300 likes | 387 Views
Controversy over Passion Plays. Two linguistic and literary historical periods Old English—Anglo-Saxon Middle English. Medieval Section Overview. Beowulf. Nature of the hero Structure of the poem Relation to issues of gender. Canterbury Tales. Estates Satire
E N D
Two linguistic and literary historical periods Old English—Anglo-Saxon Middle English Medieval Section Overview
Beowulf • Nature of the hero • Structure of the poem • Relation to issues of gender
Canterbury Tales • Estates Satire • Miller’s Tale—Fabliau—Quitting • Wife of Bath—Anti-feminist Satire • Pardoner— • Spiritual and physical ambiguity
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • Text Structured through parallels • The façade of courtly culture • Testing of Knightly Identity
Kempe • Auto-hagiography Affective piety
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)
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
Fairie Queene • The genres of the FQ--overview • Epic • Romance • Allegory
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
Genre epic • Spenser’s epic elements • Begins in medias res • Use of epic simile • 1.2.16
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
Fairie Queene • Proem • The Poetic “I” (stanza one) • Gloriana (stanza four)
Genre: Allegory • A darke conceit • Allegory and levels of meaning
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
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
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
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
Una and RCK separated • Allegory of the English Church • Allegory of Truth and Holiness
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
Duessa Episode • Combat with Sans Foy (I.2.16) • Fradubbio (I.2.31) • Duessa Revealed (I.2.41)
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
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
Guyon • Reactions • St. 55 • St. 66 • Guidance from the Palmer (69)
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)
Bower destroyed • Guyon’s destruction of the Bower 83
Possible contexts • New World • Ireland • The Elizabethan court itself