Beowulf
Story
· Beowulf is a boastful warrior and hero of the Geats.
· He travels a long way to help the King of the Danes, Hrothgar
· Saves the mead hall from the demon Grendel
· Beowulf decides to fight Grendel unarmed because Grendel has no weapons
· During the fight Beowulf rips Grendel’s whole arm off and Grendel goes back home to die.
· A celebration (banquet) is held in honor of Beowulf. Then, Wealhtheow gives Beowulf a collar and asks him to be protector of her sons.
· Grendel's mother comes and seeks vengeance but Beowulf kills her as well and keeps her head as a trophy
· Beowulf returns back to the hall of King Hygelac and the Geats
· Becomes the king of the Geats for 50 years
· Beowulf goes to battle the dragon and the dragon bites Beowulf in the neck
· Eventhough he had told his men to stay away from the battle, Wiglaf goes to his aid and stabs the dragon
· Beowulf stabs the dragon again and the dragon is defeated
· Beowulf asks to see the treasure they gained before he dies
· After seeing it and giving Wiglaf his collar, he dies as an honorable king and legend
Characters
Beowulf:
Warrior,
Hero, Ring Giver, Virtuous, Boastful, Very strong, Loyal, Brave
Hrothgar:
King of Danes, Helps Beowulf
Grendel:
Descent
of Cain, Demon, Evil, Destroys the Mead Hall, Ugly, gets arm cut off from
Beowulf, Dies
Beow:
Son
of Shield Sheafson, Sheafson’s heir, Second king of Danes, Halfdane’s father
Unferth:
Killed
his brothers, Boastful, Jeaolous of Beowulf, Challenges Beowulf
Grendel’s mother:
Vengeful,
Demon, get head cut off by Beowulf, Dies
Wealththeow:
Hrothgar’s
wife, asks Beowulf to protect her sons, Gives Beowulf a collar, Queen
Hygelac:
King
of Geats, Hrothgar’s nephew,
Ecgth:
Beowulf’s
father
Dragon:
Guards
treasure, Bites Beowulf, Evil
Wiglaf:
Kingsman,
helps Beowulf defeat the dragon, loyal, receives Beowulf’s collar
Themes/Motifs
- Honor
- Mortality, Death
- Vengeance
- Glory
- Fate
- Balance
- Good vs. Evil
- Loyalty
- Greed
Quotes
- “’ I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old/ but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight/ for the glory of winning’” (2511-2514).
- "Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better /to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning./For every one of us, living in this world/means waiting for our end. Let whoever can/win glory before death. When a warrior is gone,/that will be his best and only bulwark."(1384-1389)
- As Beowulf prepared to fight Grendel unarmed, he said, “And may the Divine Lord in His wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side He sees fit” (685-687).
Lanval
Story
·
Lanval is a poor knight because he has given all
of his wealth away
·
Because of that and other reasons the other
knights and Arthur envy him
·
Arthur does not pay him and Lanval does not ask
to be paid
·
One day he takes a trip outside the kingdom
·
He meets two beautiful women in rich clothing
who take him to their lady
·
The “lady’s” castle is grand and beautiful, far
more than other king’s
·
The lady, who is a fairy, is beyond beautiful
and confesses her love for Lanval
·
When he sees her he instantly falls in love
·
After being together she makes him promise he
won’t say anything about their love
·
When he is home the Queen comes on to him
·
He rejects her because he is loyal to his King
·
She claims he is gay and full of anger tell the
King he tried to seduce her
·
The king gives him a chance to explain and
Lanval tells him the truth about his true love
·
No one believes him and the fairy lady does not
come to his rescue
·
He becomes depressed and the other knights worry
·
The lady finally shows up and everything is
solved and she takes him in her horse and they ride off
Characters
Lanval:
Knight, valor, generous, handsome,
brave, envied, falls in love with the fairy, loyal,
Fairy Lady:
Very Beautiful, Supernatural, Falls
in love with Lanval
Queen Gwenneviere:
Temptress,
liar, accusatory, unfaithful, conceited
King Arthur:
Does
not pay Lanval
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Chivalry
- Courtly Love
- Role Reversal (Men vs. Women)
- Duty (to Lord or Love)
- Temptress
- Vindictive women
- Supernatural women
Quotes
1.
“’My lady,’ he said, ‘let me be/ I have no
desire to love you/ I’ve served the king a long time/ I don’t want to betray my
faith to him/Never for you or for your love/ Will I do anything to harm my
lord’” (269-274).
2.
Love stung him with a spark
that burned and set fire to his heart
"Lovely one," he said, "if it
pleased you,
if such joy might be mine
that you would love me,
there is nothing you might command,
within my power, that I would not do,
whether foolish or wise. I shall obey your command;
for you i shall abandon everyone. (118-28)
3.
"Lanval gave rich gifts / Lanval released
prisoners / Lanval dressed jongleurs / Lanval offered great honors. / There was
no stranger or friend / to whom Lanval didn't give" (209-214).
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Story
·
During King Arthur's New Year Eve's Feast, the
Green Knight makes a visit· He challenges the king to strike him with an axe on the condition that in one year the Challanger will receive a blow with the axe in return.
· The king accepts the challenge, but Sir Gawain steps in for him instead.
· Gawain cuts off the Green Knight’s head with one blow
· The Green Knight picks up his head and leaves reminding Gawain of the pact
· Sir Gawain procrastinates his quest to the Green knight and begins his journey to find him in Autumn
· In winter time he stops by a castle and the lord welcomes him.
· The lord, Bertilak, makes a deal with Gawain, which is more of a game that he will give Gawain his winnings from hunting and in return Gawain’s gaining’s during the day.
· During the deal the lord's wife begins to tempt Gawain and asks for kisses
· Every time the lord gets back from hunting they exchange gifts and Gawain gives the Lord kisses.
· One day the lady offers Gawain a ring and other tokens of love but he refuses to take any until she mentions her magical green girdle that can save his life
· Gawain takes the girdle but only exchanges kisses with the lord
· The next day Gawain leaves to continue on his journey to the Green Knight.
· He finds the Green knight who teases him twice with faking blows to his neck
· On the third attempt he scratches his neck
· The Green Knight reveals that he is Bertilak and because Gawain withheld the girdle from him he drew blood from his neck
· Gawain wears the girdle as a symbol of his dishonesty and disloyalty even though all of the other knights and people think he is a worthy knight
Characters
Sir
Gawain:
Knight, King
Arthur’s Nephew, Humble, Takes the Chivalry Code seriously, loyal
The Green Knight:
Green, very
tall, also Bertilak, Supernatural, likes to Challenge, likes to play games,
Bertilak:
Hosts Gawain,
generous, King also the Green Knight
Bertilak’s wife:
Temptress,
beautiful
Morgan La Faye:
Set up
everything for Gawain, supernatural, King Arthur’s half sister
King Arthur:
King of Camelot,
supports Gawain in also wearing the girdle
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Chvalry
- Temptation
- Courtly love (conflict)
- Trials
- Fate
- Forgiveness (others and oneself)
- Self preservation
- Honor
- Honesty
- Morality
- Time/seasons
- Death/eternal life/mortality
- Women (temptress/evil)
- Supernatural women
Quotes:
1.
“I will drape across my chest till the day I
die/ For man’s crimes can be covered but never made clean” (2510-2511).
2.
Such terrible mistakes/and I shall bear the
blame/But tell me what it takes/to clear my clouded name.(2385-2388)
3.
"For Gawain was as good as the purest gold–
/ devoid of vices but virtuous, loyal / and kind, / so bore that badge on both
/ his shawl and shield alike, / A prince who talked the truth: / known as the
noblest knight" (633-39).
Miller’s
Tale
·
John is an old carpenter married to a young
woman, Allison
·
Nicholas is a studied young man who pursues
Allison
·
After an aggressive pursuit Alison gives in
·
They want to spend the night together, but John
is extremely jealous
·
Nicholas studies astrology and comes up with a
plan
·
He tells John a second flood is coming and he
should get ready
·
John sets up three barrel like floaters at the
top of the house with one days supply of food
·
When Nicholas gives the call john must release
the barrels into the water
·
As john is inside one the boat like barrels
Alison and Nicholas plan to spend the night together
·
Absolon and parish clerk also loves Alison and
decides to woo her on this same night
·
When he comes to her window he asks her to come
out to kiss her
·
She sticks out her bare bum and Absolon kisses
it
·
Absolon decides to seek revenge and grabs a
burning hot steel to put on her but when he asks for a kiss again
·
This time Nicholas decides to stick out his bare
behind in place of Alison and fart in his face
·
He gets burned and yells, “water!” so John releases the barrel and is injured
Characters
The Miller:
Narrator, Drunk
John:
Carpenter, old,
married to Alison, jealous, not very bright (studied), afraid of being cokewold
Alison:
Eighteen years
old, married to John, caged, attractive, has an affair,
Nicholas:
Attractive,
bold, flirtatious, boarding with John and Alison, went to college for a year, studies astrology, loves Alison
Absolon:
Parish clerk, in
love with Alison, uptight, squeamish about farts, prudish about vulgar talk,
musician (guitar and singer)
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Fabliou
- Class issues
- Oppression/entrapment of women
- Age issues
- Astrology
- Men and women relations
- Temptation
- Religion
- Education issues
- Hypocrisy
- Vengeance
- Sex/sexual deviants
- Cuckoldry
- Jealousy
Quotes:
1.
“Jalous he was and heeld hire marwe in cage
For she was wild and young, and he was old
And deemed himself been lik a cokewold
He knew not Caton for his wit was rude
That bad men sholde wedde his similitude
Men sholde wedden after his estat
For youthe and elde is often at debate” (116-122).
Wife of Bath’s Tale and Prologue
Story
·
Prologue is about her telling her story
·
She has had five husbands and the only one that
worked was where she had full control
·
One of her husbands would always read books of
bad women
·
She grew tired of it and hit him, he slapped her
and left her deaf
·
After the fight they makeup and give her control
and honor and she returns the favor by being a great wife
·
The tale is about a knight who rapes a young
woman
·
When he’s about to be sentenced the queen
intervenes and proposes he find what women really want, he has a year
·
In his quest he get different answers
·
He meets an old woman who makes a deal with him
to tell him the correct answer if he’ll return the favor by doing whatever she
asks after
·
He agrees; answer is that women want control
·
Queen saves him for having the correct answer
·
now he has to marry the old women as his pact,
but he would prefer death, but he does it
·
She gives him an ultimatum: she is young and
unfaithful or old and faithful
·
He tells her it is her choice
·
She then becomes young and beautiful and
faithful
Characters
Wife of bath:
Married 5 times,
strong views of women, wants control, deaf, ready fro husband number 6
The Knight:
Rapes, goes on a
quest, finds what women want, marries old lady
Old Lady:
Supernatural,
wants power, turn beautiful, young and faithful
Queen:
Intercessor, challenges
the knight, doesn’t believe he will have right answer, wants control because the King listens to her
King:
Want to punish
the knight, obedient to wife
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Marriage
- Control
- Role of women within marriage
- Sexual license within marriage
- Time
- Rape
- Women as intercessors
- What women want
- Quests
- Sovereignty of women
- Honor
- “happy wife, happy life”
- Supernatural women
Quotes
1.
“After that day we hadde nevere dabat/ God help
me so, I was to him as kinde/ As any wif from Denmark unto Inde” (828-831).
2.
"He yaf me al the bridel in myn hand/To han
the governance of hous and land/And of his tonge and hand also"(819-821).
3.
“I governed hem so wel after my lawe / That eech
of hem ful blisful was and fawe” (225-26). –
The Pardoner
Story
·
The Pardoner preaches against certain things,
yet he does it
·
He sells forgiveness and relics: bones, mitten,
etc
·
“Avarice is the root to all evil”
·
Tells a sermon about three guys who go out
looking for death because it has taken one of their friends
·
Meet an old man who wants death to come to him
·
The guys think the old man is death’s spy
·
Old man says death is over by an oak tree
·
They find gold and become greedy
·
The youngest goes out to buy drinks and poisons
them to kill the other two
·
The other two plot the youngest death and stab
him when he returns
·
They drink to celebrate and die
Characters
The Pardoner:
Money driven,
liar, hypocrite, takes advantage of his power and the poor
The three guys:
Looking for
death, greedy, murderers, die
Old man:
Wants death,
sends boys to the oak tree
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Greed
- Hypocrisy
- Lies
- Cheating
- Pride
- Gluttony
- Exemplum (sermon)
- Irony
- Death
- Sin
- Chaucer’s critique of Catholic practice of pardoners
Quotes
1.
"Thus can I preche again that same vice /
Which that I use, and that is avarice" (139-40).
2.
" Goode men and wommen, oo thing warne I
you/if any wight bein this chirche now/That hath doon sinne horrible ,that he/Dar
nat for shame of it yshriven be [ ... ]” (90-100).
3.
"Now goode men, God foryive you youre
trespas, / and ware you fro the sinne of avarice [...] ." - (616, 617).
Margery
Kempe
·
Margery is the only story that is not a poem;
non fiction· She is a bizarre women
· Speaks in third person because it is less of an ego/individualistic approach
· She is the Mayor’s daughter, therefore cannot be treated as the bizarre women she is
· Got sick after giving birth to her first child
· She goes crazy and starts giving in to temptations and believes she is listening to the devil
· Has a vision of Jesus who tells her to stop
· She does and turn deeper to her religion
· Ask for celibacy to her husband in order to go on a pilgrimage
· He agrees on the condition that they will still sleep in the same bed and that she will eat with him on Friday’s
· She spiritually marries Jesus
· She feels she has the duty to spread His word and save humanity
· Sees fluttering wafer which means there will an earthquake
· He send tribulation so people will turn to Him
· People still think She is crazy
Characters
Margery:
Very religious,
has visions, marries Jesus, had 14 children, goes on a pilgrimage, very emotional, has strong connection to the physical
aspect of Jesus
Husband:
Supportive,
agrees to her celibacy deal, has less money than her, cares for her
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Role of women
- Religion
- Physical aspects of Jesus
- Physical experience of faith
- Illiterate population
- Women’s greater access to faith
- Class issues
Quotes
1.
"And
then the Father took her by the hand in her soul before the son and the holy
ghost and the mother of Jesus and all the twelve apostles and Saint Katherine
and Saint Margaret and many other saints and Holy Virgins , with a great
multitude of angels , saying to her soul" (p.431)
2.
“And when they came up onto the Mount of
Calvary, she fell down so that she might not stand or kneel but wallowed and
twisted with her body, spreading her arms abroad, and cried with a loud voice
as though her heart should have burst asunder, for in the city of her soul she
saw verily and freshly how our Lord was crucified.” (p. 429-430)
3.
"Daughter why have you forsaken me, and I
forsook you never." - Margery Kemp (p.426)
Everyman
Story
·
Death comes for Everyman· Everyman asks for more time because he does not feel ready but death says no
· Death says he can find someone who will die for him and vouch for him
· He asks fellowship, which are his friends, and they say no
· Then asks kindred and cousins, which is family, and they say no
· He goes on to ask goods (which was important to him) and it says it can’t help
· When he asks good deeds it says it is not strong and send him to knowledge
· Knowledge says he should go to confession and he does; gives good deeds strength
· Beauty, discretion, strength and five wits (five senses) all they cannot cross over
· This is because with age they start to fade
· Only good deeds could cross over
· Doctor gives validity at the end of the story
Characters
Everyman:
Visited by
death, looks for someone to take with him, and finds out what is actually important
Death:
Visits Everyman,
says he can find someone to go with him
Fellowship and kindred and
cousins:
Refuse to go
with Everyman
Goods:
Were important
to Everyman, cannot help him
Beauty, discretion, strength,
and five wits:
Cannot cross
over, fade away with age
Good Deeds:
At first is
weak, then strengthens after confession, is the only thing that can cross over
Knowledge:
Leads everyman
to confession
Doctor:
Gives validity
to the story, educated, trusted
Themes/Motifs/Symbols
- Morality play
- Spreading issues of morality/faith to illiterate population
- Good deeds are the way to heaven
- Good deeds may only =confession
- Repentence
- Mortality
- Time
Quotes
1.
“Knowledge: Now we got together lovingly/ To
Confession, that cleansing river” (535-536).2. KNOWLEDGE Now hath he suffered that we all shall endure,
The Good Deeds shall make all sure.
Now hath he made ending.
Methinketh that I hear angels sing
And make great joy and melody
Where Everyman’s soul received shall be. (887-892)
3. “Then went I to my Goods that I loved best, / In hope to have comfort; but there had I least, / For my Goods sharply did me tell / That he wouls bringeth many into hell.”(473-475)
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