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Literary Exploration of Old and Middle English Periods: A Comparative Analysis

Delve into the linguistic and literary historical periods of Old English and Middle English, exploring renowned works like Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Kempe. Discover the unique nature of each piece, from themes of heroism and gender issues to the testing of knightly identity and auto-hagiography.

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Literary Exploration of Old and Middle English Periods: A Comparative Analysis

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Controversy over Passion Plays

  2. Two linguistic and literary historical periods Old English—Anglo-Saxon Middle English Medieval Section Overview

  3. Beowulf • Nature of the hero • Structure of the poem • Relation to issues of gender

  4. Canterbury Tales • Estates Satire • Miller’s Tale—Fabliau—Quitting • Wife of Bath—Anti-feminist Satire • Pardoner— • Spiritual and physical ambiguity

  5. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • Text Structured through parallels • The façade of courtly culture • Testing of Knightly Identity

  6. Kempe • Auto-hagiography Affective piety

  7. Welcome to the early modern period • Literary Division • Anglo-Saxon or Old English Literature • Middle English Literature • The Early Modern Period, aka The Renaissance • The Elizabethan Age: reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) • Jacobean Age: Reign of James I (1603-25) • Caroline Age: Charles I (1625-49) • Commonwealth period (1649-1660)

  8. Spenser

  9. The Fairie Queene • Not a poem to “solve,” but rather to experience • Exploration of identity • Exploration of abstract ideas • Red Cross and Una are characters and concepts

  10. Fairie Queene • The genres of the FQ--overview • Epic • Romance • Allegory

  11. Genre--epic • Long narrative poem • Serious and formal style • Heroic, perhaps quasi-divine central figure • Tells the story of a nation, a tribe or even all of humanity

  12. Genre epic • Spenser’s epic elements • Begins in medias res • Use of epic simile • 1.2.16

  13. Genre--Romance • We’ve already seen some romance • Auerbach’s definition • Romance—The Letter to Raleigh • ”To Fashion a Gentleman” • P. 716 (8th) and 777 (9th) • Archaic language

  14. Fairie Queene • Proem • The Poetic “I” (stanza one) • Gloriana (stanza four)

  15. Genre: Allegory • A darke conceit • Allegory and levels of meaning

  16. Fairie Queene • Canto One—Den of Error • Red Cross Knight I.1.1 • Una I.1.4 • Wandering Wood I.1.7 and I.1.10 • The Den of Error I.1.11 line 96 ff • The Monster Error I.1.14 line 123

  17. Fairie Queene • Canto One—Den of Error • Red Cross Knight I.1.1 • Una I.1.4 • Wandering Wood I.1.7 and I.1.10 • The Den of Error I.1.11 line 96 ff • The Monster Error I.1.14 line 123

  18. Error • From the Latin, errare (to wander) • What is the nature of this error? • How does this monster represent this? • Epic simile, Nile: I.1.21

  19. Archimago Episode • Archimago introduced I.1. 29 • Hypocrisy • Connections to Catholicism I. 1. 35 • The creation of the false Una I.1.45 • Una and RCK separated • RCK’s anger: 1.1.4 and 5

  20. Una and RCK separated • Allegory of the English Church • Allegory of Truth and Holiness

  21. Duessa (I.2.13 ff) • What she signifies—some critical views • Falsity • Church of Rome • Mary Queen of Scots • Whore of Babylon • Sans Foy—Saracen I.2.12

  22. Duessa Episode • Combat with Sans Foy (I.2.16) • Fradubbio (I.2.31) • Duessa Revealed (I.2.41)

  23. Book II • Guyon—Knight of Temperance • Temperance as Moderation • OED: “practice or habit of restraining oneself in provocation, passion, desire etc. Rational self-restraint • Accompanied by Palmer--Reason

  24. The Bower of Bliss • Location in an artificial Garden (st. 42) • Enclosed, but how: st. 43 • Genius and the Self (st. 47) • Sexual Temptation • Acrasia in the Bower

  25. Guyon • Reactions • St. 55 • St. 66 • Guidance from the Palmer (69)

  26. Acrasia • Her name means “intemperance”’ • Allegory: temperance conquers intemperance • Witch with her lover (st. 72) • Temptress who turns men into beasts (Circe) • Sensual temptation (st. 77) • Loss of masculine strength (st. 80)

  27. Bower destroyed • Guyon’s destruction of the Bower 83

  28. Possible contexts • New World • Ireland • The Elizabethan court itself

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