Medieval  Literature

Old English literature or Anglo-Saxon literature encompasses literature written

in Old English (Anglo-Saxon), in Anglo-Saxon England from 7th century to the
decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066. ‘Caedmon’s Hymn’, composed in
the 7th century according to Bede, is often considered the oldest extant poem in
English, whereas the later poem, The Grave is one of the final poems written in
Old English, and presents a transitional text between Old and Middle English.
Likewise, the Peterborough Chronicle continues until the 12th century.
The poem Beowulf, which often begins the traditional canon of English
literature, is the most famous work of Old English literature. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle has also proven significant for historical study, preserving a chronology
of early English history.
In descending order of quantity, Old English literature consists of: sermons and
saints’ lives; biblical translations; translated Latin works of the early Church
Fathers; Anglo-Saxon chronicles and narrative history works; laws, wills and other
legal works; practical works on grammar, medicine, geography; and poetry. In all
there are over 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, of which about 189
are considered ‘major’. Besides Old English literature, Anglo-Saxons wrote a
number of Anglo-Latin works.
A large number of manuscripts remain from the Anglo-Saxon period, with most
written during its last 300 years (9th to 11th centuries), in both Latin and the
vernacular. There were considerable losses of manuscripts as a result of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. Scholarly study of the
language began in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when Matthew Parker and
other obtained whatever manuscripts they could. Old English manuscripts have
been highly prized by collectors since the 16th century, both for their historic
value and for their aesthetic beauty with their uniformly spaced letters and
decorative elements.
There are 4 major poetic manuscripts:
- The Junius manuscripts, also known as the man hunt, is an illustrated
collection of poems on biblical narratives.
- The Exeter Book, is an anthology, located in the Exeter Cathedral since
it was donated there in the 11th century.
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 - The Vercelli Book contains both poetry and prose; it is known how it
cam to be in Vercelli.
- The Beowulf Manuscript (Britain Library Cotton Vitellius A. XV)
sometimes called the Nowell Codex, contains prose and poetry, typically
dealing with monstrous themes, including Beowulf.
In these manuscripts, we can find heroic poems, poems commemorating
famous battles or military events, Biblical issues, etc. The Church was the main
source of culture at the time, and Romantic poetry did not exist yet. There’s a
blend between Germanic and Christian traditions.
Germanic tribes had a sophisticated system of poetic conventions which they

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passed orally through generations. Some of those conventions were:
- They used accentual meter. Only the stresses counted, and there were no
constraints as to the number of syllables per line.
- Each line was divided into two half lines, in which the rhyme was rarely
repeated. They were linked through alliteration on their stressed syllables.
Each half line had two stresses, two primary and two secondaries, and
the primary ones always alliterated, while the secondaries could alliterate
or not. The alliterating sound was rarely repeated from one line to the
next one.
- Appositions favoured an economy of expression so that each word was
carefully chosen. Kennings (compounds with metaphorical meaning) were
metrically compact elements very useful in constructing these verses.
- There was also a sparseness of conjunctions, which lead to a kind of
openness that left freedom for the reader to interpret the meaning and
the connections in the poem.
END OF 6TH CENTURY -> Augustine, from 600 to 7th, England becomes more
Christianised. Literature blends with Germanic and Christian tradition. Symbols
seen in Beowulf (Epic Poem).
OLD ENGLISH -> 7th until 11th century. Year 450, Germanic tribes invade England
(Saxons and Jutes). 8th century, earlier than other epic poems. King Alfred
reigned (871-899). The end of the 9th century promoted writings and culture.

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Poetry
Old English poetry falls broadly into two styles or fields of reference, the heroic
Germanic, and the Christian. Almost all Old English poets are anonymous.
Although there are Anglo-Saxon discourses on Latin prosody, the rules of Old
English verse are understood only through modern analysis of the extant texts.
The first widely accepted theory was constructed by Eduard Sievers (1893), who
distinguished five distinct alliterative patterns. His system of alliterative verse is
based on accent, alliteration, the quantity of vowels, and patterns of syllabic
accentuation. It consists of five permutations on a base verse scheme; any one
of the five or another in all of the older Germanic languages.
Two poetic figures commonly found in Old English poetry are the kenning, an
often-formulaic phrase that describes one thing in terms of another (e.g. in
Beowulf, the sea is called the whale road) and litotes, a dramatic
understatement employed by the author for ironic effect. Alternative theories
have been proposed, such as the theory of John C. Pope (1942), which uses
musical notation to track the verse patters.
NAMED POETS

Most Old English poets are anonymous, and only four names are known with any
certainty: Caedmon; Bede; Alfred the Great and Cynewulf.
Caedmon is considered the first Old English poet whose work still survives.
According to the account in Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica, he lived at the abbey
of Whitby in Northumbria in the 7th century. Only his first poem, comprising
nine lines, Caedmon’s Hymn, remains, in Northumbrian, West-Saxon and Latin
versions that appear in 19 surviving manuscripts.
Bede is often thought to be the poet of a five-line poem entitled Bede’s Death
Song, on account of its appearance in a letter on his death by Cuthbert. This
poem exists in a Northumbrian and later version.
Alfred is said to be the author of some of the metrical prefaces to the Old
English translations of Gregory’s Pastoral Care and Boethius’ Consolation of
Philosophy. Alfred is also though to be the author of 50 metrical psalms, but
whether the poems were written by him, under his direction or patronage, or as
a general part in his reform efforts, is unknown.

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Cynewulf has proven to be a difficult figure to identify, but recent research
suggests he was from the early part of the 9th century to which a number of
poems are attributed including the Fates of the Apostles and Elene and Christ
II and Juliana.

GENRES AND THEMES

HEROIC POETRY

The Old English poetry which has received the most attention deals with the
Germanic
heroic past. The longest at 3,182 lines, and the most important, is Beowulf, which
appears in the damaged Nowell Codex. The poem tells the story of the
legendary Geatish hero Beowulf, who is the title character. The story is set in
Scandinavia, in Sweden and Denmark, and the tale likewise probably is of
Scandinavian origin. The story is biographical and sets the tone for much of the
rest of Old English poetry. It has achieved national epic status, on the same
level as the Iliad, and is of interest to historians, anthropologists, literary critics,
and students the world over.

Other heroic poems besides Beowulf exist. Two have survived in fragments: The
Fight at Finnsburh, controversially interpreted by many to be a retelling of one
of the battle scenes in Beowulf, and Waldere, a version of the events of the
life of Walter of Aquitaine. Two other poems mention heroic figures: Widsith is
believed to be very old in parts, dating back to events in the 4th century
concerning Eormanric and the Goths, and contains a catalogue of names and
places associated with valiant deeds. Deor is a lyric, in the style of Consolation
of Philosophy, applying examples of famous heroes, including Weland and
Eormanric, to the narrator's own case.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains various heroic poems inserted throughout.

The earliest from 937 is called The Battle of Brunanburh, which celebrates the
victory of King Athelstan over the Scots and Norse. There are five shorter
poems: capture of the Five Boroughs (942); coronation of King Edgar (973);
death of King Edgar (975); death of Alfred the son of King Æthelred (1036);
and death of King Edward the Confessor (1065).
The 325-line poem The Battle of Maldon celebrates Earl Byrhtnoth and his men
who fell in battle against the Vikings in 991. It is considered one of the finest,

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but both the beginning and end are missing and the only manuscript was
destroyed in a fire in 1731.
Old English heroic poetry was handed down orally from generation to
generation. As Christianity began to appear, re-tellers often recast the tales of
Christianity into the older heroic stories.

ELEGIAC POETRY

Related to the heroic tales are a number of short poems from the Exeter Book
which have come to be described as "elegies" or "wisdom poetry". They are
lyrical and Boethian in their description of the up and down fortunes of life.
Gloomy in mood is The Ruin, which tells of the decay of a once glorious city of
Roman Britain (cities in Britain fell into decline after the Romans departed in
the early 5th century, as the early English continued to live their rural life), and
The Wanderer, in which an older man talks about an attack that happened in
his youth, where his close friends and kin were all killed; memories of the
slaughter have remained with him all his life. He questions the wisdom of the
impetuous decision to engage a possibly superior fighting force: the wise man
engages in warfare to preserve civil society and must not rush into battle but
seek out allies when the odds may be against him. This poet finds little glory in
bravery for bravery's sake.

The Seafarer is the story of a sombre exile from home on the sea, from which
the only hope of redemption is the joy of heaven. Other wisdom poems include
Wulf and Eadwacer, The Wife's Lament, and The Husband's Message. Alfred the
Great wrote a wisdom poem over the course of his reign based loosely on the
neoplatonic philosophy of Boethius called the Lays of Boethius

CLASSICAL AND LATIN POETRY

Several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts.
The longest is a 10th-century translation of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
contained in the Cotton manuscript Otho A.vi. Another is The Phoenix in the
Exeter Book, an allegorisation of the De ave phoenice by Lactantius.

Other short poems derive from the Latin bestiary tradition. Some examples
include The Panther, The Whale and The Partridge.

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CHRISTIAN POETRY

- Retallies of biblical verses

- Meditations
- Hymn songs → A hymn by a monk called Caedmon “BEDÉ”
(Late 11th century) Body of poetry → the lives of saints
(Latin) translation in English.
- Elegies and very little poetry about romance,
mostly religious. Lots of prose, translations,
sermons.
- Body of Anglo-Saxon chronicles → from the beginning of the Christian
miracle to 1154

STYLE

Anglo-Saxon poetry is marked by the comparative rarity of similes. This is a

particular feature of Anglo-Saxon verse style and is a consequence both of its
structure and of the rapidity with which images are deployed, to be unable to
effectively support the expanded simile. As an example of this, Beowulf contains
at best five similes, and these are of the short variety. This can be contrasted
sharply with the strong and extensive dependence that Anglo-Saxon poetry has
upon metaphor, particularly that afforded using kennings.
The most prominent example of this in The Wanderer is the reference to battle
as a "storm of spears". This reference to battle shows how Anglo-Saxons viewed
battle: as unpredictable, chaotic, violent, and perhaps even a function of nature.

ALLITERATION
Old English poetry traditionally alliterates, meaning that a sound (usually the
initial consonant sound) is repeated throughout a line. For instance, in the first
line of Beowulf, "Hwaet! We Gar-Dena | in gear-dagum", (meaning "Lo! We . . of
the Spear Danes in days of yore"), the stressed words Gar-Dena and gear-dagum
alliterate on the consonant "G".

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VARIATION

The Old English poet was particularly fond of describing the same person or
object with varied phrases, (often appositives) that indicated different qualities
of that person or object. For instance, the Beowulf poet refers in three and a
half lines to a Danish king as "lord of the Danes" (referring to the people in
general), "king of the Scyldings" (the name of the specific Danish tribe), "giver
of rings" (one of the king's functions is to distribute treasure), and "famous
chief". Such variation, which the modern reader (who likes verbal precision) is
not used to, is frequently a difficulty in producing a readable translation.

CAESURA

Old English poetry, like other Old Germanic alliterative verse, is also commonly
marked by the caesura or pause. In addition to setting pace for the line, the
caesura also grouped each line into two couplets.

Even after the conquest, they still write and use old English in prose not in
poetry. KENNINGS.
Verse → Accentual meter, alliteration verse (still exists today, ex safe and
sound), sophisticated OE, language based on prosody, hard consonant and open
vowels.

BEOWULF
Young warrior eager to acquire fame by battling in the military service. Denmark
is attacked by a monster. He defeats him. 50 years after he becomes king of
his clan, the Geats. He is confronted by a dragon. He kills it but the dragon also
kills him.
Passage 2821 → Battle - Beowulf vs Dragon
Lines made of four stresses, accentual meter, and alliteration
The alliterating sound in each line is not repeated in the following line. There
are other types of varieties. The need to express a conception of expression.
(compound words → economy of expressions)
The Aeneid → Aeneas ran away from Troy and had adventures. Celebrates the
legendary past to Rome. The same happens with Scandinavian and the Anglo-
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Saxon culture. Celebrate the military achievements of a hero that bring glory
and fate of said hero. This celebration is a confirmation of the predominant
values in that society. The aristocracy cultures. He is a warrior who becomes king.
Ambition for glory and ambition for fame. From Germanic perspective, there is
always a persistence of death, the afterlife. → GLORY AND ACHIEVEMENT.

Celebrating one’s ancestors and their genealogy. Long tradition behind positive
value. The boost of his past and his ancestors. Royal line, the king who has a
long dynasty. References to God and gods. Germanic traditions more polytheistic.
The notion of revenge in Christianity is wrong but not in Germanic traditions.

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 STRUCTURE OF THE POEM

- It is rather sophisticated
structure with a careful
organization of the events.
There are numerous
digression (moments in
which we are anticipated
future events) and allusions
which make it clear that
the author was taking for
granted among his
readers/auditors knowledge
of a whole body of stories
concerning Germanic
heroes. Complex structure
with parallelisms.
- We can see Beowulf as a
two-part structure centred
on the character of
Beowulf, and which allows
us to see the motivation
and behaviour of Beowulf in
different circumstances:
▪ When he was
young: he travels to
Denmark and gets famous
for fighting with evil
creatures. Fame and
reputation achieved by
means of battles (single
combats). He is loyal,
generous, and proud.
▪ When he is old: he
is a different character. He
is killed in this part
(tragedy)

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 - The plot is organized around three main events: Beowulf fighting with the
three evil creatures
o Grendel: giant monster that attacks the Danish court. It is the
reason why Beowulf arrives to Denmark.
o Grendel’s mother: Beowulf fights her and beats this evil creature.
o Dragon: the story moves to the land of the Geats where Beowulf
becomes king for 50 years. But his kingdom is also attacked by
this evil creature (dragon). Beowulf, who is now an old king, fights
the dragon and is killed. The poem ends with his funeral.
- The poem says nothing about the 50 years when Beowulf’s reigning.
It’s the longest old epic poem to survive fully in OE. The oldest heroic poem in
a vernacular in Europe. The text is related to the poetic sagas in Iceland, in
Germany….similar in status to French literature. It’s preserved in a manuscript
that dates from around the year 1000. The poem had been written in the 8th C,
but the story is set in the 5th and 6th C in Scandinavia.
It celebrates the deeds of a hero, it combines idealism of a heroic culture but,
at the same time, a sense of fatalism. It’s a Germanic society of heroic ideals
and the heroic code of behaviour is predominant. It’s coloured by Christian
thought. It exalts the past of the community, the audience thought of
Scandinavian heroes as part of their own tradition.
Some scholars algo argue that the poet(s) of this text were scholars who
infused the poem with the gravity that is expected in an epic poem. The Iliad is
related to this poem, similar to this Anglo-Saxon audience to think of their
ascendency going back to ancient tribes. Sense of continuity. The Odyssey
celebrates the deeds of a great warrior as well, these deeds are the example of
this aristocratic value. Reflection of the ideals of the society: courtesy,
generosity of the rulers, loyalty, the ambition for glory (fame) through military
victories, the interest in the past in one’s ascendency (one’s own deeds and
those of his ancestors).
STRUCTURE OF THE POEM
- Hrothgar’s ascendency
- Beowulf arrives at Heorot
- Fight against Grendel
- Fight against Grendel’s mother

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 - Goes back to his land
- Defeats the dragon
- Beowulf’s funeral
The story of Beowulf is exploring a certain conflict in the codes of heroic
society: ideally, the warrior is an example of virtue (=king).
CONTRAST between Beowulf’s young and old age -> when he is old, if he is
killed, his death endangers the political situation, as he now has the
responsibilities of a king. When he dies, he leaves his people without a king.
Beowulf is behaving as a proud, brave warrior, even when he is a king with lots
of responsibilities. There is an ambiguity at the end of the poem related to his
behaviour: a hero that happens to be a king -> is that a correct behaviour for a
king? -> by behaving like a hero, he endangers his people and brings about a
political instability.
Emphasis on the idea of doom / fate on the second part of the poem:
inescapable destiny of the hero. SACRIFICIAL HEROES: this is one of the
archetypes in literary criticism. It refers to images that are common to all
human beings and that can be reflected in different stories, myths, etcetera.
Beowulf is presenting this idea of the sacrificial hero as he is a hero who
sacrifices his life for the benefit of his people. His death is the purging of the
problems of the community.
- Beowulf has a specific design: INTERLACE PATTERN -> (this is algo
present in many objects of Anglo-Saxons culture). Beowulf has no lineal
structure. There are references to other stories and legends.
- Another stylistic feature: VARIATION -> when the same reference is
expressed by means of synonyms (kennings).
o (lines 2353-2358): Beowulf has been told of the dragon
terrorising the Geats, and he decides to go on his own to face the
dragon (reference to a combat when Hygelac was king) -> in this
single idea, there are three elements expressed by means of
variation:
▪ Hygelac: kindly lord of people, king of the Geats and the
song of Hrethel.
▪ He was killed: was slain, slaked the sword’s thirst and the
blows beat down on him.
▪ Place where he is killed: when, the hurl of battle and the
soil of Friesland .
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 o The death of Hygelac wearing Beowulf’s jewel anticipates the end:
Beowulf will also die. This presents an idea that is expressed
throughout the story -> THE TRANSCIENCE OF LIFE.
GENRE
Different perceptions:
- Heroic poem
- Some critics argue that it is not an epic heroic poem as it contains
elements of elegy (moving episodes). It is in a way an heroic-elegiac
poem.
- Tolkien found that Beowulf has a static structure with a description of
two great moments in the life of a hero:
o When the young Beowulf fights with Grendel and his mother
o When the old king fights with the dragon.
These two moments contrasts the old with the young age, and the
kingship with the death. Tolkien found an elegiac character in the poem.
He claimed that Beowulf was a 3000-line prelude to a DIRGE (poem
lamenting the death of Beowulf).
BUT → The question of Beowulf's structure can be debated in formal terms, in
the terms of the narrative and aesthetic language of the culture, or in mythical
versus historical terms. For instance, is a narrative pattern over the whole poem
discoverable? Did the poet place things in this order for a certain reason? Can
this be understood thematically? While the plot of the poem is mostly clear
(with the exception of the Finnsburg Episode, or Frisian Massacre [fres-waele]
as Tolkien insisted it be called), the overarching organization of those units is
much debated. In particular, one has to decide why the various historical
references are there: Do they function as simple background material? Do they
act as commentary on the main plot or the actions of characters? Are they part
of the overall purpose or message of the poem as it stands?

Christianity in Beowulf

There are several references to the Christian God and a monotheistic religion
through the text, although depending on the translation these can be more or
less ambiguous. Medieval authors approached this mixture between Germanic
and Christian traditions in different ways, and while some plainly rejected

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anything non-Christian or dismissed Germanic culture and presented their
stories as if they would’ve always been Christian, others, like Beowulf’s, had a
rather humanitarian view of pre-Christian society and considered non-Christian
people as ‘innocent sinners’ who weren’t to be held accountable for their sins
because they didn’t know the true God. The narrator here seems to be
Christian but also seems to understand that his ancestors were heathens.
The text can be interpreted either as a Germanic story coloured with Christian
elements as the narrator infuses references to God in it, or as the opposite, as
a means to make the poem more accessible to an audience that, although it
being Christian, also has a Germanic inheritance. Germanic people viewed the
Old as heavily positive, and Christianity, despite being the official religion, lacked
the prestige Germanic tradition had amongst the audience of the original text.
One of the Christian elements introduced in the poem is Hrothgar’s warning to
Beowulf about the dangers of pride, discordant with the Germanic treatment of
glory and success in battle. He tries to show that ‘eternal success’ is more
desirable than worldly one, but in the poem only one leads to another, as glory
in battle achieves a warrior’s perpetuity in history.
BEOWULF AS A HERO

In the introduction of the story he is already being constructed as a hero, as a

person that has been put on the earth to save people. He is descripted as
someone with a gift that no one else has, a gift to be able to help those in
need and to which friends and warriors are willing to give up their life for him.
Loyalty with his followers.
L 2865 → ‘the rules who gave you gifts’
L 2706 → ‘they had to help each other’
L 2171 → ‘watch their others back’

BEOWULF’S MOTIVATIONS AND SYSTEM OF VALUES

L 2677 → ‘mind of his glory’ When he killed the dragon
L 2510 → ‘old-folk defender, feud will I seek’ (glory)
In the first part of the poem we see Beowulf as a young hero seeking glory in
battle, highly contrasting Hrothgar as an old king whose desire is to protect his

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people at all costs. In the second part, fifty years later, we see Beowulf as an
elder king, but when the dragon threatens his people he once more gets up and
goes to battle. This was not the proper and expected behaviour of a king in
Germanic tribes, as the consequences of the battle could be (and in fact were)
his death and him leaving his people alone and unprotected against other
dangers. Some translations emphasize the egotistical component of Beowulf’s
actions here, as he goes to battle seeking glory again in spite of his
responsibilities, acting rather as the young warrior he was instead of the king
he is now. In the end, his death results in his people being threatened by the
surrounding tribes, and we see a widow lamenting that Beowulf’s gone and can’t
protect them anymore.
Generosity was another great quality when it came to kings, and the relation
with his warriors is what kept society functional. It is also important to know
how to behave properly to secure the respect and support from others: heroes
are defined by their actions. Beowulf is a hero because he behaves like one,
he’s brave and goes into battle without fear, while Unferth is not, because
although he talks a great deal, he ultimately fails when the time to be brave
comes.
Grief was not acceptable upon the death of a comrade, but one must act, and
avenge them, as Beowulf reminds Hrothgar when he’s grieving for the death of
his advisor. Only reputation perpetuates a warrior’s existence after his death.
Beowulf’s energetic response to death helps temper the elegiac and pessimistic
tone of the poem.

ANTAGONISTS
Antagonists of the poem
• The dragon. Traditional evil, in Christian terms it symbolizes sin and evil
(St. George fighting the dragon, and his popularity is because he fights
the forces of evil). The dragon in the poem has also been interpreted
as the inevitability of death. The dragon is presented in the text as
someone who attacks the Geats out of revenge for receiving offence -
it’s a response to an original offence. This might make us see the
dragon in a not so negative light.
• Grendel. Part human part fiend. Grendel’s motivations were jealousy,
envy and exile. The Wanderer and Deor’s Lament portrait how woeful
exile is for a warrior. Element to sympathise with Grendel to a certain
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 extent. Also, comparative to the figure of Frankenstein.
• Grendel’s mother. She attacks the Geats out of revenge for killing her
son. Within the Germanic code, it is an acceptable behaviour.
The three of them are portrayed as outcasts, individuals living outside of
society, and to the perspective of the poet, as a threat to the stability of
society and they must be killed.

WOMEN IN BEOWULF

There are eleven women in Beowulf, but we only know the names of five of
them. The pattern between them is clear, they’re all seen as hostesses (a role
associated with courtesy and very much expected in a patriarchal society in
medieval England) and peace-makers, as they were traded with to make peace
arrangements between tribes. Most of them are part of the royalty.
Grendel’s mother is described as a human figure, but contrasts all of them:
she’s the unruly woman that must be dominated. She is, in some translations
and the original manuscript, described using the term ides, also used to
describe Hildeburg and Wealhtheow, thus relating the three of them in a way,
as they’re all mothers worried about their sons: two of them grieving the death
of their descendent and the other one worried about the future of hers.
Grendel’s mother is a human being described in social terms.
• Line 2120. ‘Woman monstrous’.
• Line 1259. ‘Monster of women’. ‘Monstrous ogress’. ‘ides’: isn’t
translated, reference to Hrothgar’s queen, a lady.
Hildeburh.
• Also referred to as ‘ides’, lady.
Hygd.
• Also referred to as ‘ides’, lady.

Female characters are presented as property and not as real human beings.
L1259 → Mother - ‘Monster of women, mourned her woe’
Alexandra Olsen → ‘How are female characters presented in Beowulf?’ Warrior
woman and also women as caring people, crying for them.

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Beowulf centres only on the masculine. It is written from a male perspective;
its principal characters are male and it is heavily influenced by male. Dominated
themes such as valour, prowess, and violence. This leaves little influence for
women, that are marginal excluded figures. They enact the social roles that men
cannot fulfil, specifically the role of peace weaver, the role of hostess and the
role of mother. Queen Wealhtheow is an example of peace weaver, for she plays
an active role in society through words of encouragement to her people and
handing out the treasure to the heroes.
On the other hand, Queen Hildeburh fails at these roles and is presented in
contrast to Wealhtheow. She is more passive and does not say anything in the
entire poem. Wealhtheow is the glue that holds the relationship between the
Cyclings and Beowulf intact. She is also the perfect hostess.
Grendel’s mother → Her roles as mother has a huge impact on the poem and
the audience. She is described as a ‘grief racked’ a human attribute with which
the audience would have identified with. The poet works with the empathy. As a
result of the bond as a mother towards a monster that descends from Cain.
This should lead us to think that Grendel’s mother is lexically connected to
the other female characters in the poem, to the ladies. One interpretation of
the word is that it represents the duel character of the Valkyrie. Grendel’s
mother is presented after two passages with Hildeburh, presented as mothers.
Yet again, we see her in a not so negative light. The poet gives us her point of
view as a mother. Presented as a mother that suffers for the death of her
son.

Another character, the king’s daughter, Freawaru who is a peacemaker (role in

society). Also, women as mere companions, dressed in jewels, gold, etc. expected
roles in the always patriarchal, aristocratic, warrior, heroic society.
MATERIAL CULTURE (RINGS AND ASSOCIATED VALUES)

All the many times that Beowulf saves or kills the monster is rewarded with all
kinds of jewellery from bracelets to golden swords. Also, if possible, the quantity
of food eaten during a celebration fest -> cups, made of wounded gold.

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MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD (1066-1500)
Important historic event: Norman conquest.
English was no longer the language used by those in power (the king, the
church and the nobility used French). But it was the language of the common
people. Therefore, the only literature in an early stage was popular literature.
At the beginning of the 13th century, there was a division between Normandy
and England. The ties between French and English were being cut. English was
going back to a position of power.
At the beginning of the 14th century, almost everybody in England spoke in
English (also the nobility). French was still used as the language of the court
(documents). But it was at the end of the 14th century when English was the
language used systematically by the monarchy.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES:
- Flourishing literature from France was brought to England.
- No longer used of the accentual alliterative verse of the Old English
period, but a new type of versification (syllabic).
1066-1500
We find writers composing literary works in French but there is a survival of
some literature in English,
- Religious works
o Ancrene Riwel (Ruler for Anchoresses): prose
o Ormulum
o The Owl and the Nightingale: a debate poem between two witty
characters (a kind of combat of wit between new and old
literature. It is a very typical structure in the medieval period.
- Non-religious works:
o ROMANCES: narrative stories dealing with the heroic deeds of
different characters. Different materials:
▪ France: Holy Grail
▪ Britain: Arthurian
• Geoffrey of Monmouth (1137): first reference to the
legend of King Arthur

17
 • Layamon (Brut, 1205): first poem that includes the
story of King Arthur (alliterative style of
versification)
1250-1350
- Religious poetry, secular poetry, and romances.
- We find collections of lyrical poems, both religious and secular.
- Poems dealing with 3 different matters:
o “The matter of France” -> it was the earliest to be developed.
It deals with the activities of Charlemagne and his knights, and
its tone is near to that of heroic poetry.
o “The matter of Britain” -> it is concerned with the Arthurian
stories, which we have seen beginning in Geoffrey of Monmouth
and Layamon’s Brut (but both authors conceived themselves to be
writing history, not romance). The Arthurian romances derive
rather from the French Arthurian legends which were common
long before Geoffrey wrote his history. These romances, dealing
with the adventures of individual knights of the Round Table, have
lost the old heroic note completely and treat with extraordinary
elaboration the practice and ideals of courtly love.
o “The matter of Rome the Great” -> this is a curiously
medievalized ancient world derived from sources and traditions far
removed from what we would today consider the mainstream of
classical culture. It included stories of the siege of Troy, of the
ancient world, of Thebes, of Alexander the Great, and of Julius
Caesar, among others.
- Short narratives -> lay and fabliau (a type of short narrative poem,
realistic, humorous, and often coarse* (tosco, grosero) of French origin. It
was used by the aristocrats to mock the lower classes).
1350-1400:
Concentration of great works and great writers. It is the time when Chaucer is
writing and the time of the Gawain poet.
- John Glower: Confessio Amantis.
- Will Langland: Piers Plowman  it is a very common type of medieval
poem.

18
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
The manuscript was written in a Northwest midlands dialect (Lancashire /
Cheshire / Staffordshire). It is a poem written to a different audience. Some
critics qualify it as a product of a provincial culture.
The anonymous poet was familiar with courtly life and also with French
literature -> influence:
- It influenced the way characters are psychologically credible.
- The writer shows an interest in the aesthetic aspects of life.
- Influence in the fantastic elements of the poem.
This is the story of a man whose moral behaviour is tested. He goes through a
series of tests / episodes in which his virtues and his moral ideals are tested.
This man is a knight (knights were regarded as persons exemplifying some
virtues). He is one of the best knights of the Round Table and he represents
the ideal knight. This means that this is a story of how the best man in society
goes through a series of tests in which his morality is tested. We find a similar
pattern in many other narratives (e.g. The Franklin’s Tale, The Clerk of Oxford’s
Tale).
The story opens with the appearance at Arthur’s court of the strange and
menacing Green Knight, who asks for a volunteer from among the Knights of
the Round Table to strike him a blow with the heavy axe he would provide, on
the understanding that a year and a day later, the knight would come and
receive a similar blow from him. The knights are amazed and silent, and Arthur
himself is driven to volunteer, but Gawain, model of courtesy, nobility and
courage, steps in and gives the blow. He strikes off the Green Knight’s head,
but the Knight simply picks his head up and rides off, telling Gawain to keep
his bargain and appear at the Green Chapel a year and a day later to suffer a
similar blow. A year passes, and we see the earth changing from winter to
spring, then to summer, then to autumn, with angry winds and leaves falling
from the tree, and finally to winter again.
In the New Year, Gawain sets out to look for the Green Chapel. On the way he
seeks shelter at a castle and is handsomely entertained there by the lord and
lady. Each morning, the lord goes off to hunt, and his hunting is described with
lively detail. Gawain stays in the castle and is tempted by the lady who wants
him to make love to her. He has a difficult time retaining his perfect courtesy

19
and at the same time repulsing her advances. But he goes no further than
allowing her to kiss him. Gawain and the lord have promised to exchange with
each other whatever they gain during the day, and in accordance with this
bargain the lord gives Gawain the animals he has killed in the hunt, and Gawain
gives the lord the kisses. But on the last day the lady presses Gawain to accept
a memento of her, and he accepts a green girdle which she says will give him
invulnerability, which he will require in his encounter with the Green Knight. He
says nothing of this girdle to the lord. Then Gawain leaves to find the Green
Chapel, which turns out to be a grassy mound nearby.
He meets the Green Knight, who strikes him with his huge axe, but deflects the
blow as Gawain flinches. He taunts Gawain for flinching, and Gawain replies that
he will not flinch again. He strikes a second time, Gawain remaining steady, but
again he turns away the blow. The third time the axe lands, but only wounds
Gawain slightly on one side of the neck. Gawain now says that he has fulfilled
his bargain and demands a chance at a fair fight, but the Green Knight good-
naturedly laughs at his ferocity and reveals himself as the lord of the castle.
The slight wound on Gawain’s neck is for the girdle which he took from his lady
in order to preserve his life. Gawain, humiliated, admits his weakness and
reproaches himself bitterly, but the Green Knight absolves him and tells him to
keep the girdle.
On his return to Arthur’s court, Gawain tells the whole story, not as a heroic
exploit, but as an example of moral failure, and Arthur comforts him and all the
knights agree to wear a green belt for Gawain’s sake (= Order of the Garter*).
- He is not the perfect knight because he fails -> MORAL FAILURE -> He
fails to comply with the agreement.
- (p. 108-110) -> the moment when Gawain goes through the crisis of
recognizing his imperfection and sinful condition and his moral failure.
- Reaction of the Green Knight when Sir Gawain acknowledges his failure >
he laughs, says that it has been a misdemeanour and tells him to keep
the girdle as it will remind him of his sinful condition and he will not fail
again. (This is a story of self-recognition of one’s failure.)
Critics do not know which were the sources of the poem:
- It might be a French romance.
- The beheading game is found in Irish poems.

20
 - Christian thought – a literary representation of a moment of self-
discovery (recovery and restoration).
CHARACTERS:

It is interesting how the Green Knight appears as a kind of divided character (a

character with two selves). There are few similarities between the Green Knight
and Sir Bertilak (the lord of the castle).
- Sir Gawain has a dynamic characterization (he is not a static character).
There is a development, especially a moral development. At the beginning,
Sir Gawain is characterised as having a high opinion of himself, as a
conceited man. At the end, he is full of anger and is humiliated now he
is humbler as he has acknowledged his weakness as a human being (he
is more human). This is one of the attractive ingredients of the poem: he
is presented in a realistic way so that the reader sympathies him and
can identify with him.
The Gawain we see here is the true heroic Gawain, before he was ousted from
his supremacy by Lancelot, who in later Arthurian romance, completely replaced
Gawain as the central heroic figure of the Arthurian cycle.
STRUCTURE:

➢ 4 different fit:
o The challenge of Sir Gawain at Camelot.
o Narration of the journey of Sir Gawain and his arrival to the castle.
First meeting with the Green Knight.
o Three consecutive days: the lord of the castle is hunting and the
lady tries to seduce Sir Gawain.
o Second meeting with the Green Knight and returning to Camelot.
➢ 3 main episodes:
o When Sir Gawain challenges the court of King Arthur.
o The three consecutive days.
o The beheading of Sir Gawain.
➢ CLIMATIC MOMENTS:
o External action -> Second meeting with the Green Knight
(moment of suspense).

21
 o Internal perspective -> the crucial moment for Sir Gawain is when
he is at the point of deciding if he accepts the girdle of the lady
or not (Gawain’s inner feelings).
- Sequence of events: each event has an effect on the following one, and
each event is influenced by the previous one -> events are interrelated in
a plot carefully designed.
- Combination of short narratives and descriptions. We find a series of set
pieces:
o Description of the Christmas festivity at Camelot.
o Description of King Arthur’s court (which is contrasted with the
description of the journey of Sir Gawain).
o Description of Sir Gawain’s armour (which stresses the physical
danger of his journey).
o The castle is the key place where Gawain’s morality is going to be
tested.
o The hunting scenes correspond to the three temptations (lady’s
sexual hunting of Sir Gawain) -> The alternation of these scenes
makes us think that they are simultaneous. This simultaneity is in
a way stressing the interrelationship between these events. Also,
correspondence with the three animals (deer, boar, and fox), which
are used to represent the three evils of the world: flesh, demon,
and world = RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM. In addition, these scenes
are contrasted in several aspects:
HUNTING SCENES SEDUCING SCENES
- Lots of people - Only Sir Gawain and the lady
- Outdoors, in the woods - Indoors, in the court
- A lot of noise and shouting - Soft voices, whispering
- Dynamic (lot of movement and - Static (little movement)
action)

OTHER CONTRASTS:

- Nature ≠ Court (castle):

o Sir Bertilak (keen to nature, loves hunting, is strong) ≠ Sir Gawain
(civilise knight, courtly manners, more delicate, enjoys
conversation).

22
 - Christianity (Christmas, mass, confession, saints) ≠ Arthurian legends
(elements of fantasy).
- Idealism (the poem shows the ideal behaviour of a knight and a happy
ending) ≠ Realism (description of landscapes, names of places are real,
characterization of Gawain as a realistic human being).
LANGUAGE:
- The poet is using traditional archaic vocabulary, but he also incorporates
neologisms.
- The poem is favouring the native tradition of the alliterative verse -> the
writer is using conventions that are no longer fashionable in London at
that time. Critics refer to some kind of ‘alliterative revival’. But other talk
about ‘alliterative survival’. After the second half of the 14th century we
do not find alliterative verse until the 19th century (with George Hopkins).
During this period, poets used the syllabic accentual system.
- It also includes some rhyme at the end of each stanza -> it is what
critics call bob (short line with one stressed syllable) and wheel (the
other four lines, which rhyme ABAB and have three stressed syllables).
STANZA 36:

Detailed description of Sir Gawain’s room, clothes, and of the way he is

welcomed.
a. Description of the lord of the castle
b. Description of the way Gawain is welcomed and of his room
c. Description of Sir Gawain.
a. Two characters (protagonist + antagonist) -> CONTRAST:
- SIR BERTILAK = strong, sturdy, stupendous, stalwart legs. Associated with
winter. Different description to that of the Green Knight (but same
character).
- SIR GAWAIN = fair, gentle, handsome, lithe limbs. Associated with spring.
He appears as the ideal image of a knight. But little reference to war. It
is more a story of manners, of the court. The absence of war references
is noticed in the way he is welcomed.
The story is narrated from a point of view which is over the story itself
external point of view with connotations of omniscience. External and impersonal
narrator (not identified + no participant in the story). The narrator tells things
from a point of view which we can compare to the omniscience of God.
23
STANZA 37:
- Several characteristics of Sir Gawain: detailed description of elements
banquet in honour of Gawain, clothes, and food. Everything is qualified by
giving a vivid portrait.
- Adjectives and adverbs used.
- Contrast between what Gawain perceives and what the servers see: no
meat Gawain considers it a feast, a normal banquet; but the servers
consider it a penance (a good meal has to have meat) religious Christian
element: it has not a didactic purpose. It is just a matter of social
matters. Gawain respects manners, as he does not eat meat at the time
when people should not eat it (before Christmas).
STANZA 38:
- Moment when the people in the castle get to know who their guest is:
Gawain says that he comes from the court of Arthur.
- Sir Bertilak’s reaction: he laughs we see the same reaction when the
Green Knight is at the court of King Arthur. Slight connections between
Sir Bertilak and the Green Knight (it is not an obvious similarity).
- People in the castle regard Gawain as an ideal knight who is expected to
be an example of good manners. These expectations on the part of the
knights in the castle are against Gawain’s expectation of being the hero
of the story. In the centre, Gawain is shown as a courtly hero.
- TONE: elements of praise; absence of martial (war) aspects and values.
STANZA 39:
- Contradiction between the lady of the castle and the matron (opposite
descriptions).
LADY MATRON
Prettily Older
Splendid Withered
Beautiful Rough wrinkles
Bright of complexion Swarthy chin
Winsome Nothing bare except eyes, nose, and lips
Hues rich and rubious Black brows
Breast and throat bare to the sight Protruding nose
Shinning A sorry sight
sweet Stark lips

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 - The lady is presented as the idea beauty: blond, bright, white, and bare
skin, beautiful, etc.
- The matron is completely opposite to the lady: swarthy (dark skin),
withered, etc. The only “white” element we see in this woman (the chalk-
white veil) is contrasted with the pearls of the lady.
THE CANTERBURY TALES – 14TH – 15TH CENTURY

It is a collection of stories framed by a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The pilgrims

meet at an inn in London and the host devises a competition in which each
pilgrim will tell a story on their way to Canterbury and then back, and they will
judge which one is the best. Only 24 of the 144 supposed stories have survived,
and they’re extant in 84 manuscripts, 55 of which are complete or nearly so.
The earliest version is from the beginning of the 15th century, being the two
earliest printed editions of them those of Caxton’s in 1478 and 1484.
A General Prologue and a number of head-links and end-links describe the
pilgrims and narrate the effect of the tales and the events of the journey.
Some of the stories have been shown pretty clearly to be in some measure
drawn from actual people, while others are rather representatives of a whole
class. There is some evidence that the prologue was written in 1387, and the
tales were written both previously and considerably later. There’s a wide variety
of genres among the tales, from romances, fabliaux, cautionary tales, animal
fables, exemplum, sermons, etc. Except for one tale in prose we have a wide
range of systems, most of the tales are in decasyllabic lines, many of them in
heroic couplets (iambic pentameter), rhyme royals, and other meters.
We have 36 pilgrims defined by their profession and only the knight, the
parson, and the plowman are treated entirely positively, while all of the others
have some amount of criticism directed to them. The narrator is a participant in
the story, thus raising a concern about reliability and giving a sense of
immediacy to the tale. The focalization also lies in the narrator, so we get the
descriptions from a spectator to the stories. He describes the pilgrims according
to objective facts such as clothing and appearance, and we have people
pertaining to the three medieval estates of society: military, clergy, and laity. The
characters, although being representatives of their classes, are also fully
individualized characters aware of their role in society and trying to redefine
said role in their own terms.

25
PIERS PLOWMAN:

- It is an impressive allegorical poem written in the old alliterative meter

in the latter part of the 14th century.
- Prologue: it describes how the author fell asleep on a May morning on
the Malvern Hills and has a dream.
- Reference to spring (common spring opening). The voice says that he
disguises himself as a shepherd  usually naughty people doing unholy
things (ironic / satirical tone).
- It is a DREAM ALLEGORY: a dream sequence that offers an excuse to
narrate the story. It is a convention that goes back to the French poem
Roman de la Rose (the first part was composed by Guillaume de Lorris in
1227, and the second was written by Jean de Meun in 1268-77).
o A narrator who, on a beautiful spring day, falls asleep and has a
dream.
o Use of elements of the nature (sun, flowers, etc.)
o Allegorical characters personifying ideas and virtues.
We can also find dream allegory in Pearl, and in some works of Chaucer: The
Book of Duchess, House of Fame.
- By means of this dream, the poem can analyse abstract ideas and can
have an insight into truth. It is also a means to avoid censorship. We find
passages in which the clergy is criticised.
There is a moment in which the dreamer wakes up, but he falls asleep
again (to remind the reader that it is a dream).
- Religious allegory. Each episode is an allegory of how to deal with a
tyrant. Langland is trying to teach people that is not appropriate to get a
reward in heaven by paying money. It is the work of a religious idealist
who is genuinely distressed by the social and moral condition of England
and who is endeavouring to create a large and cumulative vision of what
is wrong and where we must look for improvement. The author
succeeded in creating a tradition, a vehicle for carrying both a satirical
and a religious content. Langland makes use of traditional material and
draws on the facts of contemporary society.
- Allegorical characters: wit, wisdom, reason, wrong, etc. In the character of
Piers, the author creates a symbol who eventually united the ideal of the
common man with the ideal of God-made man.

26
 - Though it lacks artistic unity and the author shows only sporadic control
over his material, it is a remarkable work, with its alternation of bitter
satire and tenderness, of vivid description of contemporary life and the
stringing together of Latin tags, of social realism and religious vision. And
the handling of the alliterative line is always easy and confident.
- FINAL MESSAGE: the king has to use reason in order to govern his
subjects. There is an interesting episode dealing with the 7 deadly sins ->
they receive a sermon on the part of a character – Reason – and they
repent. Another character appears to guide them: Ploughman. He gives
them advice and, in the end, emerges as a symbol of Christ.
- Mixture of moralism, didacticism, religious passions, etc.

VERSIFICATION:
o alliteration: the stressed syllables in each line are repeated (verse
is built on this repetition of sounds).
o no rhyme.
o These poems (Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain, etc.) are not using
prosodic innovations, but are continuing the tradition of the
alliterative verse (it is a kind of revival of the alliterative verse).
THE PEARL
o We find a mixture of alliterative tradition and innovations in
rhyme.
o Rhyme scheme (ABAB-CDCD-EFEF) -> alternative rhymes in
quatrains.
o Alliterative verse.
- The poet shows dexterity in handling a difficult rhyme scheme and in
arranging a complex pattern in the poem as a whole.
- Richness of colour and profusion of imaginary combined with a wide
emotional range which enables him to domicile theology in elegy and
sometimes in wonder.
- It is an elegy in the form of a dream. The poet falls asleep in an arbour
in August (not the usual May) morning and has a dream which forms the
substance of the poem. The poet is lamenting the loss of a daughter,
who died before she was two years old. In his dream he finds his

27
 daughter: Pearl. She convinces him that she is not lost, that she lives in
new Jerusalem (reference to biblical episode).
- Religious poem -> death + resurrection of the daughter.
- It can be seen as a kind of elegy
- Pearl: symbol of virtue, purity.
- The poem has 12 sections (shape of a pearl). In each stanza, the final
phrase is repeated. The word “spot” is repeated at the beginning of the
following stanza.
Pearl is conserved in a manuscript together with other poems as Patience,
Cleanness and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Geoffrey Chaucer: the Canterbury tales

John Glower (1330?-1408) > he wrote in English, French and Latin. His most
important work in English is Confessio Amantis. It is a story in which a
character named Amans (= lover) confesses to a priest (the goddess Venus).
This confession is the framework for a collection of stories about love. Glower
uses stories from Ovid, from the New Testament and from classical stories (e.g.
Troy). It has a didactic purpose. He aims at making a kind of encyclopaedia of
the human knowledge. Conclusion: the lover is going to be forgiven. There are
comments about political, social, and moral questions of the time (didactic
literature). Glower uses octosyllabic couplets.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400):

With Chaucer, the rehabilitation of English as a literary language seems to be

complete. He marks the brilliant culmination of Middle English literature. He was
one of the most skilful and attractive of English writers of any period. He used
the intellectual and imaginative resources of the Middle Ages to bring alive,
with vividness and cunning, the psychological and social world of this time,
which turns out to be also the world of our own and every other time. His work
gives us a vivid insight into the 14th century world.
The Canterbury Tales:
Themes: The pervasiveness of courtly love, the importance of company, the
corruption of the church.
Chaucer’s work is unique in its individualizing of the narrators and in the whole
sense of the contemporary social scene which he brings to the reader. He
28
brings together at the Tabard Inn at Southwark representatives of every class
in England of his day (except the highest or the lowest). Each pilgrim is at once
a fully realised individual and a representative of his class or his profession.
They are on holiday, not at their daily labours, so that they are more relaxed and
self-revealing than they would otherwise be. Further, only on a pilgrimage could
such a heterogeneous collection of people of different social status be brought
together. Their daily lives, their normal habits of thinking, their prejudices,
professional bias, most familiar ideas, and personal idiosyncrasies come out in
their conversation and their behaviour. They are more than a framework: their
conduct affects and is affected by the telling of the tales.
The Canterbury Tales shows a great variety of genres:
- Fabliau -> The Miller’s Tale, The Friar’s Tale, The Shipman’s Tale, The
Reeve’s Tale.
- Courtly Romance -> The Knight’s Tale, The Man of Law’s Tale, The
Squire’s Tale.
- Animal Fable (beast fable) -> Characters are personified as animals. The
Nun’s Priest’s Tale, The Manciple’s Tale.
- Life of a Saint (saint’s legend) -> The Prioress’ Tale, The Second Nun’s
Tale.
- Exemplum -> (short exemplary narrative used to illustrate a moral
teaching – didactic purpose. Common in sermons). The Pardoner’s Tale.
- Sermon -> The Parson’s Tale: It is written in prose because it is a sermon.
It is the last tale in the collection. The sermon that the narrator is giving
is about confession, and also about the seven deadly sins. All the tellers
of these tales are on a pilgrimage and they are now reaching Canterbury
to have a confession. The tales are linked by the pilgrimage, which is
associated with the idea of life seen as a pilgrimage.
- Breton “Lay” -> Kind of sub-genre of a Romance. Fantastic story with
supernatural elements. Story of Celtic / Breton tradition, usually dealing
with the topic of love. It is a short narrative in verse, but it has many
elements common to the Romance. The Franklin’s Tale.
- Moral treatise -> Tale of Melibea
- Medieval Tragedy -> Story of the fall of the nobleman into misfortune.
‘De casibus story’. Monk’s Tale

29
GENERAL PROLOGE:
SUMMARY: The narrator opens the General Prologue with a description of the
return of spring. He describes the April rains, the burgeoning flowers and leaves,
and the chirping birds. Around this time of year, the narrator says, people begin
to feel the desire to go on a pilgrimage. Many devout English pilgrims set off to
visit shrines in distant holy lands, but even more choose to travel to Canterbury
to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, where they
thank the martyr for having helped them when they were in need. The narrator
tells us that as he prepared to go on such a pilgrimage, staying at a tavern in
Southwark called the Tabard Inn, a great company of twenty-nine travellers
entered. The travellers were a diverse group who, like the narrator, were on their
way to Canterbury. They happily agreed to let him join them. That night, the
group slept at the Tabard, and woke up early the next morning to set off on
their journey. Before continuing the tale, the narrator gives a descriptive account
of twenty-seven of these pilgrims: Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Prioress, Monk, Friar,
Merchant, Clerk, Man of Law, Franklin, Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer,
Tapestry-Weaver, Cook, Shipman, Physician, Wife, Parson, Plowman, Miller,
Manciple, Reeve, Summoner, Pardoner, and Host. (He does not describe the
Second Nun or the Nun’s Priest, although both characters appear later in the
book). Each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on
the way back. Whomever he judges to be the best storyteller will receive a meal
at Bailey’s tavern, courtesy of the other pilgrims. The pilgrims draw lots and
determine that the Knight will tell the first tale.
Chaucer’s naïveté as observer is assumed for purposes of irony. Only the Knight,
the Parson and the Plowman are treated without any touch of irony at all, as
almost ideal figures. There is also a clear attack on corruption in the Church
(but done through the presentation of individual characters, such as the Monk,
the Summoner, and the Friar).
- VERSE: syllabic accentual verse (not purely syllabic). We measure the
verse using both the accents and the syllables. Iambic foot: 5 feet
IAMBIC PENTAMETER (succession of one unstressed syllable + one
stressed syllable)
Chaucer is the first poet who uses systematically and effectively the accentual
versification. He uses couplets and rhyme royal (ababbcc: one quatrain + one
triplet). The last verse of the quatrain rhymes with the first verse of the triplet.

30
1st PARAGRAPH:
- Conventional beginning with a “singing opening”.
- Highly rhetorical passage. The voice connects the power of springs with
pilgrimage analogy between rebirth-nature and spiritual regeneration.
- This description is a literary common place (‘topoi’).
2nd PARAGRAPH:
- Lower tone
- The poet specifies where he is with complete place-names that are
familiar to the readers. The narrator wants to localize the story in a place
known by this reader.
- Narrator is using the 1st person and he is participating in the story that
he is going to tell. He is one of the travellers.
3rd PARAGRAPH:
- The narrator is making explicit that he is telling the story
- The pilgrims are just an excuse to make a collection of different stories
-> it is a frame.
- The narrator tells the events from an internal focalization (angle of
vision)
PILGRIMS (in order of appearance): knight – esquire – yeoman – prioress –
monk – friar – merchant – clerk of Oxford – man of law (lawyer) – Franklin
(landowner) – 5 member of different guilds (guildsmen) – shipman – medical
doctor – woman from Bath – parson – ploughman – reeve (administrador) –
miller – servant – pardoner (bulero) – summoner (alguacil).
Great variety of people- the order of appearance is going to be described
according to social class. Chaucer gives us a collection of individuals who also
represent the different social and professional strata of the England of his day.
- First, he is referring to the lower nobility (gentry)
- Second, clerical elite group
- Third: a very large group: the bourgeoisie (clerk, surgeon, shipman,
franklin, doctor)
- The order of introduction follows a down movement (but it is not
completely logical)
- There is also a high proportion of clergy (a nun, three priests, a monk, a
friar, a parson, a clerk, and a pardoner)
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KNIGHT’S TALE
It is a romance that encapsulates the themes, motifs, and ideas of courtly love,
where love is like an illness, and the lover risks death to win favour with his
lady. The tale is set in Ancient Greece, but imagined as quite similar to feudal
Europe, with knights and dukes instead of heroes, and various other medieval
features.
Emelye is described as a lady who cannot be achieved through common courtly
situations, she belongs to a higher rank and is unattainable for both of the
cousins protagonists to the story. She’s described as a princess, more beautiful
that every other lady there is, compared to flowers and even the sun. Both her
and Hipolita, another lady from her family, manage to bring peace and mercy
into the lives of men around them. She wants to preserve her maidenhood and
prays to Diana that she won’t have to get married, but she’s denied her wish
and finally becomes another submissive woman just like all the others, and is
given as a trophy to the winner of the tournament. She is even happy when
Arcite wins, and grieves his death, but will also be happy being married to
Palamon in the end.
The main theme of the tale is the instability of human life, as joy and suffering
are never far apart from one another and nobody is safe from disaster.
Moreover, when one person’s fortunes are up, another one’s are down, being this
the pattern of the narrative in which descriptions of good fortune are always
quickly followed by disasters. Egeus is the only one who has lived long enough
to witness fortune’s rising and falling pattern, he’s the only human character in
the tale who understands that Fortune’s wheel is the plot’s driving force. He’s
the only man capable of comforting Theseus amid the general lament over
Arcite’s accidental death. The gods, whose role is to develop instability in the
lives of the characters, are the instruments of Fortune. The walls in their
temples describe them, Venus’ depict the traditional sufferings of the courtly
lover and portray the sinfulness that love can cause, Mars’ display hypocrites,
traitors, and murderers instead of the glories of war, and Diana’s depict
constant change. The decoration in each of the three temples shows the will of
the gods as opposite to human desires.

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THE MILLER’S TALE
The Miller
Physical appearance (exaggerated description to the point of
characterization). It seems a description of someone who sees this
character for the first time (description of the most salient features of the
character). This descriptive technique aims to give the sense of vitality and
reality in an elaborate narration.
The features that Chaucer selects from the pilgrims are details of external
and physical appearance (complexion, clothes, etc.). They are an indication of
their moral, spiritual, and social conditions.

All the stories are connected to one another by means of fragments/links in

which the pilgrims ask and reply -> interesting dramatic dialogue between
the pilgrims’ narrators. These links are very helpful to provide a sense of
unity to the whole connection and, at the same time, to give more
information about the characters.
In The Knight’s Tale, the knight narrates a romantic story of two friends
who are rivals for the love of the same lady. From this ideal presentation of
love, the Miller responds. This is a story of love set in Oxford.
In the Prologue, Chaucer tells us that the Miller is going to tell filthy tavern
stories.

TALE. The host asks the Monk to tell the next tale, but the drunken Miller
butts in and insists that his tale should be the next. He tells the story of an
impoverished student named Nicholas, who persuades his landlord’s sexy
young wife, Alison, to spend the night with him. He convinces his landlord, a
carpenter named John, that the second flood is coming, and tricks him into
spending the night in a tub hanging from the ceiling of his barn. Absalom, a
young parish clerk who is also in love with Alison, appears outside the
window of the window where Nicholas and Alison lie together. When
Absalom begs Alison for a kiss, she sticks her rear end out the window in
the dark and lets him kiss it. Absalom runs and gets a red-hot poker, return
to the window and asks for another kiss; when Nicholas sticks his bottom
out the window and farts, Absalom brands him on the buttocks, Nicholas’
cries for water make the carpenter think that the flood has come, so the

33
carpenter cuts the rope connecting his tub to his ceiling, fall down and
breaks his arm.

Two stories fused in one:

- An old husband deceived by his young wife
- Story of Alison: wooed by two young men

This story is a kind of parody or counterpart to the story told by the Knight.
It is a quick narration. Bawdy topic. Conventions of a specific genre ->
fabliau. These two stories are brought together and interwoven, and both
get to the climax at the same point.
First, there is a sequence of descriptions of the characters of the story:
- Nicholas > type-character. Not much information about his physical
appearance. Description focusing on his talent, his learning, his skills.
This description contrasts with the description of the following
characters.
- The carpenter > is an old man married to a young girl (18 y/o). he is
jealous.
- Alison > physical description indicating some elements of her
personality. She is compared to animals and flowers. Elements that
are not appropriate for a heroine of a romance (subtle parody tone).
Elements we would not expect in the description of a romance -> the
miller’s tale is a king of reply to the knight’s tale.
Realistic setting, not an ideal one.
GENRE. Fabliau in heroic couplets. Chaucer is using this genre as a
counterpart to the romance used in the knight’s tale. But at the same time,
this is an aristocratic genre which mock the lower classes. Two objectives:
- Make laugh
Keep that polish, aristocratic tone.
THE WIFE OF BATH

The Wife of Bath. The prologue has 856 lines, and the tale has around 400.
The prologue is more interesting than the tale. It is about a wife who has
had 5 husbands and tells us a long story about her life. She uses that
account of her life to teach wives how to control and dominate their
husbands. Themes of marriage and authority between the sexes. In the
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prologue we find a woman who was proud, sexually open, confident as a
weaver… She is one of the most vivid characters in this story.

Background information: one of the issues is the feminist perspective. We

should bear in mind the misogynistic literature available in those times. There
were several authorities in which ideas against women were clearly expressed
e.g. The Golden Book of Marriage. Others blamed women for the loss of
paradise, still. Another example is a satire in which we find an enumeration of
all vices women’s have.

Our character defends the idea that she has had 5 marriages because she is
strong and literate. The three marriages that were good were with men who
were rich and old. The other two were bad. Line 198: euphemism for sex. She
represents the bourgeoisie. She inherits their goods. Her motivations are money
and sexual pleasure. At the beginning, the idea of authority appears (line 1)
with a written signification. Her own experience is enough. There is an
opposition between authority and experience, she privileges experience and
teaches from her own examples in a very personal way. In a feminist reading,
it is telling us that this woman challenges the masculine power expressed in
written authorities. At the same time, it is a way of questioning the idea of
fixed authority. She questions the Bible. She uses two passages and contradicts
one with the other.

By sharing intimate details, in a way, she is a proto feminist that challenges

men who want to dominate. At the same time, she behaves as men expect
her to behave (object of desire and deceives her husbands to win the battle
of the sexes: traditional anti-feminist ideas). She admits in line 146 that she
can fake for profit. She exposes the superficiality of the stereotype, as well.
Line 593: her husband dies, and she is already attracted by another man.
Deceptions are important in the text. After the physical struggle (line 811), she
adopts the masculine role because she is now in control. She is the master
over the governors and the land. He only wants reputation and honor. The last
lines of the prologue sound like a happy ending of a story.

35
Analysis of the idea of marriage, men and women, authority… in which, basically,
the wife wants to have power over the husband, and she demonstrates this with
her own life. She goes on to tell the story.

There is a knight with no name who encounters an old woman who tells him
that she can give him the answer on one condition, to do what she tells him
to do. The knight must marry the old woman. The old woman gives him
another chance, “would you prefer faithful and old or unfaithful and young?”
She becomes a beautiful young submissive wife. The tale is an illustration of
the narrator’s principle (the wife). A knight submits his authority to the wife.
There is another contradiction in the story of a male protagonist that rapes
a maiden that is punished but, in the end, he is rewarded. Tension between
social ranks, claim to nobility.

The Wanderer and Deor’s Lament

Both the Wanderer and Deor’s lament talk about a warrior who confronts a
situation in which he must move on from a Lord he once served. Deor’s lament
offers a more optimistic view on the struggle of dealing with loss and solitude.
After each stanza, in which he portrays different situations that had a positive
outcome, the soldier in Deor’s Lament offers comfort in the idea that the fight
can be overcome. On the contrary, in The Wanderer, we find a darker attitude,
in which the soldier focuses more on the past and the conflict of living with
grievance for his kinship rather than on his future ventures.
- Sense of hope in The Wanderer (God) and in Deor’s Lament (passing of
time)
- Heroic attitude to move on
- Christianity in Deor’s Lament (v. 30): in the original text we find ‘drihten’,
instead of Lord’, which means lord, governor, warrior, leader and we also
find the term in religion contexts. The element has been Christianised in
the translation. Without this Christian view, the poet finds comfort in the
passing of time. It is not clear what the end of his plight means, death
maybe.
- They are both Anglo-Saxon elegies, group of extraordinary poems, quite
unique in Germanic literature expressing the lament of loss and
separation in first person, usually with a set of minds of feeling nostalgia.
36
The poem begins with the Wanderer asking the Lord for understanding and
compassion during his exile at sea. His kind lord died of old age and as a result,
the Wanderer has been exiled from his country. Exile because he has not found
another lord. A warrior that feels out of place in society. He complains about the
Germanic society and looks the feelings of men. It is a meditation or reflection
of the wanderer during all the poem. God’s mercy always comes to the lonely,
sorrowful men: ‘you have lost everything but you can find comfort in God’s
message’. As always there are Germanic elements with new Christian culture
and value. Germanic elements as in the belief in faith and the belief of
afterlife and the Christian beliefs of God caring for their people and that him,
is always protecting us and paving the way besides each one of them.
The Wanderer is an aging warrior who roams the world seeking shelter and
aid. The Wanderer’s monologue is divided in two distinctive parts, the first being
a lament for his exile and the loss of his king, friends, home, and the generosity
of the king. In nature he can find no comfort, for he has set sail on the wintry
sea. Poignantly, the speaker dreams that he is among his companions and
embracing the king, only to be awakened facing the grey winter sea and
snowfall mingled with hail.
In the monologue second portion, the wanderer reflects more generally on
man’s fate, urging, resignation and control of emotion as ways of meeting
adversity. From the ruined walls and cities that he encounters on his travels, he
witnesses the destruction that has befallen on societies, others besides his own
society.
1ST PARAGRAPH
God’s pity is the only element available to this wanderer. Idea of loneliness and
wandering. FATE is linked to solitude. There is a voice different to the
wanderer’s.
2ND PARAGRAPH
- The wanderer speaks (2nd voice that appears in the text). The 1st voice
presents the situation and makes a comment on faith and pity. A 2nd
voice represents a 2nd level.
- The wanderer is completely alone and he is talking to himself. He does
not speak to anybody because (v.11) he does not have anybody to speak
with: he cannot share his feelings.

37
 o This impossibility of sharing one’s feelings is a Germanic concept -
> man (masculine sense) who should keep his feelings to his own.
He should not open his heart to anybody and he self-imposes that.
Paradoxically, what he is doing is exactly the opposite: telling his
feelings to the reader.
- Solitude; sadness and desolation as he misses his friends (warriors) + he
has lost his Lord, whom the wanderer loved so much (“dear Lord’s face”)
- Association of solitude with the idea of sailing in a winter’s sea. He is
looking for another lord to whom he could serve, as his condition of
warrior in a feudal society requires so. It is a TRAGEDY the fact that he
does not have a Lord (he should play homage and fealty). This “gold-
Lord” is the one who will give the wanderer friendship and presents.
- Loss of friends > he dreams of having what made him happy.
- He speaks of himself using the 3RD PERSON SG (3rd voice)
- In his dreams, he remembers his relationship with his lord and his past
and lost happiness. He awakes feeling the loneliness around him and the
first thing he sees is the SEA.
o That feeling of banishment and exile is continually associated with
the sea.
- (p.5) He thinks about (=ponders) mankind FATE. There is a change as he
passes from his own experience to apply it to everyone’s experience. He
makes an individual topic a universal one (Humanity)
- (v. 80) He asks himself where everything is he longs for -> It is in the
PAST; what it is left is ruins hit by winter storms.
- (v. 100) Repetition of the concept of FLEETINGNESS and
EPHIMERALITY of everything.
- (v. 103) Different voice again. Advice: the good man keeps his faith and
finds comfort without the necessity of “unburden his breast.” He will find
comfort in God, his heavenly Father.
- “OUR” (v. 108) -> it indicates everything is a kind of sermon as the
speaker is referring to the Fortress and Strength of every Christian.
STRUCTURE:

This is called a FRAME STRUCTURE (“estructura marco”). The 1st voice appears
in the 1st and last paragraphs to frame the wanderer’s discourse: the MERCY of
God and the faith is what matters. The main idea is the groaning of the lonely
wanderer.

38
THEME:

It is the lament of a solitary warrior who had once been happy in the service of
a loved lord, but who now, long after his lord’s death and the passing away of
that earlier time of happiness and friendship, has become a wanderer
journeying the paths of exile across the icy sea. It is a lyrical poem because it
is an expression of feelings (elegy).
- It is about the fleetingness of happiness in life and the loss of all that
really matters
- The poem ends with some conventional moralizing, but the main part of
the elegy is an impressive lament for departed joys, done with a plangent
tone of reminiscence and an effective use of the ubi sunt? theme –
“Where are they?” – that was to become such a favourite in medieval
literature.
- He is speaking in first person to himself -> emphasis on the idea of
loneliness. He is expressing his emotions, basically about the loss of his
lord, of the companionship of his friends, and about the mead-hall. Once
he has expressed all these emotions about the loss of all the elements
he valued, there is another action in which he is emphasising that loss by
means of a dream. He wakes up and realises the poignant reality.
From paragraph number 6 (p. 5), there is a new action: reflection is now a
meditation. He becomes a wise man / a sage.
GERMANIC ELEMENTS:

- Everything that is worthy for a warrior (honour, loyalty to the lord, etc.)
- The idea that a man has to hide his feelings
- Die for something
- Reward
- Fate
- Companionship
CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS (few Christian elements):

- Faith in God
- Idea of mercy / pity
- Fleetingness of life

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There is a moralizing Christian frame which reshapes the whole message ->
faith in God is the only hope in life. In Christian terms, The Wanderer is a kind
of allegory (human being wandering)
Exeter Book: The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament, The Husband’s message: these
are algo elegies: lament for the loss of someone or something, first person
speaker, lament for the fleetingness of life, the transience of all worldly
material achievements which are vain, etc. They show the same spirit of
loneliness, solitude, and nostalgia. They are all connected to the sea (longing for
something).
DEOR’S LAMENT

Contextual information is needed. Weland, the maker, the legend says that he
was captured to work for someone and he was tied up. Yet, he escaped and
killed the sons of his captor, Nithhad. Reference to a king, Theodoric; reference
to a tyrant, Eormanric.
- Eorl: duke, count, warrior…
- Plight: predicament. Deor lost his job and his land (given to him by his
lord) to another
- Mild: gentle.
THE DREAM OF THE ROOD

Predominant poem, Christianity, and Germanic culture. One of the earliest

examples of a dream poem, a poem where the story is said to be a part of the
dream of the speaker.
The speaker confesses that he feels like a sinner blood indicating suffering
contrasts the rest of the tree ‘adorned with treasure’.
The speaker is giving voice to the tree and the tree becomes a first-person
narrator, to make the experience more immediate. Personification of the tree.
Perspective of Christ’s crucifixion from the tree’s point of view. Impulse of
revelling against the situation but he accepts the idea that he has to contribute
to God’s plan to redeem mankind. Jesus Christ as ‘the young Hero’, ‘the Warrior’.
Terms of heroic poetry used in a Christian thematic. Notion of sharing Jesus’
suffering.
There is another message in the story. Wielder of Triumphs referring to Jesus
Christ. ‘We’ the crosses. He tells a part of the story that might be incomplete.

40
The tradition says the cross was buried and then it was found. The cross is
aware that he is an object of veneration.
‘Now I command you’: you is the speaker. Theological purpose of the poem. The
last paragraph belongs to the dreamer. He finds hope in the cross.
SIR GAWAIN AND ARTHURIAN TRADITION AND CHIVALRY

→ Story around the Arthurian Legend tradition

→ Courtly love / Chivalry ideas
→ Southern France emerged and is associated with feudal vassals and knights.
Expresses the love for the feudal lords’ daughters. Origins from the lyrics of
Provencal trobadors (Courtesy)
→ Relationship between lord and the vassals.
→ Key manual of ethics → ‘De amore’ (Andreas Cappelanum)
Characteristics

1. Courtly love: a highly conventionalized medieval tradition of love between

a knight and a married noblewoman, first developed by the troubadours
of southern France and extensively employed in European literature of
the time. The love of the knight for his lady was regarded as an
ennobling passion and the relationship was typically unconsummated.
2. Chivalry conduct (Knighthood). Loyalty to the lord. The key manual to
follow through; → ‘The Book of the Order of Chivalry’ by Ramon Llull.
Different duties of the man: to defend women and weak people and also
protect the lands, defend the peasants from the thieves or other bad
people.
3. The Arthurian matter → a huge variation of stores around king Arthur
and his knights. Legendary myth and perfect court.
Decline of the Vulgate cycle → French romance cycle, a critic and darker
Arthur
→ The decline of King Arthur and his court originated by his affair with his
sister.

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SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT.

During a New Year’s Eve feast at King Arthur’s court, a strange figure, referred
to only as the Green Knight, pays the court an unexpected visit. He challenges
the group’s leader or any other brave representative to a game. The Green
Knight says that he will allow whoever accepts the challenge to strike him with
his own axe, on the condition that the challenger find him in exactly one year to
receive a blow in return.
Stunned, Arthur hesitates to respond, but when the Green Knight mocks
Arthur’s silence, the king steps forward to take the challenge. As soon as Arthur
grips the Green Knight’s axe, Sir Gawain leaps up and asks to take the
challenge himself. He takes hold of the axe and, in one deadly blow, cuts off
the knight’s head. To the amazement of the court, the now-headless Green
Knight picks up his severed head. Before riding away, the head reiterates the
terms of the pact, reminding the young Gawain to seek him in a year and a day
at the Green Chapel. After the Green Knight leaves, the company goes back to
its festival, but Gawain is uneasy.
Time passes, and autumn arrives. On the Day of All Saints, Gawain prepares to
leave Camelot and find the Green Knight. He puts on his best armour, mounts
his horse, Gringolet, and starts off toward North Wales, traveling through the
wilderness of northwest Britain. Gawain encounters all sorts of beasts, suffers
from hunger and cold, and grows more desperate as the days pass. On
Christmas Day, he prays to find a place to hear Mass, then looks up to see a
castle shimmering in the distance. The lord of the castle welcomes Gawain
warmly, introducing him to his lady and to the old woman who sits beside her.
For sport, the host (whose name is later revealed to be Bertilak) strikes a deal
with Gawain: the host will go out hunting with his men every day, and when he
returns in the evening, he will exchange his winnings for anything Gawain has
managed to acquire by staying behind at the castle. Gawain happily agrees to
the pact and goes to bed.
The first day, the lord hunts a herd of does, while Gawain sleeps late in his
bedchambers. On the morning of the first day, the lord’s wife sneaks into
Gawain’s chambers and attempts to seduce him. Gawain puts her off, but
before she leaves, she steals one kiss from him. That evening, when the host
gives Gawain the venison he has captured, Gawain kisses him, since he has won
one kiss from the lady. The second day, the lord hunts a wild boar. The lady

42
again enters Gawain’s chambers, and this time she kisses Gawain twice. That
evening Gawain gives the host the two kisses in exchange for the boar’s head.
The third day, the lord hunts a fox, and the lady kisses Gawain three times. She
also asks him for a love token, such as a ring or a glove. Gawain refuses to give
her anything and refuses to take anything from her, until the lady mentions her
girdle. The green silk girdle she wears around her waist is no ordinary piece of
cloth, the lady claims, but possesses the magical ability to protect the person
who wears it from death. Intrigued, Gawain accepts the cloth, but when it
comes time to exchange his winnings with the host, Gawain gives the three
kisses but does not mention the lady’s green girdle. The host gives Gawain the
fox skin he won that day, and they all go to bed happy, but weighed down with
the fact that Gawain must leave for the Green Chapel the following morning to
find the Green Knight.
New Year’s Day arrives, and Gawain dons his Armor, including the girdle, then
sets off with Gringolet to seek the Green Knight. A guide accompanies him out
of the estate grounds. When they reach the border of the forest, the guide
promises not to tell anyone if Gawain decides to give up the quest. Gawain
refuses determined to meet his fate head-on. Eventually, he comes to a kind of
crevice in a rock, visible through the tall grasses. He hears the whirring of a
grindstone, confirming his suspicion that this strange cavern is in fact the
Green Chapel. Gawain calls out, and the Green Knight emerges to greet him.
Intent on fulfilling the terms of the contract, Gawain presents his neck to the
Green Knight, who proceeds to feign two blows. On the third feint, the Green
Knight nicks Gawain’s neck, barely drawing blood. Angered, Gawain shouts that
their contract has been met, but the Green Knight merely laughs.
The Green Knight reveals his name, Bertilak, and explains that he is the lord of
the castle where Gawain recently stayed. Because Gawain did not honestly
exchange all of his winnings on the third day, Bertilak drew blood on his third
blow. Nevertheless, Gawain has proven himself a worthy knight, without equal in
all the land. When Gawain questions Bertilak further, Bertilak explains that the
old woman at the castle is really Morgan le Faye, Gawain’s aunt and King
Arthur’s half-sister. She sent the Green Knight on his original errand and used
her magic to change Bertilak’s appearance. Relieved to be alive but extremely
guilty about his sinful failure to tell the whole truth, Gawain wears the girdle on
his arm as a reminder of his own failure. He returns to Arthur’s court, where all
the knights join Gawain, wearing girdles on their arms to show their support.

43
This story presents a negative view of the legend there is no courtly love. He
agrees to sleep with a lady, seduce her and go to bed with her. No loyalty,
virtue, or courtly love.
Important elements to study: construction of the hero, women, and
Christianity.
HEROISM

Heroism in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Romance is a genre in medieval times that is basically an aristocratic genre,

representing characters actions that appeal to the values of the aristocratic
audience. Several romances also provided a darker image of knights. Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight (late 4thC - the idea of knighthood had been under
scrutiny; the role of a knight was being slowly replaced by a more professional
militarism).
Sir Gawain is first mentioned in stanza 6, “sitting beside Guinevere”, he has this
honour of sitting next to the queen. His bond is also a family one, strong and
faithful (loyalty and courage). References to him are all positive, he is a sort of
an ideal. Stanza 27, Gawain had a reputation (reinforcement of it), “good and
true and faithful [.. ] void of all villainy”. Stanza 44, “true man” sometimes ‘truth’
can refer to fidelity, spelt ‘troth’, reputation of being a faithful knight. Gawain as
the epitome of a knight (ideal).
There are other references to Gawain as a seducer, he tries to find a balance
between being courteous and seducing this lady. Offering and resisting struggle
to do so.
There are three attempts (symbolism in numbers) to cut off his head - axe
blow. In the last one, the Green Knight only makes a little scratch in Gawain’s
neck. Gawain survives it, he has proven to honor his word, but then the Green
Knight saves his life. Gawain has gone through a few tests to prove his loyalty,
strength, righteousness, . . which has been a huge test. He breaks promises to
the lord (he hid something from him). He fails in courage (accepts he has been
a coward with the lady).
Misogynistic passage 2420-. Stanza 101, everyone’s happy that Gawain survives,
but Gawain is not very happy with the welcoming he receives because he feels
humbled for that reception. Gawain has failed as a hero, as a knight, he
professes and acknowledges that. There is an implicit pride, idea that Gawain
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took his reputation for granted. He had to keep a secret and he relied on his
reputation for it not to be revealed. Reputation lasts until one single failure
destroys the good name one has.
It was produced for the elite, and general romances reflected their ideals. It
was an element of the culture of the time that contributed to the construction
of these social codes (chivalry, courtly love.. etc.) but one thing is the ideal and
another, reality. Some celebrated them, others denounced them. Presentation of
the knight as such in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight but criticizing him (not
in a harsh way though, in a re-affirmative way). Token of shame turned into an
element of brotherhood. “The Brutus books” (Eneas descendent) (goes back to
the beginning of the poem, circular). The fact that Gawain fails as a knight, the
poem could be questioning those values.
Stanza 37. The knight is treated very kindly. He is offered food, generosity. A
feast would normally consist of meat, but it was a time when one had to
prepare himself for winter, with fish. Eating fish of all kinds is a very good meal,
so it is ironic. This gentle knight judged that meal generously - ‘feast’. There a
lot of anticipations, the castle was a trap for the knight, to put Gawain to the
test.
Stanza 38. The approach to the knight was appropriate. Expected behaviour of
a knight. This stanza has a function as presenting Gawain as the perfect knight
in contrast to when he fails. He is perceived as a living example to teach the
other knights.
Stanza 39. Christianity, Gawain has the image of the Virgin Mary on the inside
of his shield. Is Gawain a Christian poem though? It is not concerned about a
Christian message, the salvation of the soul…
Role of knight was being replaced by more military professionals.
Ideals → main character is the one of the best knights in the court. Stanza 6
(107) → he sits in a privileged seat besides the queen (Guinevere), faithful and
strong.
- Stanza 27 → Gawain’s shield described (gold).
- Stanza 42 → Value system → ‘do your command as it corresponds’
- Stanza 44 → true man as reference to Gawain. (line 1079) Insistence of
reference to his heroism from part of the narrator. Girdle → game of
seduction (romance of the vulgar tradition) A man of good reputation
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 refuses to the kind of seduction seen in the story. Refuses to kiss but
finally does so.
- Stanza 74 → after refusing three times she gives him the girdle (1846)
Poor value.
The girdle could save his life him for the deadly blow at the end of the story.
By keeping it a secret from his lord and not giving him the girdle as it was part
of the deal, he will use it because it has the power to defend himself. This is
another negative point regarding the Arthurian and chivalric themes because he
is not a person you can trust, whenever he thinks he can save his own life, he
will do it, instead of carrying in on the deal.
- Stanza 95 → The lord's wife (2358) → The green knight planned that
game of seduction. It was a test. He praises Gawain even if he has taken
the girdle. He endured the seduction but not the girdle that it is
supposed to save his life. A fault in loyalty and honesty. Loyalty about him
following the accord they had before. He understands the reason of why
he took the girdle but he also sees that Gawain has broken any loyalty
with him by taking it. Gawain got mad and was ashamed. After being
thoughtful for a long time. He shrinks of shame and he has been
humiliated. First, how boasted about how good he was and now is time to
be ashamed.
Villainy and vice that destroy virtue. → He acknowledges that he has failed and
that he has not been a good knight. He has broken the chivalry code. He did not
keep his word and was a coward. Feared his own life and kept the girdle that
will save him.
- Stanza 97 → Another chivalric code, he has been lied to (Green knight
and his wife).
Audacias de la mujer → Women’s manipulation.

In a state of rage, he tries to put the blame on women. Misogynistic discourse

on women. Image of a failing hero → He did not live up to the expectation
in the chivalric code. Everyone is happy to have him back in Camelot but
Gawain’s reaction is different.
- Last Stanza → He says to the Lord Arthur his shame. The girdle is put
as a sign of his shame. Disloyalty and unfaithfulness. He would wear it

46
 for the rest of his life as part of his humiliation. He does not want to
hide it, but to show it to everyone.
When he lies (chivalry) he can destroy his own reputation and of his own
round table of knights that follow the rules obediently. The code always
says to not lie and be honest with the others. Here there is final
message for the people (audience, mostly aristocrats).
Final scene reflects the wrong ideals → romances an expression of their own
ideals as society.
Relation between ideals and society: others provide a critical view of this
romance. A comic and funny treatment of these knights. BECAUSE → The king
Arthur comforted the knight and also the court did. Brotherhood and
companionship at the end. Everyone wears a girdle to show companionship →
Celebration of the ideals of chivalry.
Reference to Troy → ancestry of the nation (origins of the romance Britain)
→ Romulus and Aeneas, because it humanizes the image of the knight and not
everything is perfect. We see in all of them a failed hero. It is shown a
sympathetic image and brotherhood. Celebration of the brotherhood and loyalty
(everyone wears fiercely the girdle to show him companionship) to be
reintegrated in the court. He is forgiven and reintegrated. Not a fault by his
brothers.
In comparison to Beowulf → In both cases we see examples of a failed hero.
He as a king decides to kill the dragon just because of his own ambition and he
fails and is killed and also put his own people in danger. Ambition for glory is
great for young warriors (to gain recognition) but not for old kings. Both are a
celebration of heroic ideals → Example of loyalty and imperfection
Example of recognition:

- Stanza 37 → He is welcomed by the lord as a house guest to spend the

nights there until after New Year’s. After having his own room and
changed into nice clothes he is given a great and fabulous feast. He is
treated extremely well. Christmas Eve.
- Stanza → After they are seated and eating, they ask Gawain who he is
and why is he there. After saying he who he is everybody knows who,
they really admire him and compliment him just for who he is.

47
TREATMENT OF WOMEN

In the 13th century when it was written, as well as in the Arthurian era in which
it took place, Christian traditions made a male-dominated society in which
women had very little perceived power. They were treated with idolatry and
reverence but were not respected as capable beings in their own right. Much of
the chivalric code that knights were pride themselves on assumed that women
could not achieve much for themselves and therefore men had to achieve it for
them.
Morgan le Fay and Lady Bertilak → seductress / tempess
One can witness that the true power of women to achieve their own ends was
through manipulation of men, even in the patriarchal society of Camelot. The
genesis of the story would not have occurred if it were not for the ulterior
motives of a woman, Morgan Le Fay. She is sorceress and who is also Arthur’s
half-sister. She appears often in Arthurian literature, often as the lover of
Merlin the wizard and others. (2448) → ‘the mistress of Merlin, she caught
many a man’ She is the mastermind of the story → she puts Sir Gawain to
test.
Stanza 98 → How humiliated he is (Gawain) and it is revealed that Morgan has
been the one that has controlled most of the story.
CHRISTIANITY

Arthur (Christian king) → the green knight challenges the Arthurian court.
It is a Christian poem? Depends on what it means it can be another answer or
another. The characters are Christian, the setting is on Christmas time and they
talk and mention saints. HOWEVER, it is not concerned about the Christian
doctrine and the story it is centred mostly on knighthood and brotherhood
(companionship).

48
 Renaissance lyric
Renaissance starts in England after Chaucer’s death in 1400, as he was
considered the last big medieval mind of the country. There are wide
divergencies in the chronologies of European Renaissances, and while England
was still producing the Canterbury Tales or Sir Gawain, Italy was already a
humanist country. These ideas were brought to England by translators and
tutors, which were very fashionable at the time. England had by this time its
first modern monarchy: the Tudors, and Elizabeth I saw the longest and most
flourishing period for literature, as political stability provided a good framework
for artistic creation.
Petrarch and Dante had a very important influence on English literature, being
Thomas Wyatt a clear example of this. There was a rapid development of poetic
forms and techniques, and the English sonnet was born. Sonnet were created as
an Italian literary form and as such its verses were quantitative instead of
stress-based, but quantitative verse is not used in English poetry, so the sonnet
structure had to be adapted.
DEFINITIONS
A sonnet cycle is a collection of sonnets addressed to the same person and
dealing with the same theme. A sonnet crown is when the last line of the
sonnet coincides with the first line of the second sonnet and so on, up until the
last sonnet, where the last line of the last sonnet is the same as the first line
of the first one.
WYATT/ HOWARD – PETRARCH’S RIMA 140 – PUB. 1557

Both their versions of Petrarch’s poem were published in Tottel’s Miscellany,

1557, which was the first major published collection of English poetry. At the
time, the concept of originality was very different to what it is nowadays: one
was original if one created an English version that resembled the Italian original
sonnet as much as possible.
The original theme of the poem was love, it was dedicated to Laura, Petrarch’s
lover. Both translations keep this theme, although they introduce some
differences. While Howard’s version speaks about a permanent condition where
he tries to court his lady and fails many times, making a general statement
about their relationship, Wyatt’s deals with a single attempt that fails and
49
makes the woman was supposed to say no and the man would fight for her
love, as opposed to the previous dominance of the male over the lady’s wishes.
Both translations use military language to convey this sense of a battle,
although Wyatt’s is a bit more explicit.
In the first stanza they speak about their condition, in the second one we find
the lady’s reaction to the courting, and then the results of the action.
EDMUND SPENSER – AMORETTI AND EPITHALAMION – PUB. 1595

This is a sonnet cycle tracing the suitor’s long courtship and eventual wooing of
his beloved, Elisabeth Boyle. She would marry him eventually, but his cycle deals
with non-reciprocal love much before the wedding.
Sonnet XXXIV
The speaker compares himself to a ship lost at sea, as he is lost loving
Elisabeth and not having her. A storm has hidden the stars that should guide
him, which he identifies in the second stanza as his beloved, the brightest star,
who is turning herself away from him, leaving him astray. He hopes the storm
will pass and he’ll find his guide, but until then he resigns to wander around in
sorrow.
Sonnet LXXV
Here he deals with the ephemeral quality of love. In an effort to immortalize
the name of his beloved, he writes it on the beach, only to have the waves wash
it away. He tries again with the other hand, but the same happens. When she
tells him his effort are vain, he claims he can and will immortalize her in her
poetry, so even when death comes, they’ll live in print and their love won’t be
forgotten. We find both their voice in the poem.
PHILIP SIDNEY – ASTROPHIL AND STELLA – PUB. 1591

He wrote this cycle after his failed attempt to marry his beloved, Penelope.
They were engaged but they were torn apart when her brother married her to a
richer man. Sidney believed that poetry had to be an expression of true
feelings, a reflection of the poet’s soul. In his Defence of Poesy, he talked
about two kinds of literature: the one that delighted the reader and the one
that was meant to teach something and considered a blend of both teach and
delight.

50
Astrophel and Stella tracks the development of a love affair. Over the course of
the cycle, the narrator Astrophel falls in love with Stella. Most of the sonnets
consist of Astrophel talking with Stella as the recipient of his speeches. Stella’s
thoughts and personality are revealed to us only through her actions and
occasional speeches. Eventually, she will get into an unhappy marriage with
another man, and although she will return some of Astrophel’s affection, she
ends their relationship when his passion becomes uncontrollable.
Sonnet I
Here Sidney tells the reader how his poems should be read. It is a blend
between classic content about love and literary criticism. He thinks he cannot
communicate his feelings through writing but he believes if Stella read the
poems, she would eventually love him back. He speaks about his difficulties to
write and how he sought inspiration in the work of other poets but eventually
realized that if he waned to express his true feeling he should write from his
own heart. Sidney is here conflicted between his lover side and his poet side.
He knows Stella and he wont be ever together, but he can’t help but desire her.
This is the first demonstration of the clash between reason and passion that
will be a crucial element throughout the whole cycle.
Sonnet VII
It opens with a riddle, calling attention to the fact that Stella’s eyes are black,
a colour with very bad connotations at the time. The rest of the poem are
several possible answers to the riddle of why Stella’s eyes are black if she’s
such a beautiful lady, reaching the conclusion that they are so in order to
mourn all the men who died for her love. The only certain thing is that her eyes
have a destructive effect upon the lover, in a version of the traditional
metaphor that ‘the mistress’ eyes can kill the lover with a ‘glance’.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE – SONNETS – PUB. 1609

The sonnets are usually divided into three sections, a first one called the
procreation sonnets, where he invites his young male lover to have kids, because
he was so beautiful and perfect he had a moral obligation to have offspring
which would perpetuate his genes, a second part focused on the ravages of
time, where time is seen as the major enemy of life and Shakespeare will break
the medieval conception of time as a passage and will instead see time as a
fracture, a broken cycle ending in death, and a third part dealing with sexual
health and practices. The three recurring characters are his fair lord, the dark
51
lady, and the rival poet. The sonnets open with a plea to the beloved to have
children so him and his beauty would combat the ravages of time, although in
the first poems about time (sonnet XVIII) he finds in poetry a solution to
immortalize the beauty of his fair lord. Time will resurface in several of the
sonnets, and the division between the fair lord and the dark lady will also be a
division between platonic love and carnal lust.
Sonnet XVIII
It is the most famous of the sonnets, the first of the time sonnets, a classical
Shakespearean piece versing about how to preserve the beauty of love through
time. The beauty of his fair lord is compared to a summer day, finding the
latter totally insufficient to be used as a simile for his beloved’s perfection. He
will seek to immortalize thus the beauty of his lord through his poetry, which
will stay the same through time for anyone to read, and every time someone
reads his poems the beauty of his lord will come back to life.
Sonnet LX
Each quatrain engages the theme of the ravages of time in a unique way, with
the destructive forge of time redoubling with each line. In the first quatrain
the flow of time is compared to the incessant beating of the waves against a
shore, in the second one he uses the sun as a metaphor for human life,
asserting that time both gives and takes away the gift of life, alluding to the
famous time paradox present in various of his poems. Time destroys the
perfection of youth, but in the final couplet the poet has the intention to
outsmart Time himself by eternalizing his beloved in his verses. The narrator
seems to be haunted by time and everything that it entails, including mortality,
memory, inevitability, and change.
Sonnet LXXIII
It focuses on the narrator’s own anxiety over growing old, and again each
quatrain takes up the theme in a unique way, comparing the narrator’s stages of
life to various examples of the passing of time in nature. In the first quatrain
he compares his current life stage to Autumn, in a clear reference to his
approaching the end of his life. In the second quatrain he uses the hours of
the day: his sun has set and Death will be soon upon him. Each quatrain is more
urgent than the last, and the emptiness and permanent character of Death is
fully grasped by the narrator in the third and last quatrain, completing the
notion of time as a fracture: whereas the seasons and days are infinite cycles,
52
human life is not, once one cycle is complete Death takes our life away and
that life will never return, thus the necessity of finding some kind of
immortality, in this case through poetry.

More’s Utopia (1516)

What is Utopia? Fiction not novel
Why such a success? Founder of communism. Largely because of the literary
quality of this text, it posses important questions for contemporaries and for us
nowadays. It was originally written in Latin; Robinson’s translation is the one we
are reading.
What does it mean? It gathers social meaning
How do we read it? It can have very different approaches; we shall read it from
our contemporary concerns (unemployment, corruption/politics/justice, economy,
education, health, war/terrorism, immigration/refugee…)
Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516, right before the outbreak of the
Reformation, during the time when the stresses and corruption that led to it
were swelling toward conflict. Utopia depicts what its narrator claimed to be an
ideal human society, founding a tradition of utopian literature. More doubtedly
considered the island of Utopia to be perfect, but it was a depiction of a semi-
ideal society forwarding rationalism and utilitarianism as a criticism of the
European world he saw around him. Utopia can be seen as the culmination of
rational thought or humanist beliefs, as an alternative to feudalism, as a
statement in favour of a communal society, as an effort to promote reform
according to Christian values… either way, Utopia was intended as an imaginary
place of betterment, a guideline to the betterment of real societies. He
produced a text so carefully designed that people from many backgrounds
found answers to their concerns in it, concerns that still today we have in our
contemporary society. Happiness is the ultimate objective to achieve, and he’ll
discuss issues such as unemployment, politics, economy, education, or war in
relation to this.
It can be considered as pertaining to a variety of genres, from political
literature to literary fiction, satire, etc. There’s a problem of identification of the
plot due to the blend of genres as a result of the division into Book I and Book

53
II, where Book I was written afterwards and sort of comments on Book II.
Book I is basically a dialog analysing the ills of the criminal system in England,
which imposed excessively tough punishments to insignificant crimes, while
More supported proportionality in punishment, as well as dealing with the role of
scholars in society: More believed that a scholar should be obliged to help the
governor, as his knowledge was useful to the community, even if that made him
uncomfortable, but his protagonist and narrator, Raphael, will defend the
opposite position, arguing that kings were more devoted to war than to peace
affairs and they engaged in those wars to get more land when they couldn’t
even take care of the land they got before (in clear criticism to Henry VIII).
Also, they didn’t want true advisors, only people who told them what they
wanted to hear.
The proper names used have clear connotations that could easily be missed due
to the non-elitist character of the text. Raphael Hythlodaeus, the protagonist, is
the one who brings good news as well as the one that talks nonsense, Utopia’s
capital city, Amaurot, is the castle in the air, etc. There is a permanent tension
between both sides of etymology throughout the text. The reader will always
believe what the writer says as long as it is supported on reliable bases: the
character narrator is so well constructed that the reader tends to believe him
because “he was there”, additional documents are added to the main texts such
as letters or official documents to make it seem more true, what is called
parerga, and all this added to the factor of veridictionality (the tendency to
assume that what someone is saying is true) results in a credible text for the
reader.
There are three voices: More the author, Morus the character, and Raphael the
narrator.
Freedom is the first thing people have to give up in Utopia, in exchange for
material happiness. There’s no privacy and they have their whole lives scheduled
to adapt society: their needs are reduced so their happiness will reach their
lowered expectations. Everyone is given house, clothes, and food, but they all
wear the same, all their houses are the same and have to be interchanged
every ten years, and they eat stern food in common dining halls. These reduces
production costs to the minimum, to which we must add an almost a 100%
participation in the workforce, with only about 500 people free from working in
the whole island. They only work six hours a day, but it is enough to produce
what they need. They have built a microeconomic system which they’re not

54
willing to share with strangers, reinforcing this voluntary isolation by having
turned the original peninsular terrain where they settled into a very well
controlled island.
This lack of freedom is also present in the authoritarian system of government
under which the island acts. They have a very limited democracy but slavery and
capital punishments are common in Utopia, where something as simple as
talking about politics outside of the Parliament could lead to execution or
ridiculously severe punishments. They have a Constitution without a reform
clause, so progress is absolutely discouraged, but they do have a Parliament
where they can vote on laws and representatives. Their proposals have to wait
three days to be voted, to give time to form alliances and weigh the pros and
cons of each proposal, contrary to what happened in England.
They encourage and educate the members of their society to not fall under the
Greed that More considered to be one of the worst habits of modern society.
Children were taught to see gold and precious stones as mere toys used in their
childhood but dismissed as childish as they grew up. Gold and silver were used
to make chains and fetters for the slaves, and people were taught to value
materials for their usefulness instead of its beauty or scarcity as it happened
outside Utopia. There wasn’t any currency either. The gold they had they kept it
to finance mercenaries in case they would need them. Although they were
mainly against war, they were still very well prepared to fight if the moment
arrived, and the whole population was trained to fight. There were only a few
reasons that could get them to wage war, mainly based on self-defence and
helping other oppressed nations. They deemed magnicide as legitimate if that
would help avoid a Civil War that would take thousands of lives, so necessary to
support their society. Death could be honourable if it served society or if
through dying one could avoid being a burden, so euthanasia (authorized by the
governing system in the right conditions) was encouraged, although suicide was
considered a serious crime.
By the end of the book we find a dialog confronting the views of Raphael and
Thomas Morus, with one praising Utopia and all their decisions and the other
finding many issues absurd and being mainly against the lack of currency and
the ways Utopia had to discourage covetousness.

55
The Context of UTOPIA

Utopianism within the context of humanism and The Renaissance. More

was a humanist. We are at a time where we no longer trust the truth. People
still believed that the apocalypses was approaching, what was the point of a
revolution if the end was near? By More’s time, it was necessary.
This world, opportunity, and obligation. The universal thirst for
perfection and betterment. Christians were trying to change the minds of
their contemporaries, something had to make about social justice, population,
economy issues that were left unattended. It was never intended as a perfect
place but as a place of betterment. This will develop into totalitarian ideas.
The utopian impulse and the social function of literature.
Utopian reading and writing

What’s in a word…? It’s extremely hard to define. The etymology introduces the
essential paradox of utopia as a literary genre: no place that is a good place. An
imaginary place that is supposed to be good but can be true. A function of the
imagination to produce betterment. Images of a perfect world have existed
since the beginning of time (Eden, Arcadia…). Utopia is the ultimate function of
a state, it’s about happiness (having a good job and salary and time for leisure).
Happiness as contentment. There is a formula to happiness in Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
Unemployment

The job market and economy when the text was written was that virtually
nobody worked. The modern monarchy gets all the power, the nobility surrenders
that power and become courtiers (the knight in Lazarillo de Tormes). The
Church, monastery, and convent prays and they work in their little piece of land
for themselves. People would be taken to fight the 100 Years War. The only
people left were women and children. No unemployment but no production
either and that is the problem. More exposes.
In Utopia they work for 6 hours a day, highly productive and everybody works
(massive workforce) and also the reduction of needs is necessary (identical
houses that they exchange every ten years to not get attached). They all wear
white robes, they own two. They eat at common dining halls; they don’t prohibit
private dining but they strongly encourage otherwise. Utopia is a better place in
respect to the society of departure of the author. Anti-utopia is the opposite; it
56
looks like a Utopia but it was not. Dystopia is when everyone who read it
wouldn’t recognize it’s a bad society.
Genre

From a generic perspective this is a prose work of fiction. It can also be read
as political literature that deals with economy and politics. It’s connected to
satire (full of rhetorical devices inherited from the Greeks). It is related to the
literature of travel (it depends on the percentage of time or words that are
dedicated by the author to the description of the voyage – society of departure,
travel, and society of arrival).
Literary Devices.

A very common device is the use of etymologies for satire (the title). The
capital city is called Amaroth (air castle), the name of the river is Anyder (river
with no water). The character narrator of Utopia Book II is Raphael
Hythlodaens – Hyhloday. Their connotations: Raphael is an angel associated with
good news and Heaven; Hythlodaens means the talker of nonsense. There are
three voices (More the author, Morus the character and Raphael carries the
voice of the narrator).
The eye-witness technique: character narrator constructed to suspend your
belief and believe him because he was there. Veridictionality as a principle we
believe someone won’t tell us a lie. Parerga: prefatory documents that are
postponed to the end of the main narrative (the letters) as proof. It’s a better
place that can’t exist (it’s a no place) -> Important contradiction. You can’t talk
about Utopia without creating a new language, to create similitude, to persuade
people to consider this alternative, emphasizing that it’s true.
Symbols

The main symbol is the island (isolation = alienation)

1516

Canonical date, the earliest edition was poorly translated.

Textual problems: constrains in regard to reading a translation. Robinson makes
big mistakes in his translation. More talks about a Republican society and it has
been mistakenly translated as King Topos. Book II was written before Book I.t
is written in a very journalistic manner; it is not intended to be elevated in style.

57
Major themes

War, family, religion…(written as headers). The basis of the text is a dialogue

between Raphael and the narrator who are hesitant to accept that it is a
positive model that can be used in society. Book I: ills and fixes of the criminal
system (proportionality). The role of the scholar (what is one supposed to do?):
it’s a duty to give good council to the King.
Raphael: opposite to Thomas More’s ideas, he has been designated as his
character narrator though. The city and the isle: was Utopia always an island? No.
Opening Section of BOOK II of UTOPIA

Identification: this is an excerpt taken from Thomas More’s The Best State
of a Commonwealth and the New Island of Utopia’s book II, published in 1516,
although Book II was written before Book I, probably written in 1515.
Commentary: explain literary devices used in the excerpt. Crescent moon,
womb-like, connotations: the shape of the island in the mind of the readers
(isolation) is not the result of nature but of history, as the topography of Utopia
was the result of war, when the winning party had the peninsula turned into an
island. The perspective of the islanders was that of imprisonment and
oppression. There are difficulties to get into the island, if they don’t want you
there you will end up dead. It’s a political system made by people who don’t
want other people to come to their island, it is a microeconomic system.
As we mentioned before, Utopia is the result of a war. The first foundation of
the country is an act of war and, then the violent act of isolation – you are
there to prevent progress or change. That’s why we observe that, later, Utopos
wrote a constitution without a reform clause.
There are 54 cities that symbolize More’s time’s England, which was made of
53 shires + the city of London. It makes an equivalent to a real society.
Utopian view of RICHES, GOLDS AND JEWELS (not really a chapter but
a section)
Commentary: how to assign value: if there is little of something it is more
valuable. Other criteria used was utility if it’s useful it’s valuable. Another reason
could be aestheticism. They find this nonsensical and invalid. They only value
material for its utility. What to do they do with gold? They make chains for
58
slaves and for children as toys, and lastly, for chamber pots. Children learnt that
gold was dirty and used to do our necessities and also meant lack of freedom.
Of their military discipline

Commentary: Against war with exceptions seen in this excerpt. They are in
favour of killing the leader without jeopardizing the lives of other people, it’s
called magnicide.
Euthanasia and suicide

Commentary: you need approval to kill yourself. You should not use
extraordinary artificial measures to extend one’s life.
Marriage and divorce in UTOPIA

Commentary: divorce on mutual consent. There was also a nude show as a

rebellion against the customs; the institutions of marriage was being rebelled
against.

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE – DR. FAUSTUS – PUB. 1604A/1616B

Sin, redemption, and damnation

In making a pact with Lucifer, Faustus commits the ultimate sin, he consciously
and eagerly renounces obedience to God, choosing instead to swear allegiance
to the Devil. In reality, the possibility of redemption is always open to him, all
that he needs to do is to ask God for forgiveness, but he will reject every
change he has of doing so up until the very end of the play.
At the beginning of the story he will misread the New Testament, leaving out
the possibility of redemption promised by the Bible and depicting religion as
something promising only death and not forgiveness. He has two angels,
representations of his conscience in a classical medieval way, one in each
shoulder, who represent the struggle between his desires and what he knows he
should do. Here Marlowe uses language in very specific ways to lean towards
the evil angel, making his speeches more appealing by telling Faustus all the
things he could do if he embraced Lucifer, and thus influencing him to ignore
the good angel, who always told him all the things he couldn’t do, in favour of
the other one. When the good angel fails Marlowe introduces yet another

59
classical medieval figure, that of the old wise man, as a last attempt for
Faustus to reject Lucifer and come back to God. But Faustus will systematically
reject all these opportunities, partly because he believes it is too late for him
now, since he misread the passage of the Bible versing about damnation and
redemption, and partly because his thirst for knowledge and power are greater
than his fear of Hell.
Mephistopheles tries to talk him out of the pact by telling him of his own
torturous existence, but once again Faustus misinterprets what he’s hearing and
thinks that, if Hell is not a physical place, it cannot be any worse than a
continued existence on Earth. He fails to understand the difference between
Mephistopheles, who has lost Heaven permanently, and himself, who could still
be redeemed.
Throughout the whole play Faustus will prove to be determined to see only what
he wants to see, rejecting reality and trying to see only the good things in evil,
like when in his first encounter with Mephistopheles he compels him to come
back dressed as a friar so he wouldn’t have to see his awful true form. He goes
ahead with the pact even when his own body tries to prevent it: his blood
congeals so he is physically incapable of signing the pact, and a written warning
telling him to fly away appears in his arm, but he’s unable to commit to good.
Towards the end of the play, however, we see how all his ambitions have turned
into superficial issues, and how he himself has decayed and wants, finally, to
achieve redemption. He realizes his death is near, although twenty- four years
seemed like a long time when he signed the pact, they’ve passed too fast (and
we as readers perceive this when we only get a few facts from all those 24
years) and now he’s truly scared of what’s ahead. Some critics consider that in
the end Faustus is saved, as he truly repents and accepts his own guilt, after
begging to have eternity reduced, he finally owns his responsibility thus
achieving attrition. Also, he might be considered as possessed by the Devil
throughout the text, so he couldn’t be blamed entirely for his actions. Finally, a
third argument in favour of his salvation is the fact that the Devil never truly
fulfilled Faustus’ requirements in the pact, as he wanted never-ending
knowledge, absolute power, and true love, and he only obtained some knowledge,
no power, and no love whatsoever.

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Conflict between Medieval and Renaissance values
The Medieval world placed God at the center of existence and shunned aside
man and the natural world. Renaissance carried a new emphasis on the
individual, on classical learning, and on scientific inquiry into the nature of the
world.
In the medieval academy theology was the queen of sciences, but Renaissance
took secular matters to the central stage. Faustus explicitly rejects the medieval
model as he goes through every field of scholarship, rejecting all of them. From
logic to medicine, law, and theology, he will quote the most reputed ancient
authorities in each (Aristotle, Galen, Justinian and the Bible), following the
medieval concept that authority rather than inquiry was key, and he will reject
all of them, seeking for something else, something superior. His thirst for
knowledge, or libido sciendi, was beyond all that, thus he will resolve in full
Renaissance spirit to accept no limits, traditions, or authorities in his quest for
knowledge, wealth, and power. He stablishes a hierarchy of disciplines and
discards them all wanting higher things, rejecting even religion when he
considers it to be incapable of nothing else than death and despair. He’s left
only with magic and the dark arts, which he will use to fulfil his enormous
needs. He wants to have everything without having to work for it, so he resorts
to magic to reach the ends without passing through the means. His ambition at
this point is infinite, and his Renaissance aspirations will bring upon him a
medieval punishment: eternal damnation.
At a time when Britain was going through a clash between Medieval and
Renaissance models, the text is a sort of bridge between both eras, as the
latter didn’t yet provide a full system of values for people to substitute the
older ones. The text can be read as part of a psychomacia or a late morality
play: Faustus wanted too much, he desired knowledge beyond what ‘heavenly
power permits’ and thus he will have to pay medieval price for it, although being
a Renaissance man himself.
Libido sciendi, libido sentiendi, and libido domianndi.
The thirst for knowledge, love, and power were the three things that brought
Faustus to his pact with Lucifer and were the three main thirsts of Renaissance
as a movement.
Those three things were what men could aspire to in order to achieve a certain
kind of immortality. When it came to knowledge, Faustus plainly rejected the
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main areas of the time and their authorities, quoting each of them and
deeming them insufficient to satiate his thirst, making a very anti-medieval
statement in putting personal inquiry above ancient authority. He wanted more,
and so he resorted to the dark arts, his ambitions were at first the greatest of
all, wanting to get to the center of everything, to have knowledge beyond what
man could undertake, and he will start his journey by taking a ride in a celestial
chariot to learn the mysteries of astronomy, but his happiness will come to a
halt very soon, as he cannot be answered when he asks who created the world,
because he rejected God when making his pact, and God is the only answer to
that question. His ambitions will fall from then on and he will end up being a
simple buffoon in courts and settling for dumb tricks and jokes when he used
to want everything in the world. He wanted once to conquer the whole world
and even reshape the continents to his likings, and he will finally achieve
nothing of political importance, at least in the A-Text.
As to his thirst for love, he will ask Lucifer for a wife and find that he cannot
provide such a thing, so in a last desperate attempt to gain immortality and
escape his ultimate punishment he will ask to have Helen of Troy, to whom he
will ask a kiss. We see Faustus go from a man full of ambition in every sense, a
man who wanted to know the deepest secrets of the universe, who wanted to
be sole emperor of the world and find true love, to a joker, a man who contents
himself with cheap tricks and jokes, a man desperate to find immortality in the
lips of an illusion when he realizes his life has gone by and none of his libidos
were satiated.
The three libidos of Renaissance will fall as he approaches his medieval
punishment, his Lucifer-like Fall into damnation caused by his pride and
excessive thirst for things that no man should want in the first place, according
to the medieval set of values.

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