ASSIGNMENTS: Essays and Activities
Click a unit or assignment below:
1. BEOWULF
- The Heroic Ideal
- Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Epic Tradition
2. LEGENDARY HISTORIES OF ENGLAND
- Geoffrey of Monmouth and the History of Britain
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Context
- Malory's Morte Darthur
3. CHAUCER
- "Estaat" and "Degree" in the General Prologue
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Medieval Antifeminism
- The Wife of Bath's Tale and the Arthurian Tradition
4. POETRY AND REBELLION
- Piers Plowman's Vision of Social Justice
- Beast Fable and the Representation of the Uprising of 1381
5. HOLY DALLIANCE: JULIAN OF NORWICH AND MARGERY KEMPE
- The Material Visions of Julian of Norwich
- What Sort of Woman Was Margery Kempe?
6. STAGING MIRACLES
- Religion and the Stage
- Reading the Location of the Mystery Plays
- The Allegory of Everyman
7. CHRIST'S HUMANITY
- Middle English Crucifixion Lyrics
- Contrafactum
1. BEOWULF
- The Heroic Ideal
Writing Activity
In one or two paragraphs, describe how the image of heroism in the Exile of the Sons of Uisliu accords with the Anglo-Saxon ideal, and how it differs. Who is the real "hero" of the Irish poem, Noisiu, Fergus, or Derdriu?
- Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Epic Tradition
Essay
Write on one of the following themes:
- How and where does Beowulf seem to represent the values of the Germanic, pre-Christian warrior society it describes? How and where does it reflect the Christian values of the poet and his intended audience? To what extent does it recognize and resolve this conflict of values?
- Compare the poet's treatment of Grendel and the dragon. Do these monsters contribute to our understanding of the ethical/social values of Anglo-Saxon society? What purpose do the monsters serve in the poem? Do Grendel and the dragon represent different kinds of evil?
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2. LEGENDARY HISTORIES OF ENGLAND
- Geoffrey of Monmouth and the History of Britain
Wace's King Arthur tells his barons, "We ought to hate those who hated our ancestors and injure those who injured them." Consider the probable ancestry of the various twelfth-century men and women who wrote about King Arthur—Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Layamon, Marie de France, Gerald of Wales—and also the ancestry of their intended audiences. How would each of them interpret the principle stated by Wace? What influence do you think this may have had on the way they adapted the legend of King Arthur?
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Context
Write on one of the following themes:
- In Gawain and the Green Knight, the history of Britain is seen as a story of alternating "bliss and blunder." Which of these two receives more emphasis in the poem, and in the other Arthurian texts you have read? Would you describe these works as optimistic or pessimistic in the comparison they draw between Arthurian and contemporary values?
- In the poetry of the fourteenth century, we find many passing references to the Trojan Brutus, whose conquest of Britain was described by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Compare Geoffrey's account with the references to Brutus in the first and last stanzas of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and in Chaucer's short poem, Complaint to His Purse. What elements of national history do each of these writers emphasize in their references to Brutus?
- In Gawain and other texts of the period we find reference to the betrayal of Troy by Aeneas, the founder of Rome and great-grandfather of Brutus. Why would the writers choose to remind readers of this act of treachery by a national ancestor? What does Aeneas's treachery suggest about the history—and future—of Britain?
- Malory's Morte Darthur
Write on one of the following:
- Arthur's nephew Gawain is among the earliest of his companions to play a significant role in the stories. How do his role and character seem to change in different genres (e.g., chronicle, romance) and texts, including Layamon's Brut, Marie de France's Lanval, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the final books of Malory's Morte Darthur?
- In the conclusion of Morte Darthur, Malory attributes falsehoods in the Arthurian tradition to "favor of makers"—that is, the national bias of authors. What signs of "favor" do you find in Malory and the earlier Arthurian authors?
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3. CHAUCER
- "Estaat" and "Degree" in the General Prologue
Some of the descriptions of social types in the General Prologue can be compared with works of medieval "estates theory," which describe these types in ideal terms. Write a paragraph or two on one of the following comparisons:
- The Knight and Squire in the General Prologue and their counterparts in The Book of the Order of Chivalry, written circa 1276 by Ramon Lull.
- The Monk in the General Prologue and his counterpart in The Rule of Saint Benedict.
- Chaucer's pilgrims as a group and their counterparts in the Anglo-Saxon monk Aelfric's description of society as consisting of three orders, those who pray, work, and fight.
- The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Medieval Antifeminism
Write on one of the following themes:
- Make a close comparison of the Old Woman in The Romance of the Rose and Chaucer's Wife of Bath. Look particularly at Chaucer's use of passages from the Romance. Does either author reveal any sympathy for woman's estate, and, if so, how can you tell?
- The Old Woman's advice on table manners reappears in the description of the Prioress in Chaucer's General Prologue. Do the Old Woman and the Prioress share the same motives for their behavior? Are there any other ways in which the Prioress appears similar to the Old Woman, or to the Wife of Bath? How does knowledge of this source change your understanding of the Prioress?
- The Wife of Bath's Tale and the Arthurian Tradition
Compare the Wife of Bath's Tale with Marie de France's lay Lanval, another story of a mortal knight tested by a fairy bride. What are the most significant similarities between the two tales? What factors might account for the differences between them?
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4. POETRY AND REBELLION
- Piers Plowman's Vision of Social Justice
In Passus 6, how successful is Piers's solution to social injustice? What do you think of Piers's decision to excuse the knight from labor in return for his defense? Do the knight's subsequent actions justify this decision? Who seems to hold the greatest authority over the people on Piers's half-acre?
- Beast Fable and the Representation of the Uprising of 1381
Compare Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale with Gower's allegory of the Uprising of 1381, making sure to consider the following questions:
- In each text, do animals occupy a single estate or several estates?
- How do the estates of the animals relate to the estates of the humans in these texts?
- Do Gower and Chaucer both condemn the Uprising of 1381 and, if so, do they condemn it from the same perspective?
- Are there significant differences in their versions of the peasants' motives and actions?
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5. HOLY DALLIANCE: JULIAN OF NORWICH AND MARGERY KEMPE
- The Material Visions of Julian of Norwich
Writing Activity
Respond in writing to one of the following:
- What sort of physical phenomena and material objects are referred to in Julian's Showings? From what spheres of life do these things come? What kind of image of material life in the late Middle Ages could you build up, if you had only this one text to go on?
- Compare the anchoress Julian of Norwich's image of Christ as a mother with the parable in Ancrene Riwle in which Christ is a warlike knight. Are these two ways of thinking about the Son of God simply contradictory, or are there common elements? What might each suggest about the lives and social position of medieval anchoresses?
- What Sort of Woman Was Margery Kempe?
Writing Activity
Write a close analysis of the parallels between Margery Kempe and either Julian of Norwich or the Wife of Bath. You may use the broad similarities discussed above as a starting point, but be sure to deepen and expand your analysis, comparing specific passages from the texts. How does this comparison help you to understand the socially and spiritually complex position of Margery Kempe?
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6. STAGING MIRACLES
- Religion and the Stage
Choose one play and describe how you would produce and stage it in order to bring out the doctrine. In particular, how would you deal with the comic scenes, or scenes with comic potential?
- Reading the Location of the Mystery Plays
In many respects besides accent, the atmosphere of The Second Shepherd's Play and of The York Play of the Crucifixion seems closer to late medieval England than to ancient Judea. What features of these plays strike you as particularly anachronistic? Which of these anachronisms seem to be the product of historical ignorance, and which may be intentionally inserted by the playwright? What motives might lie behind the intentional use of anachronism?
- The Allegory of Everyman
What features of Everyman, if any, seem to exceed the allegory? Does personification operate on the same level throughout the play, and for all the characters? Is it possible to "translate" the allegory of Everyman into real events (as Hunger's assault on Waster translates to a real event)? Try rewriting the plot of Everyman without recourse to personification allegory. Can all the episodes in the play be translated in this way?
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7. CHRIST'S HUMANITY
- Middle English Crucifixion Lyrics
Writing Activity
How can we account for the power and intensity of lyrics as brief and simple as "Ye That Pasen by the Weye" and "Sunset on Calvary"? What effects do you think these lyrics are trying to achieve, and how do they achieve them? You might begin by writing out a paraphrase of what "happens" in each of these lyrics—what is being described, and from whose perspective?
- Contrafactum
Creative Writing Activity
The medieval practice of contrafactum involved recasting a profane song as a religious hymn, or vice versa. Can you perceive any examples of this kind of practice in our society today? (You need not think solely in terms of religious versus secular, but also, e.g., "high" versus "low" culture.) Think of a song that has been popular in the last few years—a song that has roused controversy because of its content would be a good choice. Now try "rewriting" this song to express an opposing set of values (they need not be religious). Your aim should be to preserve as much as possible of the original song's rhythm, tone, and imagery, whilst turning the "message" on its head.
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