight -Knight=noblest of pilgrims -he embodies military prowess, loyalty, honor, generosity, and good manners -conducts himself in a polite and mild fashion, never saying an unkind word -Knights son- 20yrs old- fathers squire, apprentice -Apprentice=Knight's son -20 yrs old -fought in battles with great strength and agility, devoted to love -strong, beautiful, curly haired young man dressed in clothes embroidered with dainty flowers -squire fights in hope of winning favor with his "lady" -talents=those of a courtly lover: singing, playing the flute, drawing, writing, and riding -loves so passionately gets little sleep at night -dutiful son, fulfills responsibilities toward father, ex. Carves the meat -Yeoman=Knight and Squire's freeborn servant -wears:green from head to toe, carries an enormous bow & beautiful feathered arrows, sword, small shield -gear and attire suggest he's a forester -Prioress= Madame Eglentyne, not part of royal court, does best to imitate its manners -takes great care to eat food daintily, reach for food on table delicately, and wipe her lip clean of grease before drinking from her cup -speaks French, but has provincial English Accent -compassionate towards animals, weeping when sees a mouse caught in trap, feeds dogs roasted meat and milk -features-pretty, enormous forehead, arm wears a set of prayer beads- brooch- Latin words for "Love Conquers All" -another nun and 3 priests accompany her -Monk=extremely handsome, loves hunting, and keeps many horses -outrider at his monastery -horse's bridle can be heard jingling in the wind as clear and loud as a church bell -Mok aware rule of monastic order discourages monks from engaging in activities like hunting, but dismisses strictures as worthless -fat, bald, well dressed Monk resembles prosperous lord -Friar=member of religious order who lives entirely by begging -jovial, pleasure-loving, well-spoke, socially agreeable -hears confessions, assigns easy penance to ppl who donate money -very popular with wealthy landowners through the country -justifies leniency by arguing donating money is a sign of true repentance -makes self popular with innkeepers and barmaids, who give him food and drink -pays no attention to beggars and lepers-> can't help him or his fraternal order -vow of poverty, donations allow him to dress richly and live merrily -Merchant=attired in nice boots and imported fur hat -speaks constantly of his profits -good at borrowing money, but clever enough to keep anyone from knowing he is in debt -narrator doesn't know his name -Clerk= thin and threadbare student of philosophy at Oxford, devours books instead of food -Man of Law= influential lawyer, wise, capable of preparing flawless lega documents, very busy man, takes care to appear busier than he actually is -Franklin= white bearded, wealthy gentleman farmer, possessed of lands but not of noble birth -chief attribute is his preoccupation with food, which is plenteous in house, housed seemed to snow meat and drink -Five Guildsmen=all artisans -dressed in livery, uniform, of their guild -narrator compliments shiny dress and mentions each was fit to be a city official -Cook=skillful, ulcer on shin -Shipman=wears dagger on a cord around neck -when on ship, steals wine from merchant he is transporting while he sleeps -Physician=taffeta and silk, practice of medicine and surgery on thorough knowledge of astronomy and the four humors -good setup with his apothecaries because they make each other money -well acquainted with ancient and modern medical authorities, reads little scripture -frugal, doctors fav medicine is gold -Wife of Bath=slightly deaf, seamstress, always first to offering at Mass, if someone goes ahead of her she gets upset -wears head coverings to Mass narrator guesses must weigh ten pounds -five husbands and taken three pilgrimages to Jerusalem -been to Rome, Cologne, and other sites -sits comfortably astride her horse -wife jolly and talkative, and gives good love advice bc of her lots of experience -Parson=gentle and poor, pure of conscience and true to teaching of Christ, Parson enjoys preaching and instructing his parishioners, but hates excommunicating those who cannot pay their penance -walks with ppl -believes priest must be pure -dedicated to parish -kind to sinners -brother=Plowman -Miller=red haired, crude, bawdy jokes, drinking, able to lift doors off hinges, knock them down by running at them with his head -wart on nose with bright red hairs sticking out like bristles, black nostrils, and mouth like furnace -wears sword and buckler, loves to joke around and tell dirty stories -steals from customers, plays bagpipes -Manciple=stocks at Inn of Court (school of law) w/provisions -uneducated, smarter than most lawyers he serves -Reeve=hair so short reminds narrator of priest, manages lord's estate well he is able to hoard own money and property -good carpenter, rides behind everyone else -Summoner- arraigns those accused of violating Church law -drunk, says Latin phrases -face bright red from disease -uses own power for own gain -lecherous, uses position to dominate young women -loves win more than gf -Pardoner=rides with summoner -sings with companion, long flowing yellow hair -rides very fashionably, nothing covering his head -brought back many souvenirs from trip to Rome -compares voice to goat -might be homosexual -narrator mocks him for disrespectful manipulation of the poor for own material gain -in charge of selling papal indulgences, despised by church and most churchgoers for counterfeiting pardons and pocketing the money -good preacher, storyteller, singer -narrator apologizes for any possible offense reader may take from his tales -believes he must be faithful to the characters -cites Christ and Plato as support for argument -serves pilgrims at banquet, host speaks to group:welcomes and compliments them they are merriest -free of charge -each pilgrim will tell two tales on way to Canterbury and two more on way back -who has the most meaningful and comforting will receive meal paid for by rest of pilgrims -host=governor, judge, record keeper -supper prize -draw straws, knight wins and tells tale

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

A middle-aged woman throws a party, and a young veteran commits suicide. Clarissa and Septimus compared, all characters look to the past, June in London one day, stream of consciousness narrative and multiple POVS The novel addresses the nature of time in personal experience through multiple interwoven stories, particularly that of Clarissa as she prepares for and hosts a party and that of the mentally damaged war veteran Septimus Warren Smith. The two characters can be seen as foils for each other

Wiglaf

A young kinsman and retainer of Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the dragon while all of the other warriors run away. Wiglaf adheres to the heroic code better than Beowulf's other retainers, thereby proving himself a suitable successor to Beowulf.

Knight's Tale

Arcite and Palamon fall in love with Emylye -they both end up getting out of jail and start to fight, Theseus to have war for them to fight -Arcite prays to mars, Palamon to Venus, Emylye to Diana -Arcite wins and gets Emylye -Arcite dies by being crushed by horse, Palamon ends up marrying Emylye

English Sonnet

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (three quatrains and a couplet)

Petrarchan Sonnet

ABBAABBA CDECDE (octave and sestet - rhyme scheme of sestet varies)

Ecgtheow

Beowulf's father, Hygelac's brother in law

Hygelac

Beowulf's uncle, king of Geats

The Modernist Novel: Ulysses and Mrs. Dalloway

Both narratives take place during one day in June in the cities of Dublin and London respectively. Both use stream of consciousness narrative and both jump between multiple points of view. Ulysses is much more stylistically varied, to the point of being cryptic at times. Mrs. Dalloway has more straight-forward social concerns such as the treatment of the mentally ill and women's rights. It also can be read as a demonstration of the virtues of English civilization, whereas Ulysses is more concerned with all of Western civilization, reaching back to Homer's Odyssey.

Araby by James Joyce

Boy in love with friends sister, tries to impress her-always near to see her. Girl consumed in his thoughts, so obsessed with her he's scared he won't have courage to speak to her and express his feelings. Sister asks him if he's going to Dublin Bazaar. She can't go, but he offers to bring her something. Reminds uncle he has the event, uncle i late, boy ends up going but feels unwanted there to buy anything so he leaves without buying anything. The boy leaves upset without buying anything for the girl he loves.

Irish Mythology

Cuchulainn's Boyhood Deeds

Cuchulainn's Boyhood Deeds

Cuchulainn's Boyhood Deeds" is a section of the legendary Irish epic The Tain. The text reveals troubling characteristics of heroic culture in early medieval Irish literature. Cuchulainn displays mannerisms that coincide with toxic masculinity such as defiance and destructiveness. Boy wants to fight to prove himself Celtic vs. Anglo Saxon Cuchulainn vs. Beowulf

Ethnic and Linguistic Makeup of Britain

Current paleogenomic research shows that Neolithic tribes in England were overwhelmed by descendents of nomadic tribes that had started spreading westward from Eastern Europe around 4500 BC. These inhabitants were then overwhelmed by Celtic tribes that arrived starting around 1000 BC. Each dominant immigrant group brought its language and cultural traits, including literary traditions. ("British DNA Reveals a Great Bronze Age Migration" New York Times. 12/28/2021) The Romans under Julius Caesar pushed northward in military campaigns against the Gauls (Celts) as far as Scotland, where Hadrian's Wall was built across the English mainland in 122 AD. The Romans built up and maintained the colony of Britannia (named after the Celtic Britons) until about 450 AD, when they pulled out because of the colony's drain on resources. Aside from spreading Christianity (official religion of Rome from 391 AD), Roman culture and language did not blend with the native British (Celtic) culture because the Romans in Britannia were never cut off from Rome. The power vacuum that the Romans left gave Germanic tribes - the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, all from current Denmark and Germany - the opportunity to settle the south and east of England. Many Germans were already living in Britannia working as mercenaries helping to fight off Celtic raiders. The regional names of Anglia, Sussex and Essex reflect their first territories. Celtic tribes in the western fringes of Britain - Wales, Scotland and Ireland - had stayed independent from Roman rule and resisted rule by the Germanic English. Even today, Celtic languages are spoken in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall. The isolated Germanic tribes developed Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, a Germanic language, and composed oral, heroic, alliterative poetry that we see in Beowulf. By 750-800 AD when Beowulf was composed, a regionally based ethnic patchwork of the tribes above along with Norse (from Norway) peoples in the north and east and Pictish tribes in Scotland, were established and are still evident today in the differing DNA of long-term rural residents of the different regions. The Norman Invasion of England of 1066 had the greatest effect on English language and literature. The Normans were northern French (from Normandy) of Norse (Viking) background who took possession of England and its power structure. They were not a large immigrant group but rather a highly influential elite who continued to identify as French and to speak French for generations. But because England is an island, they eventually blended linguistically and culturally with the English. Middle English, a blend of Old English and French, and the parent of Modern English, is a fairly even mix of the two languages, but Modern English words dealing with education, government, the arts, and law are mostly from French; while the vocabulary of more basic areas of life have stayed Germanic. In our current written English, we emphasize words of French origin; our spoken English vocabulary is more Germanic. The Normans brought to England the Romantic tradition evident in the Arthurian lays and legends that abound from 1100-1500. Their poetry used rhyme rather than alliterative structure because the French language facilitates rhyming whereas Old English facilitated alliteration.

Grendel

Demon from Cain, preys on Hrothgar's warriors in mead-hall (Heorot), Cain's murder of Abel

Pardoners Prologue, Tale, Epilogue

Doctor tells sad story-girl who will kill herself, lose virginity-captured by judge Pardoner wants to tell uplifting story to counter doctor Pardoner gloats about taking parishioner's money and tries to do the same thing to the audience (radix malorum est cupiditas) Pardoner goes right into his sale pitch for relics, draws sharp rebuke from Host (his opposite) who gets pissed. Knight makes peace between two. Want to find a kill death, find gold, get positioned death finds them

Beowulf

Geatish hero, fights Grendel and his mother, strength of 30 men in his grip

Wealtheow

Hrothgar's wife, Queen of the Danes

The Dream of the Rood by Unknown

In a dream the unknown poet beholds a beautiful tree—the rood, or cross, on which Christ died. The rood tells him its own story. Forced to be the instrument of the saviour's death, it describes how it suffered the nail wounds, spear shafts, and insults along with Christ to fulfill God's will. This alliterative verse of the Old English canon of literature is one of the oldest surviving works of Anglo-Saxon literature. "Rood" originated from the Old English word, "rōd" meaning pole. It is a reference to the "crucifix" on which Christ accepted his glorious death. In this Old English poem, there are three sections. In the first section, the speaker presents an image of the rood or cross on which Christ was crucified. Thereafter, in the second section, the cross describes how it suffered along with Christ and did not yield to the torments of the crucifiers. In the last section, it seems the speaker has woken up from his dream. Then he elaborates on his realization and will to accept what the rood has told him in his dream. He wishes an eternal life along with other saints who were true to Christ's words. Form: alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration, the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive or closely associated syllables within a group of words, even those differently spelled, as the principal rhetorical device to help indicate the underlying metrical structure, unlike other devices such as rhyme.

The Dream of the Rood pt. 2

In the dream-vision of the poem, one of many religious poems in Anglo-Saxon, the rood, or cross, tells its story of being a tree made into the cross on which Christ is crucified. The poem captures the intersection of Germanic heroic themes and Christian humility. To quote the Norton introduction to the poem, "Christ and the Rood both act in keeping with, and yet diametrically opposed to, a code of heroic action: Christ is both heroic in mounting and passive in suffering on the Rood, while the Rood is loyal to its lord, yet must participate in his death".

Beowulf by Unknown

It deals with events of the early 6th century and was probably composed c. 700-750. It tells the story of the Scandinavian hero Beowulf, who gains fame as a young man by vanquishing the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother; later, as an aging king, he kills a dragon but dies soon after, honoured and lamented. Form: alliterative verse style

Hrothgar

King of the Danes, Herot Hall-Grendel terrorizes, father figure to Beowulf (adopts him), model of kind of king Beowulf becomes

Irish Mythology- "Cuchulainn's Boyhood Deeds" from the Tain

Note the striking difference in behavior and values between Cuchulainn and Beowulf. Also the more wildly imaginative nature of Celtic myth in comparison with the practical nature of Germanic heroic verse

Anglo Saxon Period (449-1066)

Old English British literature period focused on epic poems, courageous heroes, and morality and goodness. -Caedmon's Hymn -The Dream of the Rood -Beowulf

Miller's Prologue and Tale

PROLOGUE: -Pilgrims applaud Knight's Tale, pleased Host asks Monk to match the tale -Miller interrupts: drunk and belligerent-promises he has a "noble" tale that will repay the Knights -Host tries to persuade Miller to let a "bettre" man to tell the next tale -Miller threatens to leave, Host accepts it -Miller reminds everyone he is a drunk, shouldn't be held accountable for anything he says -introduces tale as a legend and life of a carpenter and of his wife, how a clerk made a fool of the carpenter, which everyone understands means that the clerk slept with carpenter's wife -Reece shouts out his immediate objection to ridicule, Miller insists on proceeding the tale -points out he is married himself, but doesn't worry if some man is sleeping with his wife->bc none of his business -narrator apologizes to us in advance for tales sexual content. And warns those easily offended to skip to another tale MILLERS TALE -Oxford student-Nicholas-studied astrology and well acquainted with art of love -Nicholas boarded with a wealthy, ignorant old carpenter-John-who was jealous and highly possessive of his 18 yr old wife-Alisoun -carpenter leaves-Nicholas and Alisoun flirting, grabs Alisoun she threatens to cry for help -Nicholas begins to cry and Alisoun agrees to sleep with him -Alisoun worried carpenter will find out, but Nicholas believes he will outwit him -a merry, vain parish clerk-Absolon fancies Alisoun -Absolon buys her gifts, serenades her, and gives her money -Alisoun loves Nicholas -Nicholas devises a plan that allows him and Alisoun to spend a night together -Nicholas has Alisoun tell John that Nicholas is ill -John send a servant to check on his boarder, who arrives to find Nicholas immobile, staring at ceiling -servant reports back to John, he isn't surprised, saying madness is what he gets for inquiring "Goddes pryvetee" what he believes Nicholas' astronomy studies amount to -feels sorry for Nicholas and goes to him -Nicholas tells John he had a vision from God and offers to tell John -foreseen a terrible event: next monday waters twice as great as Noah's flood will cover land exterminating all life -John believes him and fears for wife -Nicholas instructs John to fasten three tubs, each loaded with provisions and an ax to roof of barn -mon night they will sleep in the tubs, hack through the roof, and float until water subsides -Nicholas warns John that is God;s commandment and they may do nothing but pray once they are in the tubs-no one is to speak a word -Mon night arrives all three go into hanging tubs -carpenter falls asleep, nic and Alisoun run back to house and sleep together -Absolon passes by, she tells him she loves another, Absolon persists, Alisoun offer one quick kiss -Absolon leaps forwards it is Nicholas' lips -Alisoun and Nicholas laugh -Absolon grabs a hot iron poker from blacksmith, comes and says he's offering Alison a golden ring -Nicholas sticks rear out and poker burns him -Nicholas screams, John hears screams thinking flood has come cuts down tubs and breaks arm -noise and commotion attract townspeople, carpenter tells story of predicted flood, but Nicholas and Alisoun pretend they don't know what he is talking about-carpenter is mad -townspeople laughs, Miller merrily asks that God save the company CHARACTERS: John: carpenter, old, board mates with Nicholas, married to Alisoun Alisoun: young, 18, in love with Nicholas Nicholas: boarding with John at Oxford, in love with Alisoun Absolon: clergy who is in love with Alisoun

Beow

Second king listed in genealogy of Danish rulers, son of Shield Sheafson and father os Halfdane, Hrothgar grandfather

Gawain and the Green Knight

Poem in Middle English uses complex hybrid stanza called the "bob and wheel" that combines alliterative verse (like that used in Old English verse) with rhyme and meter typical of an Arthurian romance in the French style. Romance: Quest of a knight, courtly behavior and chivalry, goes on journey to find the Green Knight and return a favor

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

Prologue Knights Tale Millers Prologue and Tale Reeve's Tale Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale Pardoner's prologue, Tale, Epilogue

Sutton Hoo

Site of a ship-burial mound in East Anglia excavated in 1939 containing items mentioned in the poem: torcs, helmet, chain mail, harp, as well as coins from distant places in Europe and Asia and richly ornamented functional jewelry such as clasps and belts. It dates from the approximate time of the poem's creation, about 800 AD. (see power point in folder)

Chaucer-Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales' framework is taken from Bocaccio's Decameron. Chaucer adds a level of realism to the work, characterizing the pilgrims with both iconography (qualities and behaviors that point at their social status and moral conditions) and particularity (such as clothing and hair and eye color) in the General Prologue, making it a critical depiction of Chaucer's own times. In the tales' prologues and epilogues he develops conflicts between them, dramatizing the social tensions of his day. The fact that no criticism is aimed at the nobility shows that they were Chaucer's intended audience. Still, there are near- ideal characters other than the one noble, the Knight - namely the Parson, Plowman and Clerk.

Lineage

The Danes=shield-beow-halfdane-Hrothgar The Geats=Hrethel-Ecgtheow-Beowulf The Swedes

Prologue to Decameron by Boccaccio

The Decameron follows ten wealthy young people who abandon the city for a luxurious country retreat. Once there, they attempt to banish their sorrows by communing with nature, singing, dancing, and telling stories; in all, one hundred stories are told. Canterbury Tales created from reading this, Chaucer adds level of realism, characterizes pilgrims

TALES

The Knight's Tale is similar in length to Gawain. Its characters speak formally, usually in speeches. It displays Chaucer's classical learning in its detailed ekphrasis of the temples of Mars, Venus and Diana and in King Theseus' speech, a paraphrasing of the Roman author Boethius. It is in a sharply different style from the General Prologue. Know the basic plot. The Miller's Tale is told to "quit" the Knight (pay him back or answer him) for his long, formal tale. He is drunk when he tells it, a way for the narrator (Chaucer) to shift blame for its crude content. It contains many elements that are the inverse of the Knight's tale. Such detail, like its use of 14 different forms of the word privee (with meanings that range from "secret" to "arcane, intimate, unknown, private, discreet, stealthy") show the care Chaucer took in the composition of even the low tales of the collection. Know the basic plot. The Wife of Bath's Prologue is an apologia like the other prologues, in which she explains that her wisdom is from "experience, not authority." Clearly, her ability to manipulate and outwit her husbands outmatches their supposed superiority as rational males. Her life story is both an antithesis to the prevailing misogynism that held that women were not to be trusted and a confirmation of its view that women are more "earthy." Her tale, modeled on an Arthurian lay like Lanval, counters point by point the criticisms that men make of women, and serves as a fantasy in which women are given power over men in marital relations. The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale Strangely, after gloating about how he takes parishoners' money by preaching to them about the evil of avarice (love of money), which is perverse in itself, the Pardoner goes on to do the very thing to his audience with his tale, an enactment of radix malorum est cupiditas, in which three "rioters" who go on a quest to "kill Death" kill each other out of greed for gold. Know the basic plot. Pardoner's Epilogue Seemingly excited by his own tale and not realizing that the other pilgrims know his game, the Pardoner goes right into his sales pitch for relics, drawing a sharp rebuke from his opposite among the pilgrims, the Host, whom the narrator describes as "semely," "large," "bold of speech" and "of manhood lakkede him right naught" (ll. 752-758) The Knight makes peace between the two.

Romance

The Knight's Tale, Wife of Bath's Tale

Geography

The first half of the poem takes place in Denmark, ancestral home of the Angles living in East Anglia, England. Beowulf comes from Geatland (Gotland in Southern Sweden) to their rescue. The second half of the poem takes place in Geatland. During this half we learn of a war he fights against Franks and Frisians (in modern day Netherlands / NW Germany)

Intersection of Christian and Pagan Worlds

The poem has a "foot" in both worlds. It is written from a Christian perspective but looks back in praise at the old pagan, traditional, heroic culture. Some early critics argued that Christian viewpoints were added by the scribes who wrote the poem down, yet the consensus is that the original poet was Christianized. Passages such as the ekphrasis of the giants' sword show Biblical concepts woven deeply into the poem's details.

Gawain and the Green Knight pt. 2

The poem is in Middle English, using a complex, hybrid stanza called the "bob and wheel" that combines alliterative verse (like that used in Old English verse) with rhyme and meter typical of an Arthurian romance in the French style. Example of a Romance, a story based on the quest of a knight. Gawain shows the Arthurian Knight's two sides of the medieval knight: Courtly behavior (devotion and honor toward a lady, including the willingness to engage in polite interaction) Chivalry (showing the honor, duty and loyalty of knighthood - devotion to King and Christ) The story can be read as a Christian Allegory: Green Knight's challenge and Gawain's quest, is to face death, with a full year of anticipation. In many ways, Gawain succeeds. He reports to the appointment, accepts the challenges given to him on his quest, and escapes temptation of the flesh. However, he fears death and the unknown. This is the way the lady (actually a witch, Morgan Le Fay) can "seduce" him into selfishness. Gawain's failure to give the girdle represents the inevitable imperfection of all people as we want to hang on to life. This can be forgiven to a degree. Gawain is spared, but gets the cut that he deserves. The girdle is a symbol of his sin. He continues to wear the sash after his return as a "sad reminder that the frailty of flesh is man's biggest fault."

Lanval pt. 2

The poem is written in French using rhyme and meter. It reflects the values of Courtoisie and Chivalry that arrived with the Normans. C.S. Lewis explained that the loyalty shown by thane to lord is replaced in poetry by descriptions of devotion by knights toward ladies, often in extra-marital relationships. Like many Breton Lays, it is based in the legendary Camelot of King Arthur and his knights. The story of a supernatural "fairy lover" was a common one. The author's familiarity with the process of judicial court proceedings, manners of the royal court and details of luxuries of dress and other materials show that she was likely a member of the nobility. Lanval meets his supernatural lover when he is ostracized by the court of Camelot. His conflict with Queen Guinevere is presented in humorous and psychologically realistic manner. Likewise, the "inner world" of a male suffering from love, never seen in Anglo-Saxon poetry, is evident in Lanval.

The Wanderer AND The Wife's Lament

These are both short Anglo-Saxon elegies that echo the values shown in Beowulf, especially the necessity of a lord to a thane or his wife. Both laments are over the loss of the lord, through his death or political separation. "The Wanderer" uses imagery of ruined castles and winter to depict the short-lived nature of kingdoms and the harshness of the world to an outcast. In "The Wife's Lament" the speaker is living in the wilderness after her marriage has been broken by political forces.

Caedmon's Hymn pt. 2

This passage of Bede's study of the history of the church in England (a book in Latin) narrates the composition and performance of poetry by the servant Caedmon, that is in the same poetic structure as Beowulf and is sung, showing the way in which Beowulf would have been performed. Note its use of kennings, caesurae, alliteration.

Ulysses by James Joyce

This piece addresses the themes of internalization and externalization and illustrates a new perspective on reality that combines the internal and external workings of an individual. This reality more closely mirrors what Joyce saw in the world around him. Joyce uses stream-of-consciousness and shifting points of view, different POVS Stylistically varied to the point of being cryptic concerned with Western Civilization.

Hag

Witch, ugly old woman

The First English Sonnets: Wyatt's THE LONG LOVE THAT IN MY THOUGHT DOTH HARBOR and WHOSO LIST TO HUNT and Henry Hudson's LOVE, THAT DOTH REIGN AND LIVE WITHIN MY THOUGHT

Wyatt brought the Petrarchan sonnet to England, and began the transformation of the form to better suit the English language (more rhyming sounds for a language in which rhyming is more difficult). His sonnets were written to help establish his identity and to gain attention in the court of Henry VIII which was rife with competition and intrigue. The two Wyatt sonnets show a development from an almost literal translation of Petrarch to an adaptation with a strikingly original tone and voice. Hudson's version of Petrarch's Rima 140 is in the English sonnet form, which facilitates his greatly improved, more dramatic rendition.

Narrative Structure of the Work

Young / old Beowulf; 2 great battles, both monsters representing threats to the fundamental values of the culture (Grendel's isolation vs. communal meadhall; Dragon's selfish hoard vs. "ring-giving") - J.R.R. Tolkien argued famously that the poem is less an epic than a "Heroic - Elegiac" work. 2 burials form the outermost frame: 1st at sea (water) of ancestral founding king (foundling: came from nowhere - burial: goes "nowhere") 2nd on pyre (fire) of maybe last legendary king (end of an era?) 2 battles of Beowulf form an inner frame: 1st in water, to return a favor and establish reputation and alliance, fought alone as a young hero 2nd in fire and mortal; to defend homeland; success but fatal; fought with help (Wiglaf - likely successor) Digressive "songs within song" - some are used to describe bad leaders through antithesis, others to praise or allude to legendary ones, such as Sigemund. Thus songs display the culture's values through memory of greatness and failure. See lines 2105-2114 for a description of the place of songs in the culture. It is similar to the situation that brings about Caedmon's hymn. His is sung in a monastery about God the Creator, therefore also elegiac in its context.

Apologia

a defense of one's opinions or conduct. Pilgrims' prologues do this.

Peace Weaver

a kenning describing a woman who is sent into a marriage with a leader of a rival tribe in order to forge an alliance. Beowulf has critical words about this method of maintaining peace, calling it insufficient

Hoard, Trove, Treasure

a king's wealth that he doles out to his thanes

Caesura

a pause halfway through a line to provide rhythmic structure

Lament

a poem similar to an ode, expressing mourning of past and lost glory. See lines 2247-2266 in which the keeper of the hord of a failing kingdom prepares to bury the hord which the dragon will then find. This passage shows that most of the wealth was in functional form, requiring a tribe to put it to use: helmets, swords, goblets. One goblet is later looted from the stash by an outcast who then offers it to King Beowulf to pay for his reinstatement into the tribe

Alliterative Verse

alliteration used instead of rhyme, meter

Caedmon's Hymn by Venerable Bede

a short poem written by an uneducated herdsman named Caedmon around 731 CE. Originally written in Old English, the hymn was supposedly sung by Caedmon, who at the time worked from a monastery and refused to sing. The story of the poem and how it came to be was written in the Ecclesiastical History of the English people, a book by an 8th-century monk named Bede. "Caedmon's Hymn" is a poem originally performed in Old English, an early form of the English language heavily influenced by Germanic languages. It is a hymn, a type of religious song. Bede, in his book, claims that the version transcribed is not exactly as Caedmon performed it, but it remains the only copy of the hymn. Caedmon was an illiterate worker at the Abbey of Whitby. He avoided singing for much of his life. He believed he had nothing to add compared to monks who spent more of their time singing and was discouraged when asked to sing at a feast. He relented when, in a dream, he heard a song performed by an angel. Caedmon performed the song and impressed everyone at the Abbey. No one would have thought someone with no education and no previous experience could have composed or even performed such a piece. The poem begins as praise to God. The first several lines are a series of titles and praises to the Creator. Caedmon describes creation as being a gift from God, starting with the heavens and working down. Each line builds on the next and describes creation in steps, summarizing the story of creation in the Bible. The final line ends with the creation of men who will enjoy the works of God.

Fabliau

a short, funny, usually bawdy narrative in low style - e.g. The Miller's Tale In a fabliau, those who win do so not through virtue but cleverness and are young and attractive and gain material benefit and bodily comfort. Cleverness, rather than idealism, points at the growing mercantile ethic of the medieval age that rewarded the ability to profit from others' vulnerabilities.

Ecphrasis

description of a work of art - see lines 1687-1698 describing the hilt of the sword that Beowulf used to kill the hag and then presents to Hrothgar. This is also an "ingrained" detail of the poem that suggests Christianity of the author and explains why Grendel and his mother live underwater

Lanval by Marie de France

medieval lai love poem about a knight from the legendary King Arthur's court, named Lanval who is beautiful and envied to the point of hatred. he spent his inheritance and is left sad and lonely. he goes to the countryside where he is met by two beautiful damsels that have come bring him to their mistress who he finds to be beautiful and heavily adorned in jewels. the maiden tells him that she hopes he can prove himself worthy of her love under the condition that he never tell anyone about her. they spend a while together before she tells him to leave and that anytime he wishes to see her, think of a pure place and she will join him there. happier, he becomes a kinder man to his people. one day, knights are told to go search for him while queen guinivere has already found him and is turned down when she tries to confess her desire for him. He gently rejects her advances, citing his loyalty to Arthur. Angry, she responds by accusing him of homosexuality, suggesting that his degeneracy has affected Arthur. arthur declines, admitting that he is in love with someone. but this doesn't matter because the queen tells her lie and lanval is put up for death unless his lady show up and she does... at the last minute, beautiful as ever. they leave and live happily ever after. Format: eight-syllable couplets:standard form of French narrative verse, rhyme and meter -courtoisie and chivalry

Wergild

payment by an offender to avoid war or recrimination for a violent attack. Hrothgar paid wergild on behalf of Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, for which Beowulf is returning the favor by coming to the Healfdanes' aid.

Old English

same as Anglo-Saxon - a form of Old German

Kenning

word-pair used to vividly characterize: Ring giver = king; Whale road = Sea; Beo wulf = bear, bee-wolf, bee-hunter