Dream of the Rood
The horrid image of Jesus hands nailed to the cross, hanging in mid air have been replicated to thousands of paintings, sculptures, statues, drawings etc. These varying forms of images serves as a constant reminder of the pain and suffering Jesus faced as he put him self forth to save his people. However, the tables have turned in the "Dream of the Rood". Readers now see that when Christ actually died, all the suffering is transferred to the cross and all the heroism is given to Christ.
"And yet beneath that gold I began to see
an old wretched struggle, when it first began
to bleed on the right side. I was all beset with sorrows, 20 fearful for that fair vision; I saw that eager beacon
change garments and colors – now it was drenched,stained with blood, now bedecked with treasure"
-Dream of the Rood
The Sufferings of Jesus or the Rood?
More Than a Rood
Why is the cross never valued or praised as much as the man nailed to it? This poem depicts exactly what is takes for the cross to be a cross. Starting with finding a tree in the forest, cutting it down, shaving it, carving it etc. The notion of heroism is not only one that is prominent within the figure of Jesus Christ but the object that holds Jesus and allows him to save his people. The rood is definitely portrayed to be a savior, warrior, and hero in such instances.
Jesus fits into the culture of the Medieval Times
As the text chooses to ignore or look past the pain and degradation Christ faced and honor his selfless nature, it highlights the ideals of the Medieval times. The notions of heroism, leadership, honor, glory (also seen in Beowulf) during this time have been used to create a new version of Christ crucification story. Before this time, stories showcased the physical pain and sin Christ encountered. But, in this case the rood faces such suffering.
Devotional Gender
Beowulf proves to be a problematic hero as he leaves his kingdom unprotected and on their own to fend for themselves. What was once a selfless leader has become a selfish king who strives for riches, honor, and most importantly GLORY! As the dragon approaches, Beowulf steps forth to fight the beast, simply because, he wants to "make good boast" (line 2520).
Beowulf
Old English
Devotional Gender
Marie de France/ Margery Kempt
-
is Margery Kempt lying or telling the truth?? Either way she does gain authority in the sense of being "the chosen one".
-
Part of a Knights job is to save a damsel in distress. Inverted gender roles is seen as the women comes to Lanvals rescue at the end of poem
-
Inverted gender roles as seen in Marie de France’s “Lanval”...
-
Strangely enough, the women (queen) is the one making moves upon a man when certain norms suggest the opposite.
"What she orders, he'll obey"
-
@MKDoka
-
"I relate to Margery Kempe due to the fact that she would randomly cry in public places and people thought she was crazy"
Medieval Legends
Thomas Moore's Utopia
Thomas Moore's perfect Utopia... not so perfect
Living as inferior to some and superior to others. Utopia is controlled by a dictator.
Because nothing really is “perfect”, the way this society functions, is not so ideal. It evidently starts off with the best intentions for everyone in society but in the process people lose their rights and their minds are being controlled. Most importantly, they lose their identity. Everyone is imperfect and because of this, they NEED to be controlled to represent this idea of perfection.
Travel Narrative
The Canterbury Tales
“The Wife of Bath” reveals the distinction between man and woman. A man who once held supremacy is now seen as inferior by a woman who gains mastery over him.
The Wife's Character
-
Uses her sexuality to govern herself and create an identity.
-
Not careful, uncontrollable, sexual with many men, undesirable
-
Rebellious, dangerous... possibility she might start a trend
-
puts a spin on the norm women were fixed in
Every pilgrim represents a role in society. Chaucer uncommonly, captured the voice of the nobility and also those of the commoners. Social class was not a focus of his tales but more so their roles and experiences. The General Prologue demonstrates how each person's experiences are vital to their identity.
Serialized Storytelling
CUTURE & CHARACTER
Because of the wife's behavior, it manifest a fear in men that all women are like her. They began to think women are with them for their money. This is threatening to the structure of the church as well as the social structure. If all women are like this then who would tend to the duties of the house. They become sinners in the eyes of the church. It also creates an imbalance between classes. Women who are sexual independent disturbs the inheritance system because men never know for sure if the child is theirs.
Rona Ramdharee
The wife of Bath says “I woot wel Abraham was a holy man, And Jacob eek, as fer as evere I can, And eech of hem hadde wives mo than two” (ll. 61-63). The wife of Bath believes that if men can marry more than once, then women should be able to as well. She depicted aspects of what we would call a feminist today. She saw that women were not being treated as men even though they deserved to be.
Christopher Marlowe Presents:
DOCTOR FAUSTUS
Drama
Dr. Faustus
ABOUT
Redcrosse Knight must slay the dragon in order to save his lady.
And on brest a bloddie Crosse he bore,/ For deare rememberance of his dying Lord.
ABOUT
On the journey he encounters different worlds, monsters, creatures and some how manages to get tricked by a monk/magician.
Epic Poetry
Edmund Spenser The Faerie Queene
Book 1: Poem, and Cantos 1-6
The worst thing I ever had to do in life was read - The Faerie Queene. This was like epic poetry times 2. It was a little too much for me to handle. It was a horrible experience and painful to read. While I can appreciate the authors work and how much time he must've dedicated to this, I can't seem to show any interest in the content. AND APPEARANTLY, THIS WASNT THE INTENDED FINISH VERSION. SPENCER WANTED TO WRITE MORE! Aside from the language being hard to understand, I never really liked reading anything with magic or monsters. Unfortunately for me, a lot of the works during this time surrounded their central idea around these creatures with underlying messages about religion. Not my thing.
Renaissance Lyric
Sir Walter Raleigh “The Nymphs Reply to The Sheperd”
amelia lanyer eve's apology in defense of women
Lanyer uses religion as a way to go against the societal norms of women. She defends Eve by saying Eve really did not commit any sin. If it is percieved as a sin then Adam sinnned as well. Women are always the one to be blamed because of their sexual nature. It is said that Eve used her nature as a way to tempt Adam to eat the apple and because of her temptation, mankind was ruined. However, Lanyer opposes to such statement and argues everything that is wronged with it. She always uses her poem to represent her attitude towards religion. Religion only recognizes males and never females. Because of this, men will never be blamed even if they are wrong.
Ending With Eve
Elizabeth I
"On Monsieur's Departure"
Women in Power:
Tudor England was once a patriarchal, misogyistic society where women were outnumbered. However, in 1553-1603 there was a change in power. For five decades there was a female ruling. Regardless of what, during this time men must acknowledge the female authority and presence. Elizabeth I represented the physical body of a female but the mind, politics and persona of a male which led her to receive respect. But, there was an exception. She did use her appearance and affection as a female monarch to gain loyalty in the court.
"On Monsieur's Departure"
I loved reading “On Monsieur’s Departure”. I found it really sad actually. Through this poem, Queen Elizabeth I is expressing her sadness and grief. Holding the position of Queen, she does have a lot of responsibilities, status and legacy she needs to live up to and/ or surpass because she's a female. Although females have been given authority, not everyone took them seriously. I think she uses the poem to tell us how hard it is to do all those things. Being a Queen, holds her back in certain ways. It’s difficult for her to say what she really feels and because of this she grieves but there's no way she can show this unhappiness. When this “monsieur” leaves her or goes away, she’s saddened. She really does care and love him but is conflicted between putting herself first and putting England before her. There’s no way she can love him so she’s forced to suppress her feelings and feel hate because of it. The paradoxes that she uses represents another version of herself- the Elizabeth she wants to actually be so badly. Line 4 is my favorite, she says “I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate”. Its a powerful line that speaks to the crisis she is facing. She feels one thing but forced to show another. Her duty is to be silenced for the public but she really has so much to say.