TED

UNIVERSITY

2019 Fall
LIT 100
World Literature
Reading Package III
The Thousand and One Nights
Creator(s): Anonymous storytellers
from the oral culture
Culture: Arab, from a collection of
pre-Islamic Middle Persian tales.
Time: 14th century
Genre: mainly prose, but contains
lots of different genres from poetry
to prose adventure tales,
romances, etc.
Names to know: Shahrazad,
Shahrayar
1001 Nights
Oral and written versions existed side by side.
◦ The tales are rooted in daily life, but are made magical by
their settings, fantastic adventures, and the intervention of
sorcerers and demons (djinn).

The Prologue sets forth the themes

◦ Lust, madness, violence, justice, retribution, heroism.

Collection of unrelated tales pieced together into one

long narrative
Connecting framework is the tale of King Shahriyar
whose wife’s betrayal has filled him with hatred for all
women
Every night, motivated by vengeance and fear, he
marries a different woman only to put her to death the
following morning.
 The Thousand and One Nights
Finally a young woman named Scheherazade devises a scheme to stop the bloodshed.
She weds the king, and on the first night of their marriage, she tells him a spellbinding story.
At daybreak, she has not yet finished, but promises the king to finish the story that evening.
Captivated by the tale, Shahiryar agrees.
That night, she finishes the story but immediately begins another exciting tale.
She enthralls or mesmerizes the king and prolongs her life for 1,001 nights
By the time she has finished telling her final story, almost 3 years have passed and the king,
now in love with Scheherazade, decides not to kill her.

The Narrator
Shahrazad succeeds through the power of story-telling (narrative) to ward off tyranny and to
suspend time.
Overall narrative structure: “nesting tales” that flow from and lead into each other.
Framing Narrative is set out in the Prologue.
Folk Tales
Part of the oral tradition, the body of stories, poems, and songs that are passed down by
word of mouth from generation to generation
Most folk tales include
◦ A lesson about life
◦ Magical or supernatural elements
◦ Characters who possess one or two main traits
◦ A clear separation between good and evil
 Frame Stories
In a nutshell, a frame narrative is a “story within a story”

Stories within-a-story

◦ In A Thousand and One Nights, there are several stories within the larger story of King Shahriyar and Scheherazade
◦ Within one story entitled “The Fisherman and the Jinnee,” there are the stories of:
◦ 1) The Tale of King Yunan and Duban the Doctor
◦ 2) The Tale of King Sindbad and the Falcon

This is one of the richest reservoirs of narrative genres in Medieval times. E.M. Forster in his Aspects of Fiction (1927)
considers One Thousand and One Nights to be the origin of the modern “novel”.

The Greeks invented the “novel” in the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st centuries BCE) but these were adventure/romance tales
only.

“Novel” form is developing in medieval Japan, as well.

Two-part Narrative Structure

Baghdad part: the characters and action focus on Baghdad in the time of Haroun al-Rashid.

Egyptian part: characters and settings are Egyptian, jinn are manipulated through talismans rather than directly.

Tales reflect the influence of all the Islamic world as well as ancient Babylonian & Mesopotamian narratives and historical
events & figures such as those surrounding Alexander the Great.
 Theme: Male vs. Female
Men are comfortable when in control.
Men react violently when they realize they do not have control.
Women dislike the bonds put upon and actively seek escape.
Women can be powerful as even Djinn cannot control them.
Some women and men do find balance.
When Shahrayar returns home he says, “There is not a single chaste woman anywhere on the entire face of
the earth” Thus he plans to gain control through violence.
◦Violent control comes with a heavy cost [much death]
◦There is a reminiscence of Gilgamesh , “He continued to do this until all the girls perished, their mothers
mourned, and there arose a clamor among the fathers and mothers, who called the plague upon his head,
complained to the Creator of the heavens, and called for help on Him who hears and answers prayers.”

Aim of the Tales

Shahrazad’s tales may be chosen to teach Shahrayar that not all women are like his first wife.
◦In many of the tales a benign but powerful woman undoes the harm done by a bad woman.
◦The wicked characters are punished according to their crimes, but are never put to death (unlike all of
Shahrayar’s other innocent wives!).

Conclusion
After a thousand and one nights, Shahrayar finally embraces Shahrazad as a virtuous woman and gives over
his unjust behavior. She reveals their three sons.
Dinarzad marries Shahzaman.
The vizier becomes king in Shahzaman’s place.
 “Medieval” Literature in
European Context

I. Historical Background

“Middle Ages” (5th – 15th Century), 500 CE to the

beginning of the Florentine Renaissance in the late
15th century.
“Dark Ages” by early Renaissance historians
The Catholic Church as the major unifying cultural
influence with a centralized administration through
its network of bishops.
Urbanization of northern and western Europe
The rise of monasticism
Courtly love
 European Literature of the Middle Ages

1. Religious literature
Bible
--The Hebrew Bible
--The Christian Bible: Christian Bibles include the books
of the Hebrew Bible, but arranged in a different order:
Old Testament, New Testament
The Old Testament: 39 books of Hebrew Scripture.
The New Testament: 27 books
2. Romance

Romance (“romantic epic”) was a long composition, sometimes in

verse, sometimes in prose, describing the life and adventures of a
noble hero. The central character of romances was the knight, a
man of noble birth skilled in the use of weapons. He was
commonly described as riding forth to seek adventures, or fighting
for his lord in battle. He was devoted to the church and the king.
The famous romances are “Adventures of King Arthur and His
Knights of the Round Table” and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The social value that is praised and is shown to be at stack in
romances is loyalty to one’s Lord (meaning both God and the
feudal/aristocratic lord).
3. Heroic Epic
Beowulf (750 CE) (England)
The Song of Roland (1095 CE France )
The Song of the Cid (1140 CE. Spain)
Nibelungenlied (1200 CE Germany)
The Tale of Igor's Campaign (Russia)

4. Popular Ballads
The Gest of Robin Hood
Get Up and Bar the Door

5. Great Poets and “Novelist” of Middle Ages

Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy
Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron
Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales
Giovanni Boccaccio
（1313-1375）

The Decameron
Form：”Novel”
Author: Boccaccio
Type: Frame stories
Time: 14th century
Place: Florence in Italy
Setting: Country side away from the City in the
period of a Plague attack
Main Characters: 7 young ladies and 3 young
gentlemen
His Life
Almost certainly an illegitimate son of a Florentine merchant.
Probably born in Paris, grew up in Florence.
Studied law and banking.
Black Death attacked Florence in 1348.
Began work on the Decameron around 1349.
His final years troubled by illnesses.

Historical Background
Thought to have begun in Central Asia or India and spread to Europe (1348-1350).
25-50 million people were killed in Europe 30% to 60% of Europe’s population.
Returned to Europe every generation with varying virulence and mortalities until the 1700s.
The Decameron

The title is a combination of two Greek words meaning “ten”

(déka) and “day” (hēméra).
Structured in a frame narrative
It begins with a description of the Black Death and leads a group
of 7 women and 3 men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to
a villa in the countryside for two weeks. 100 stories are told at the
end of ten days.
Known for its bawdy/obscene/vulgar tales of love, appearing in
all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic.
Many writers such as Chaucer are said to have drawn inspiration
from this work.
 The Journey Begins . . .

Chaucer uses a religious pilgrimage to display all

segments of medieval England.
The Canterbury Tales begins with a Prologue,
◦ Narrator, presumably Chaucer himself, meets 29 other
pilgrims at the Tabard Inn, located in a suburb of
London.
As the pilgrims prepare for their journey, the
host of the Inn, Harry Bailey, sets a challenge:
◦ Each pilgrim tell two stories on the way to Canterbury
and two stories on the return trip. The person who tells
the best tale will be treated to a feast hosted by the
other pilgrims.
In the Prologue, Chaucer sketches a brief but vivid
portrait of each pilgrim, creating a lively sense of
medieval life.
The description may literally describe an article of
clothing, but figuratively imply something about that
character.
Snapshots of an Era

The Canterbury Tales is actually a story

about stories, twenty-four different
tales set within the overarching tale of
the pilgrimage.
Definition:
◦ Frame Story – a story within a story
◦ The Outer Frame Story is about the pilgrims meeting
at the Tabard Inn preparing for a journey to
Canterbury.
◦ The Inner Frame Story would be all the stories told by
the assembled pilgrims along their journey to and
from Canterbury.
 Satire

Satire - a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly

and vice are held up to scorn, derision, criticism or ridicule.
◦ Like sarcasm . . . He says one thing, but means another.
◦ Our job is to read and comprehend the literal description of each pilgrim, and
then, we must figuratively interpret what Chaucer is trying to imply about that
pilgrim’s character.
Two types of Satire:
◦ 1. Juvenalian - After the Roman satirist Juvenal: Formal satire in which the
speaker attacks vice and error with contempt and indignation Juvenalian satire in
its realism and its harshness is in strong contrast to Horatian satire.
{Serious – Critical}
◦ 2. Horatian - After the Roman satirist Horace: Satire in which the voice is
indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty. The speaker holds up to gentle ridicule the
absurdities and follies of human beings, aiming at producing in the reader not the
anger of a Juvenal, but a wry smile.
{Light – Funny}
Snapshots of an Era. . .

In the Prologue, Chaucer examines

three segments of Medieval England:
◦ 1. The Old Feudal order – these are all of the
pilgrims associated with the feudal class system.
◦ Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Plowman . . .
◦ 2. The Merchant Class – this was the rising middle
class of the time; towns and cities were emerging
and therefore necessitated the need for skilled
services:
◦ Merchant, Man of Law, Guildsmen, Cook . . .
◦ 3. The Ecclesiastical (Church) Class – these were
all of the members of the church. Chaucer is most
critical of this segment of his society.
◦ Prioress, Monk, Friar, Pardoner . . .
 A Literary Tour. . .

Chaucer uses the popular genres of his

time when he creates the inner stories
of the various pilgrims:
◦ Romances (tales of chivalry)
◦ The Wife of Bath’s Tale
◦ Fabliaux (short, bawdy, humorous stories)
◦ The Miller’s Tale
◦ The stories of saint’s lives, sermons
◦ The Parson’s Tale
◦ Allegories (narratives in which characters represent
abstractions such as Pride or Honor).
◦ The Pardoner’s Tale

Chaucer wrote much of the Tales using his own

form, the heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines
with five stressed syllables each.
 Literary Analysis

Characterization
◦ Direct characterization presents direct statements about a character,
such as Chaucer’s statement that the Knight “followed chivalry, / Truth,
honor. . . .”
◦ Indirect characterization uses actions, thoughts, and dialogue to reveal
a character’s personality. By saying “he was not gaily dressed,” for
instance, Chaucer suggests that the Knight is not vain and perhaps takes
the pilgrimage seriously enough to rush to join it straight from battle.
 Literary Analysis
Each character in The Canterbury Tales represents a different segment
of society in Chaucer’s time. By noting the virtues and faults of each,
Chaucer provides social commentary, writing that offers insight
into society, its values, and its customs. While reading, draw
conclusions from the characters about Chaucer’s views on English
society.
 The Wife of Bath’s Prologue
600 He was, I trowe, twenty wynter oold,
He was, I believe, twenty years old,
601 And I was fourty, if I shal seye sooth;
And I was forty, if I shall tell the truth;
602 But yet I hadde alwey a coltes tooth.
But yet I had always a colt's tooth.
603 Gat-tothed I was, and that bicam me weel;
With teeth set wide apart I was, and that
became me well;
604 I hadde the prente of seinte Venus seel.
I had the print of Saint Venus's seal.
605 As help me God, I was a lusty oon,
As help me God, I was a lusty one,
606 And faire, and riche, and yong, and wel bigon,
And fair, and rich, and young, and well fixed,
607 And trewely, as myne housbondes tolde me,
And truly, as my husbands told me,
608 I hadde the beste quoniam myghte be.
I had the best pudendum that might be.
609 For certes, I am al Venerien
For certainly, I am all influenced by Venus
610 In feelynge, and myn herte is Marcien.
In feeling, and my heart is influenced by
Mars.
611 Venus me yaf my lust, my likerousnesse,
Venus me gave my lust, my amorousness,
612 And Mars yaf me my sturdy hardynesse;
And Mars gave me my sturdy boldness;
613 Myn ascendent was Taur, and Mars therinne.
My ascendant was Taurus, and Mars was
therein.
614 Allas, allas! That evere love was synne!
Alas, alas! That ever love was sin!
615 I folwed ay myn inclinacioun
I followed always my inclination
616 By vertu of my constellacioun;
By virtue of the state of the heavens at my
birth;
617 That made me I koude noght withdrawe
That made me that I could not withdraw
618 My chambre of Venus from a good felawe.
My chamber of Venus from a good fellow.
619 Yet have I Martes mark upon my face,
Yet have I Mars' mark upon my face,
620 And also in another privee place.
And also in another private place.
621 For God so wys be my savacioun,
For as God may be my salvation,
622 I ne loved nevere by no discrecioun,
I never loved in moderation,
623 But evere folwede myn appetit,
But always followed my appetite,
624 Al were he short, or long, or blak, or whit;
Whether he were short, or tall, or black-haired,
or blond;
625 I took no kep, so that he liked me,
I took no notice, provided that he pleased me,
626 How poore he was, ne eek of what degree.
How poor he was, nor also of what rank.
 The Book of the City of
Ladies

CHRISTINE DE PIZAN
(C.1364-1430)
Life
Born Venice c. 1363
Moved to Paris at age 5 with father Thomas de Pisan
Father was astrologer and secretary to King Charles V
Married at 14 to Etienne du Castel
Widowed at 25
Earned living by writing: Professional writer
Compared (in her day) to Cicero & Cato
Instructional: Wrote Le Livre de Paix, a treatise dealing with the education of princes (note: de Officiis & The
Prince)
Poetry & Music: Le Livre des Mutations de Fortune; Le Chemin de Longue Etude; Le Livre des cent Histoires de
Troie: Hymn to Joan of Arc (last known work); collection of shorter Ballades and Rondeaux – several set to
music later by 3rd parties
Biography: The Book of the Deeds and Good Manners of the Wise King Charles V
Autobiography: Vision of Christine (approx. 75 years after Dante’s Comedy)
Prose: The Book of the City of the Ladies; The Treasure of the City of Ladies; Lamentations on the Civil War; The
Book of Feats of Arms and Chivalry; Livre du corps de policie
Pizan’s Strategy

Christine acknowledges a pressing need for female dialectic,

communication, information flow, and support between women.
However, she understands there is a missing feminist consciousness
– a lack of female “voice.” Without knowledge of the past, no group
of women could test their own ideas against equals, those who had
come out of similar conditions and life experiences. Every thinking
woman had to argue with the ‘great man’ inside her head”
The actual plot of The Book of the City of Ladies begins when three
allegorical goddesses arrive and tell Christine that she must build a
city for honorable women of all types. Reason, Rectitude and Justice
tell Christine: “We have come to vanquish from the world the same
problem upon which you have fallen, so that from now on, ladies and
valiant women may have a refuge and a defense against the various
assailants”.
This allegoric need for a space where women can come together
points to the key element of feminist history: the formation of group
subjectivity and shared consciousness between women of all sorts.
 Feminism

1. The belief that women and men are, and have been, treated
differently by our society, and that women have frequently and
systematically been unable to participate fully in all social arenas
and institutions.
2. A desire to change that situation.
3. That this gives a “new” point-of-view on society, when
eliminating old assumptions about why things are the way they are,
and looking at it from the perspective that women are not inferior
and men are not “the norm.”
“Women have been defined out and marginalized in every
philosophical system and have therefore had to struggle not only
against exclusion, but against a content which defines them as
subhuman and deviant” (Gerda Lerner)
 Pizan’s Internalized Inferiority and
Depression
Excerpts from Pizan’s text:
“But just the sight of this book, even though it was of no authority, made me wonder
how it happened that so many different men– and learned men among them– have
been and are so inclined to express both in speaking and in their treatises and writings
so many devilish and wicked thoughts about women and their behavior” (Pizan on
Matholeus)
“And I finally decided that God formed a vile creature when He made woman, and I
wondered how such a worthy artisan could have deigned to make such and
abominable work… great unhappiness welled up in my heart, for I detested myself
and the entire feminine sex, as though we were monstrosities in nature. I considered
myself most unfortunate because God had made me inhabit a female body in this
world.”
Part I opens with Christine reading from Matheolus’s Lamentations, a work
from the thirteenth century that addresses marriage wherein the author writes
that women make men’s lives miserable. Upon reading these words, Christine
becomes upset and feels ashamed to be a woman: “This thought inspired such
a great sense of disgust and sadness in me that I began to despise myself and
the whole of my sex as an aberration in nature”.
The three Virtues (Reason, Rectitude, and Justice) in the form of three ladies
then appear to Christine, and each lady tells Christine what her role will be in
helping her build the City of Ladies. Lady Reason, a virtue developed by
Christine for the purpose of her book, is the first to join Christine and helps
her build the external walls of the city. She answers Christine's questions about
why some men slander women, helping Christine to prepare the ground on
which the city will be built.
To help Christine see reason, Lady Reason comes and teaches Christine. She
helps Christine dispel her own self-consciousness and the negative thoughts
of past writers. By creating Lady Reason, Christine not only teaches her own
allegorical self, but also her readers. She gives not only herself reason, but also
gives readers, and women, reason to believe that women are not evil or useless
creatures but instead have a significant place within society.
In Part II, Lady Rectitude says she will help Christine “construct the
houses and buildings inside the walls of the City of Ladies” and fill it
with inhabitants who are “valiant ladies of great renown”. As they
build, Lady Rectitude informs Christine with examples and “stories of
pagan, Hebrew, and Christian ladies” who possessed the gift of
prophecy, chastity, or devotion to their families and others. Christine
and Lady Rectitude also discuss the institution of marriage,
addressing Christine’s questions regarding men’s claims about the ill
qualities women bring to marriage. Lady Rectitude corrects these
misconceptions with examples of women who loved their husbands
and acted virtuously, noting that those women who are evil toward
their husbands are “like creatures who go totally against their
nature”.Lady Rectitude also refutes allegations that women are
unchaste, inconstant, unfaithful, and mean by nature through her
stories. This part closes with Christine addressing women and asking
them to pray for her as she continues her work with Lady Justice to
complete the city.
The Book of the City of Ladies is an allegorical society in which the word
"lady" is defined as a woman of noble spirit, instead of noble birth.
The book, and therefore the city, contains women of past eras,
ranging from pagans to ancient Jews to medieval Christian saints. The
book includes discussion between Christine de Pizan and the three
female Virtues which are sent to aid Christine build the city. These
Virtues – Reason, Rectitude, and Justice – help Christine build the
foundations and houses of the city, as well as pick the women who
will reside in the city of ladies. Each woman chosen by the Virtues to
live in the city acts as a positive example for other women to follow.
These women are also examples of the positive influences women
have had on society.
Christine asks the virtues if women should be taught as men are and
why some men think women should not be educated. Other questions
that are explored are: the criminality of rape, the natural affinity in
women to learn, and their talent for government.
In Part III, Lady Justice joins with Christine to “add the
finishing touches” to the city, including bringing a queen
to rule the city. Lady Justice tells Christine of female saints
who were praised for their martyrdom. At the close of
this part, Christine makes another address to all women
announcing the completion of the City of Ladies. She
beseeches them to defend and protect the city and to
follow their queen (the virgin Mary). She also warns the
women against the lies of slanderers, saying, “Drive back
these treacherous liars who use nothing but tricks and
honeyed words to steal from you that which you should
keep safe above all else: your chastity and your glorious
good name”.
Revisionism
In short, Pizan rewrites history in a revisionist spirit. She
reorders these women, excludes all “evil” women, and
reinterprets stories of women with bad reputations.
(Example of Medea where she shifts blame to Jason).

Pizan’s goal is to “restore women to history, restore history

to women”. The foundation that Christine builds for her
City of Ladies is to develop an historic base upon which a
tradition of feminist thinking, strategizing, and
historicizing can begin.
 Macbeth
William Shakespeare

John Worston, Macbeth

and Banquo Meeting the
Witches
 The Many Attributes of
Macbeth
A historical thriller
◦ a fast-moving, action-packed murder
mystery demonstrating that crime
doesn’t pay
A psychological study of a
murderer’s mind
A play of political and social
realism
◦ how oppressive and hierarchical
society can corrupt individuals
A play of illusions
◦ the effect of the mysterious or
supernatural on humans
A play of ideas or themes
◦ for example, “appearance versus
reality”
A play about gender
A tragedy
◦ the fall of a great person brought about
by a fatal flaw in their character
 Historical Context of Macbeth

Shakespeare was a playwright, not an historian. However, he

knew that history provided great material for plays: war, conflict,
11th-Century (1000s) Scotland was a violent and troubled
ambition, the downfall of great rulers. country.

Shakespeare modeled his play after an actual historical figure.

Some of the plot points are the same. Feuding families and clans fought to control trade and
territory.
But…the real Macbeth was (almost) universally loved and
respected; Shakespeare’s Macbeth wasn’t.

The castle was the power base of each rival war-lord

(thane).

Political murder and revenge killings were commonplace.

The real Macbeth was born in 1005, the son of a ruling family.
Macbeth’s father was murdered by his cousin. Macbeth married the
granddaughter of the High King of Scotland (Gruach)
 The Real King Duncan and Macbeth

Duncan was the king of Macbeth ruled Scotland for 17 years,

Scotland at the time the real during which time Scotland became
comparatively peaceful and stable.
Macbeth was born.

Duncan’s son, Malcolm, invaded

Duncan was 38 at the time of Scotland in 1054, supported by
his murder - a murder Edward the Confessor.
possibly committed by the
real Macbeth.
Macbeth was killed on August 15,
1057 and buried at Iona, the sacred
burial place of the Kings of Scotland.
Macbeth was elected High
King of Scotland in 1040.
 Historical Context
in which Macbeth was written: James I

Since there was no successor to the English throne, Queen Elizabeth I

selected James VI of Scotland (a distant cousin) to succeed her—he was
already King of Scotland.
After Elizabeth’s death (1603), James VI of Scotland also became James I
of England, unifying the two countries, though there was still controversy
between them.
Macbeth contains many echoes of King James’ interests . . .

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605

A failed assassination attempt against King James!
Disgruntled Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords.
Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding their horde of explosives in the
basement of the House of Lords on November 5, 1605. (“Remember,
remember the 5th of November.”)
The traitors were sentenced to death, and this day is still celebrated in
England as Guy Fawkes Day.
Shakespeare weaves references to the Gunpowder Plot into Macbeth.
Was this rebellious?
 The Play begins “In medias res”:

When the play begins, there are two wars in

progress:
1. Civil War in Scotland- King Duncan vs.
Macdonwald’s (a thane’s) rebels
2. National War - Scotland, led by King Duncan,
against invading Norway
A Macbeth for King James?

King James’ interest in

witchcraft was well
known
King James visited Oxford
in 1605 and was greeted
by three witches who
hailed him as the
descendent of Banquo . .
. interesting.
Alexandre-Marie Colin, The Three Witches from
Macbeth
Witches and Witchcraft

There was a witch-mania in the Elizabethan era.

Most people believed in witches!
Circulating pamphlets containing tales of witches and witchcraft were the equivalent of today’s popular newspapers.
Witches were said to have “diabolical” powers. They could:
◦ predict the future
◦ bring on night in the daytime
◦ cause fogs and tempests
◦ kill animals
◦ curse enemies with fatal, wasting diseases
◦ cause nightmares and sterility
◦ take demonic possession of any individual
◦ raise evil spirits by concocting a brew

It was believed that witches allowed the devil to suck their blood. Accused witches were examined for the
“Devil’s Mark” - a red mark on their body from which the devil had sucked blood.
Witches and Witchcraft - Misogyny?

Between 1560 and 1603, hundreds of

people, nearly all of them women, were
convicted as witches and executed

In 1604 an official Act of Parliament

decreed that anyone found guilty of
practicing witchcraft should be executed

Those who confessed to being witches did

so under torture or because they were in
the grip of delusions recognized today as
psychiatric disorders.
Macbeth’s Soliloquy (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 18–27)

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Thomas Nashe’s
The Unfortunate
Traveller
THE PICARESQUE NOVEL:
PROTOTYPE FOR THE
NOVEL?
The picaresque novel is a type of novel that originated in
16th century Spain. It is a precursor to the modern novel.
In the picaresque novel, a picaro - a kind of rogue wanderer
/ bandit - tells about his various exploits and adventures.
A picaresque novel is generally written in the first person as
an autobiographical account. The Unfortunate Traveller is
thought to be the first picaresque novel written in English.

The Author Thomas Nashe was born in 1567, and educated

at St John's College, Cambridge. After graduating in 1586,
he became one of the “University Wits”, a circle of writers
who came to London in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I,
and wrote for the stage and the press. Nashe died in 1601 at
the age of 34 from unknown causes that range from the
plague to food poisoning to a stroke.
The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe
Social Class
The main character in a picaresque novel is typically of low
social class or character and they usually get by in life simply by
their wits and barely hold a job
Plot
There is usually no plot in a picaresque novel. The novel is
composed of a series of loosely connected events or
adventures.
Character Development
Little to no character development in the main character is
present in a picaresque novel. Circumstances may change
throughout the novel, but it rarely results in a change of heart
in the main character - once a picaro always a picaro.
Language
The story is told with a plainness of language and makes use of
everyday terms.
Satire
Satire can be a prominent element in picaresque novels. Satire is
used to highlight shortcomings and holds them up to ridicule the
idea of shaming people or society into improvement. It is meant to
be funny, but is often social criticism that uses wit as a weapon
Character Behavior
The picaro’s behavior amounts to him doing what he pleases and
ignoring the rules. His behavior often stops just short of the
criminal.
The Unfortunate Traveller: or, the Life of Jack Wilton (published The
Unfortunate Traueller: or, The Life of Iacke Wilton) is a picaresque
novel by Thomas Nashe first published in 1594 but set during the
reign of Henry VIII of England.
In a daring work of prose fiction, Nashe’s protagonist Jack Wilton
adventures through the European continent and finds himself
swept up in the currents of sixteenth-century history. Episodic in
nature, the narrative jumps from place to place and danger to
danger. Scenes of social injustice and religious hypocrisy, along
with a general snapshot of the contemporary educated circles as
well as those of lower social groups like criminals are all critically
exposed in the narrative through different episodes.
Jack even passes through Rotterdam, where he meets both
Erasmus and Sir Thomas More, who are at work on their
important prose works The Praise of Folly and Utopia.
Evliya Çelebi’s
Seyahatname, or
“Book of Travels”
A 17 TH -CENTURY OTTOMAN TRAVELOGUE
Evliya Çelebi (1611–c. 1685) was born in Istanbul, travelled the length and breadth of the Ottoman
Empire as well as some neighboring regions, and died in Egypt after writing his huge Seyahatname
or “Book of Travels.” The original manuscript languished in Cairo until it was brought to Istanbul in
1742, where it was copied and studied. The manuscript of the Seyahatname originally consisted of ten
books in five volumes (two books per volume). These ten “books” have traditionally been referred to as
“volumes”.
According to his narrative, a dream inspired him to travel to embark on a journey across the Ottoman
Empire. He travelled far and wide across Europe and North Africa and wrote extensively about his
adventures in Seyahatname – his “Book of Travels”.

Therefore, Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname or “Book of Travels” written in the 17th century is a vast
panorama, both an extensive description of the Ottoman Empire and its hinterlands, and an
account of the author’s peregrinations/travels over roughly forty years (1640–80).
He saw himself as a world traveller, a story-teller, a man of letters, a Muslim, a soldier, a musician, and a
global citizen.

His story is one of travel and curiosity – embarking on a physical, intellectual and spiritual journey to
other worlds and perspectives. To be brave enough to seek out new encounters and the discoveries they
may lead to, equipped with a thirst for adventure, a mischievous imagination, and an eye for inspiration.

In the 17th century travelling such vast distances would have been no easy feat, yet in many ways these
travellers embodied what was happening on a much larger scale worldwide.

Seyahatname is the longest and fullest travel account in Islamic literature - perhaps in world literature. In
spite of the gigantic scope of the work Evliya did attempt to give some shape to his account.
Schematic Outline of the Seyahatname:

I. Dream: 19 August 1630 (10 Muharrem 1040, i.e. his 20th birthday). Historical and
geographical survey of Istanbul. Up and down the Golden Horn and the Bosphoros. Shops; parade of
guilds.
II. Dream (reprisal). Beginning of travels: 27 April 1640 (5 Muharrem1050, i.e., just before his
30th birthday): Bursa; returns and gets his father’s blessing. Trabzon; gazas in
Caucasus and Crimea. Crete: Canea campaign. Erzurum; Azerbaijan. Celalis; Varvar Ali Pasha.
Istanbul 1648: deposal of Sultan Ibrahim and janissary revolt. The saga of Kara Haydaroğlu
III. Syria. Istanbul 1650: vizierate of Melek Ahmed Pasha. Rumelia. Istanbul 1653–55: vizierate
of Ipshir Pasha; Melek Pasha “exiled” to Van; Evliya’s escape.
IV. Van and Bitlis. Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia. → Mosul.
V. Return to Van; escape from Bitlis. Istanbul 1656. Özü. İstanbul 1658: death of Kaya Sultan. With
Köprülü against the Celalis. Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania campaigns. Bosnia. The saga
of Seydi Ahmed Pasha.
VI. Istanbul 1662: Melek Pasha’s death. Hungary. Abandonment of Yenikal'e.
VII. Battle on the Raab (St. Gotthard) 1664. With Kara Mehmed Pasha to Vienna 1665.
Crimea,
Circassia, Kalmukia. → Azov.
VIII. Istanbul 1667. Greece. Crete: Candia campaign. Albania. Istanbul 1670.
IX. Aegean and Mediterranean coast. The Holy Land. The Hajj.
→ Cairo.
X. Cairo 1672: Historical and geographical survey. Shops and guilds. Down the Nile: the Delta. Up the
Nile: Sudan and Abyssinia. → Cairo.
Evliya’s first aim was to provide a complete description of the Ottoman Empire and its
hinterlands. In pursuing this aim, the spatial or topographical survey is the favourite mode. The
town descriptions are the most characteristic literary unit of the work. They generally follow
the same pattern, beginning with the history and administrative organization of the town, its names
in various languages and their etymologies, and its geographic position; continuing with a
description of the town’s topography, with particular attention to fortifications; including
descriptions of houses, mosques, medreses, schools, inns, baths, and fountains; town quarters
and religious affiliations; climate; the appearance, dress, manners and customs of the
populace; proper names and speech habits; the ulema, poets, physicians , and other notables;
markets, shops, and products; and parks, gardens, and picnic-spots; and concluding with graves and
shrines, along with biographies or hagiographies of the dead.
During his travels Evliya passed by forty five countries which are Arabia, Albania, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Djibuti, Czech Republic, Chechenia,
Dagistan, Armenia, Palestine, Georgia, Ethiopia, Croatia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Kabartay,
Kalmukistan, Montenegro, Crimea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebenon, Hungary, Macedonia, Egypt,
Moldovia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Somalia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania,
Tataristan, Ukraine, Jordan and Greece.
His second aim was to provide a complete record of his travels. In pursuing this aim, the
first-person account of his itineraries and adventures comes to the fore.
It should be pointed out that Evliya Çelebi was very interested in the dialects and languages of the
places he travelled. Seyahatname includes the countries in which 147 different languages were spoken
and it also presents some information about these languages. It is very significant that Evliya
Çelebi’s Seyahatname covers even some examples from the endangered and disappearing languages of
today.
Evliya’s First Dream (Excerpt from the Seyahatname ı)

I beseeched the Creator at every moment to grant me health of body, complete journey, and faith
to the last breath, asking myself, ‘How can I get free of the pressures of father and mother,
teacher and brother, and become a world traveller?’
I was always on good terms with heart-wounded dervishes and glad to converse with them. And
when I heard a description of the seven climes and the four corners of the earth, I longed to
travel with all my heart and soul. So I became utterly wretched, a vagabond crying out, ‘Might I
roam the world? Might it be vouchsafed to me to reach the Holy Land, Cairo and Damascus,
Mecca and Medina, and to rub my face at the Sacred Garden, the tomb of the Prophet, glory of
the universe?’
By God’s wisdom – Reason for travelling and roaming the land – this humble one and poor
supplicant full of fault – world traveller and boon companion of mankind, Evliya the
unhypocritical, son of Dervish Mehmed Zılli – always desired God’s guidance in dreams while
praising Him abundantly, and sought His succour for a sick heart while reciting Koranic chapters
and verses. So I lay down on the pillow of lamentation, in the corner of my hovel, in my
birthplace Istanbul, to a sleep of wish fulfilment. It was the night of Ashura in the month of
Muharram, the year 1040 (10 August 1630), in a state twixt sleep and wake, that I had a dream.
Evliya’s First Dream (Excerpt from the Seyahatname ıı)

This humble one saw myself in the Ahi Çelebi mosque, near the Yemiş landing – a mosque built with
money lawfully acquired, an ancient mosque where prayers are accepted by God. There were soldiers
bearing arms. The door was opened and the light-filled mosque was crowded with a luminous congregation,
who were busy performing the dawn prayer. It seems that I stood motionless at the foot of the pulpit and
gazed in astonishment at this congregation with their beaming faces. [...]
As the prophet rose to his feet in the prayer niche, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas at once lay hold of my hand and
brought me before him, saying, ‘Your loving and faithful servant, Evliya, begs your intercession. He told me
to kiss his blessed hand. As I shamelessly put my lips on that blessed hand, out of awe and dread, instead of
saying ‘Intercession (şefa‘at), O messenger of God!” I said, ‘Travel (seyahat), O messenger of God!’ The
Prophet smiled and replied, ‘My intercession and my travel and my pilgrimage, may God give you health and
well-being.’ He recited a Fatiha, and all the noble Companions recited it after him.

I kissed the hands of everyone present in the assembly and received each one’s blessing. Some of their
hands smelled of musk, some of ambergris, some of hyacinths, some of roses, some of sweet basil, some
of wild basil, some of violets, some of carnations. But the scent of the Prophet was of a blooming saffron
rose. And when I kissed his right hand, it felt as if it had no bones and was soft as cotton. The hands of the
other prophets were scented with quinces. The hand of Abu Bakr had a scent of melons, Umar’s of
ambergris, Uthman’s of violets, and Ali’s of jasmine; the hand of Hasan smelled of carnations and that of
Husayn of white roses. May God be pleased with them all.
Evliya’s First Dream
(Excerpt from the Seyahatname ııı)

When I had duly kissed the hands of the entire congregation, the Prophet again recited a Fatiha
and his Companions repeated it in a loud voice. Peace be with you, O brethren! the Prophet
pronounced from the prayer-niche and made his way out of the mosque. The Companions gave
this humble one various benedictions and they too left the mosque. Only Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas
removed his bow and arrow case from his waist and girded it on mine, uttering God is great. ‘Go
forth,’ he said. ‘Perform the gaza with bow and arrow. Be in God’s protection and safety. And
receive these good tidings: Of all the spirits you metin this assembly and whose hands you kissed,
you are vouchsafed to visit their tombs. You will be a world traveller and unique among men.
The well-protected kingdoms through which you pass, the fortresses and towns, the strange and
wonderful monuments, and each land’s praiseworthy qualities and products, its food and drink,
its latitude and longitude – record all of these and compose a marvellous work. Make use of my
weapon and become my son in this world and the next. Do not abandon the path of truth. Be
free of envy and hatred. Pay the due of bread and salt. Be a faithful friend but no friend to the
wicked. Learn goodness from the good.’ Having finished his counsel, he kissed my brow and
departed from the mosque.

Waking from the sleep of comfort, I was in a quandary, uncertain whether it was a dream or
reality or a true vision. As I pondered, my mind was at ease and my heart filled with joy.
Don Quixote by
Cervantes
 Author: Miguel de Cervantes
Don Quixote Culture: Spanish
Date: early 17th c.
Genre: satirical novel
Names/terms to know: Don Quixote,
Sancho Panza, Dulcinea, chivalry &
pastoralism
Cervantes’ Background
Son of a poor doctor, did not have a
humanist education
Cervantes’ adventurous life:
◦ Fought in religious wars
◦ Captured by pirates
◦ Spent 5 years as a slave
◦ Held government jobs.
1604: Don Quixote Part 1 published
1615: published DQ II.
Don Quixote
Cervantes combines several genres
into one.
His initial purpose: to satirize the
romances of chivalry, to create a
PARODY* of a literary type
characterized by supernatural deeds
of valor, implausible & complicated
adventures, duels, and
enchantments.
* Parody: a humorous or satirical
imitation of a serious piece of
literature or writing
The novel was popular immediately.
Medieval Chivalry & Pastoral
The literature that had expressed the medieval spirit of
chivalry and romance had degenerated by Cervantes’ time.
His method of showing the inherent silliness of chivalric
romances: ‘to show what extraordinary consequences they
would lead a man insanely infatuated with them, once this
man set out to live ‘now’ according to their patterns of
action and belief.’
In addition to chivalric romances, Cervantes parodies the
pastoral novel, with the section about Marcela, the
shepherdess who is unmoved by her shepherd admirers.
Don Quixote’s Mask
Our hero, Don Quixote, dons the mask of a chivalric knight
to make his life more interesting and bearable.
We can see the influence of Greek comedy on this novel: a
crazy idea is proposed, and the rest of the work concerns its
working out in the real world.
The humor lies in the contrast between Don Quixote’s
ideals and the real world around him.
 Reality
Don Quixote is not a knight but an impoverished country
landowner.
His ideals: love as ‘service,’ adventurousness, loyalty to valor
and generosity. Tries to seek out wrongs and right them, to
help those in need, to be full of valor in honor of his Lady
(courtly love).
Like Greek heroes, he wants his great deeds to be sung.
Don Quixote: a wandering hero
His insanity: caused by reading too many books about chivalry
(literature corrupts)