HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

Seminar journal questions, 2nd semester

Course Tutor
Dr. Carmen Dutu, Associate Professor

For the seminar you need to submit a written journal, with the questions below (ref. Sir
Gawayn, General Prologue – Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath, Utopia, Everyman). This
journal counts for 30% of your final grade.

I. SGK

1. Why are the narrative details included in SGK? What do they signify? What is the
relationship between the scenery and Sir Gawain's mental state?

Some argue that nature represents a chaotic, lawless order which is in direct confrontation
with the civilization of Camelot throughout Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The green
horse and rider that first invade Arthur’s peaceful halls are iconic representations of
nature's disturbance. Nature is presented throughout the poem as rough and indifferent,
constantly threatening the order of men and courtly life. Nature invades and disrupts order
in the major events of the narrative, both symbolically and through the inner nature of
humanity. This element appears first with the disruption caused by the Green Knight, later
when Gawain must fight off his natural lust for Bertilak’s wife, and again when Gawain
breaks his vow to Bertilak by choosing to keep the green girdle, valuing survival over virtue.
Represented by the sin-stained girdle, nature is an underlying force, forever within man and
keeping him imperfect, in a chivalric sense. In this view, Gawain is part of a wider conflict
between nature and chivalry, an examination of the ability of man's order to overcome the
chaos of nature.

2. What is the symbolism of the three beasts hunted by Bercilak? Which is most
dangerous?

Scholars have frequently noted the parallels between the three hunting scenes and the
three seduction scenes in Gawain. They are generally agreed that the fox chase has
significant parallels to the third seduction scene, in which Gawain accepts the girdle from
Bertilak's wife. Gawain, like the fox, fears for his life and is looking for a way to avoid death
from the Green Knight's axe.

The deer- and boar-hunting scenes are less clearly connected, although scholars have
attempted to link each animal to Gawain's reactions in the parallel seduction scene.
Attempts to connect the deer hunt with the first seduction scene have unearthed a few
parallels. Deer hunts of the time, like courtship, had to be done according to established
rules. Women often favored suitors who hunted well and skinned their animals, sometimes
even watching while a deer was cleaned.

The boar-hunting scene is, in contrast, laden with detail. Boars were (and are) much more
difficult to hunt than deer; approaching one with only a sword was akin to challenging a
knight to single combat. In the hunting sequence, the boar flees but is cornered before a
ravine. He turns to face Bertilak with his back to the ravine, prepared to fight. Bertilak
dismounts and in the ensuing fight kills the boar. He removes its head and displays it on a
pike. In the seduction scene, Bertilak's wife, like the boar, is more forward, insisting that
Gawain has a romantic reputation and that he must not disappoint her. Gawain, however, is
successful in parrying her attacks, saying that surely she knows more than he about love.

3. How does Gawain distinguish himself in the opening scenes? How is he different from
the other knights? Does he fulfill a chivalric duty that the other knights neglect?

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Green Knight appears before Arthur's court during a
Christmas feast, holding a bough of holly in one hand and a battle axe in the other. Despite
disclaim of war, the knight issues a challenge: he will allow one man to strike him once with
his axe, with the condition that he return the blow the next year. At first, Arthur accepts the
challenge, but Gawain takes his place and decapitates the Green Knight, who retrieves his
head, reattaches it and tells Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel at the stipulated time.
The Knight features next as Bercilak de Hautedesert, lord of a large castle, Gawain's host
before his arrival at the Green Chapel. At Bercilak's castle, Gawain is submitted to tests of
his loyalty and chastity, wherein Bercilak sends his wife to seduce Gawain and arranges that
each time Bercilak gains prey in hunting, or Gawain any gift in the castle, each shall
exchange his gain for the other's. At New Year's Day, Gawain departs to the Green Chapel,
and bends to receive his blow, only to have the Green Knight feint two blows, then barely
nick him on the third. He then reveals that he is Bercilak, and that Morgan le Fay had given
him the double identity to test Gawain and Arthur.
He was a man of serious and devout mind, though not without humour; he had an interest
in theology, and some knowledge of it, though an amateur knowledge perhaps, rather than
a professional; he had Latin and French and was well enough read in French books, both
romantic and instructive; but his home was in the West Midlands of England; so much his
language shows, and his metre, and his scenery.

4. What is the significance of the Pentangle? Why is it described in such detail?

The pentangle on Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection
and power over evil. The poem contains the only representation of such a symbol on
Gawain's shield in the Gawain literature. What is more, the poet uses a total of 46 lines in
order to describe the meaning of the pentangle; no other symbol in the poem receives as
much attention or is described in such detail. The poem describes the pentangle as a symbol
of faithfulness and an "endless knot". From lines 640 to 654, the five points of the pentangle
relate directly to Gawain in five ways: five senses, his five fingers, his faith found in the five
wounds of Christ, the five joys of Mary (whose face was on the inside of the shield) and
finally friendship, fraternity, purity, politeness and pity (traits that Gawain possessed around
others). In line 625, it is described as "a sign by Solomon". Solomon, the third king of Israel,
in the 10th century BC, was said to have the mark of the pentagram on his ring, which he
received from the archangel Michael. The pentagram seal on this ring was said to give
Solomon power over demons. In medieval number theory, the number five is considered a
"circular number", since it "reproduces itself in its last digit when raised to its powers".
Furthermore, it replicates itself geometrically; that is, every pentangle has a smaller
pentagon that allows a pentangle to be embedded in it and this "process may be repeated
forever with decreasing pentangles". Thus, by reproducing the number five, which in
medieval number symbolism signified incorruptibility, Gawain's pentangle represents his
eternal incorruptibility.

II. General Prologue

1. Who is the "holy blissful martyr" and why is he of interest to the pilgrims? In what sense
are they travelling to "seek" him?

The Archbishop Thomas Beckett was the “holy blissful martyr". After he was dead and
canonized, he became a saint and pilgrims began arriving at the Cathedral soon
afterwards. Pilgrimages occupied a central place in the Middle Ages. Sometimes people
were ordered to go on a pilgrimage by their priest as a penance for sins. Others believed it
would cure a disease or prevent peril. But to some it was merely an adventure or a chance
to see the world. They all had to take the discomforts of the travel for granted and the best
way was to take the principal roads, along which religious houses offered rest and
hospitality. Taking care of pilgrims was seen as a charitable act that earned merit in Heaven,
as did the pilgrimage itself.

2. How many pilgrims are there? Are they a homogeneous group? What is the usefulness
of this device to Chaucer?

The pilgrims - 'wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye'- , so a group of about twenty-nine met
at the Tabart Inn in Southwark, London, where they hired horses and had a meal. From here
they set out to the shrine of Thomas Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral. The highest ranking
pilgrim was the brave Knight, whose Tale was the longest. He was in the company of his
son, a Squire with curled locks, and their servant, a Yeoman.
The fashionable Prioress was the first of Chaucer's female pilgrims; she was together with
three priests and another nun. Then there was a Monk, one of the eight ecclesiastics among
the pilgrims, who loved riding. Chaucer's Limiter Friar was a hypocrite, who cynically
exploited religion, for which the Summoner wants his revenge on him in his Tale about an
ailing man who is preyed by the friar on his sickbed. The Summoner was together with a
friend, a Pardoner , who earned his living by selling holy relics and indulgences. Another
hypocritical person was the Merchant , and greedy into the bargain.
Then there was the Clerk , a scholar from Oxford, whose only interest was his study and
the Sergeant-at-law, whom we now call Lawyer, who was characterized by his professional
qualities. There was also a Franklin, a freeholder who ranked next below the gentry. The
business Woman from Bath was a bit deaf, but she knew all about love and could laugh and
joke. The task of a Reeve was to superintend the estates and tenants of a landowner.
Chaucer's Miller was a big fellow, a brute, more of an animal than a human.

3. As you read the various portraits, pick out one pilgrim. Pay attention to physical
descriptions (in medieval times, physiognomy was believed to be revealing of
character). What do the descriptions reveal about the pilgrim’s character?

The Monk is next, an extremely fine and handsome man who loves to hunt, and who follows
modern customs rather than old traditions. This is no bookish monk, studying in a cloister,
but a man who keeps greyhounds to hunt the hare. The Monk is well-fed, fat, and his eyes
are bright, gleaming like a furnace in his head.

4. What seems to be Chaucer's attitude toward the Church? Is he anti-religious? What- if

anything- is satirized?

In Chaucer’s time, corruption in the Catholic Church was quire prevalent as the practice of
selling indulgences became one of deception and greed. Chaucer satirizes the religious
hypocrisy in such tales as that of the Monk, who is wordly and lusty as the narrator remarks.
These traits are contrary to the religious vows of poverty and chastity. For instance, the
Monk has his robe luxuriously lined with fur, he enjoys wordly occupations such as hunting.
That he is familiar with women is certainly suggested in his tale. A good example of religious
hypocrisy exists in the Summoner’s Tale in which indulgences and pardons are sold under
false presences. In Chaucer’s time, such an offence was punishable by fines. By exposing this
hypocrisy with humor, Chaucer, like most satirists, draws attention to offences in the hope
that society will rectify them.

5. What is the role of Chaucer the pilgrim within this group? Is he an objective observer?

The purpose of the “The General Prologue” is to introduce the characters and show the
variety of people, trades and social classes of this time period. He presents these characters,
not as stereotypes but, as realistic and complex people. He, as a narrator, describes each
character objectively. His descriptions set the stage for the tales that will follow.
 III. Wife of Bath
1. How does the Wife of Bath (Alison) objects to the way in which the scriptural
authorities - most of them priests with no direct knowledge of marriage- denigrate
what she sees as an essential feminine "estate" worthy of respect. To what extent is her
Prologue (and even her Tale) a response to clerical attitudes toward marriage and
virginity?

The Wife of Bath's Prologue simultaneously enumerates and critiques the long tradition
of misogyny in ancient and medieval literature. The simple fact that she is a widow who has
remarried more than once radically defies medieval conventions. Further evidence of this
can be found through her observation: “For hadde God commanded maydenhede, / Thanne
hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede.” She refutes Jerome’s proposition concerning
virginity and marriage by noting that God would have condemned marriage and procreation
if He had commanded virginity. Her decision to include God as a defence for her lustful
appetites is significant, as it shows how well-read she is.
While Chaucer's Wife of Bath is clearly familiar with the many ancient and medieval views
on proper female behavior, she also boldly questions their validity. Her repeated acts of
remarriage, for instance, are an example of how she mocks "clerical teaching concerning the
remarriage of widows". Furthermore, she adds, “a rich widow was considered to be a
match equal to, or more desirable than, a match with a virgin of property”, illustrating this
point by elaborating at length concerning her ability to remarry four times, and attract a
much younger man.
While she gleefully confesses to the many ways in which she falls short of conventional
ideals for women, she also points out that it is men who constructed those ideals in the first
place.
Both Carruthers and Cooper reflect on the way that Chaucer's Wife of Bath does not behave
as society dictates in any of her marriages. Through her nonconformity to the expectations
of her role as a wife, the audience is shown what proper behaviour in marriage should be
like. Carruthers’ essay outlines the existence of deportment books, the purpose of which
was to teach women how to be model wives. Carruthers notes how the Wife's behaviour in
the first of her marriages “is almost everything the deportment-book writers say it should
not be.” For example, she lies to her old husbands about them getting drunk and saying
some regrettable things. Yet, Carruthers does note that the Wife does do a decent job of
upholding her husbands’ public honour. Moreover, deportment books taught women that
"the husband deserves control of the wife because he controls the estate" ; it is clear that
the Wife is the one who controls certain aspects of her husband's behaviour in her various
marriages.
Cooper also notes that behaviour in marriage is a theme that emerges in the Wife of Bath's
Prologue; neither the Wife nor her husbands conform to any conventional ideals of
marriage. Cooper observes that the Wife's fifth husband, in particular, "cannot be taken as
any principle of correct Christian marriage". He, too, fails to exhibit behaviour
conventionally expected within a marriage. This can perhaps be attributed to his young age
and lack of experience in relationships, as he does change at the end, as does the Wife of
Bath. Thus, through both the Wife's and her fifth and favorite husband's failure to conform
to expected behaviour in marriage, the poem exposes the complexity of the institution of
marriage and of relationships more broadly.

2. In the light of the Wife of Bath's Prologue, consider Alice's tale of the rapist knight
condemned to determine "what thing it is that wommen most desiren". What is the
answer to this question?

There was a knight in King Arthur's time who raped a fair young maiden. King Arthur issues a
decree that the knight must be brought to justice. When the knight is captured, he is
condemned to death, but Queen Guinevere intercedes on his behalf and asks the King to
allow her to pass judgment upon him. The Queen tells the knight that he will be spared his
life if he can discover for her what it is that women most desire, and allots him a year and a
day in which to roam wherever he pleases and return with an answer.
Everywhere the knight goes he explains his predicament to the women he meets and asks
their opinion, but "No two of those he questioned answered the same." The answers range
from fame and riches to play, or clothes, or sexual pleasure, or flattery, or freedom. When
at last the time comes for him to return to the Court, he still lacks the answer he so
desperately needs.
Outside a castle in the woods, he sees twenty-four maidens dancing and singing, but when
he approaches they disappear as if by magic, and all that is left is an old woman. The Knight
explains the problem to the old woman, who is wise and may know the answer, and she
forces him to promise to grant any favour she might ask of him in return. With no other
options left, the Knight agrees. Arriving at the court, he gives the answer that women most
desire sovereignty over their husbands, which is unanimously agreed to be true by the
women of the court who, accordingly, free the Knight.
The old woman then explains to the court the deal she has struck with the Knight, and
publicly requests his hand in marriage. Although aghast, he realises he has no other choice
and eventually agrees. On their wedding night the old woman is upset that he is repulsed by
her in bed. She reminds him that her looks can be an asset—she will be a virtuous wife to
him because no other men would desire her. She asks him what he would prefer—an old
ugly wife who is loyal, true and humble or a beautiful young woman about whom he would
always have doubts concerning her faithfulness. The Knight responds by saying that the
choice is hers, an answer which pleases her greatly. Now that she has won power over him,
she asks him to kiss her, promising both beauty and fidelity. The Knight turns to look at the
old woman again, but now finds a young and lovely woman. They live happily into old age
together.

3. What is Courtly Love? How does it manifest itself in the tale?

While this idea of daring exploits and melodramatic ideals is intriguing, in reality, courtly love
is more of a literary invention. Through works such as Chrétien de Troyes’s Lancelot, Guilaume
de Lorris’s Roman de la Rose, and Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, courtly love has evolved
from an adventurous race towards love into one of the most important literary influences in
Western culture (“Courtly Love”). While the ideals of courtly love were highly accepted and
almost idealized in medieval society, the origin of these ideals remains a mystery because the
very definition of courtly love is debated among modern and ancient literary scholars. Since
courtly love is not specifically defined, it exists in many spectrums. Gaston Paris, a French
writer and scholar, suggests a worldly idea of courtly love with little attention given to morals.
He defined courtly love by the lover’s worship of an idealized lady based on sexual attraction
and desire. Being a controversial idea, an opposite idea of courtly love also exists. C.S. Lewis, a
French theologian and literary critic, presents a conservative idea of courtly love based on
religion and morality. His summation of courtly love includes “Humility, Courtesy, Adultery,
and the Religion of Love.”

IV. The Utopia

1. How does the development of Utopia's urban areas differ from the way cities
develop in the real world? What implied criticism is more making of town life and
growth in his day?
The island was originally a peninsula but a 15-mile wide channel was dug by the
community's founder King Utopos to separate it from the mainland. The island
contains 54 cities. Each city is divided into four equal parts. The capital city, Amaurot,
is located directly in the middle of the crescent island.
Each city has not more 6000 households, each family consisting of between 10 and
16 adults. Thirty households are grouped together and elect a Syphograntus (whom
More says is now called a phylarchus). Every ten Syphogranti have an elected
Traniborus (more recently called a protophylarchus) ruling over them.

Utopia is a satirical reflection on the social and political problems of England in the
sixteenth century, while, at the same time, showing ambiguity in the proposed
solutions.

2. How does the society Raphael describes amount to something like "communism"

Raphael believes morality is irreconcilable with the political world, the only two
options are: "Either [self-interested courtiers] will seduce you, or, if you remain
honest and innocent, you will be made a screen for the [...] folly of others.
Influencing policy indeed! You wouldn't have a chance!".

In book two, Hythloday tells Peter Giles and More that the Utopians are able to
prevent conflict between citizens because they have adopted a form of communism.

3. Observe Raphael's comments about the Utopian view of a successful marriage. What
value do the Utopians place on marriage? How, that is, does the institution serve the
people and the State?
 Wives are subject to their husbands and husbands are subject to their wives
although women are restricted to conducting household tasks for the most part.
Only few widowed women become priests. While all are trained in military arts,
women confess their sins to their husbands once a month. Gambling, hunting,
makeup and astrology are all discouraged in Utopia. The role allocated to women in
Utopia might, however, have been seen as being more liberal from a contemporary
point of view.

Other significant innovations of Utopia include: a welfare state with free hospitals,
euthanasia permissible by the state, priests being allowed to marry, divorce
permitted, premarital sex punished by a lifetime of enforced celibacy and adultery
being punished by enslavement. Meals are taken in community dining halls and the
job of feeding the population is given to a different household in turn.

4. What is the status of religion in Utopia? It religion closely connected to the State, or
is it independent? How might Utopian customs imply criticism of European religious
practices?

There are several religions on the island: moon-worshipers, sun-worshipers, planet-

worshipers, ancestor-worshipers and monotheists, but each is tolerant of the others.
Only atheists are despised (but allowed) in Utopia, as they are seen as representing a
danger to the state: since they do not believe in any punishment or reward after this
life, they have no reason to share the communistic life of Utopia, and will break the
laws for their own gain. They are not banished, but are encouraged to talk out their
erroneous beliefs with the priests until they are convinced of their error. Raphael
says that through his teachings Christianity was beginning to take hold in Utopia. The
toleration of all other religious ideas is enshrined in a universal prayer all the
Utopians recite.

5. The narrator "More" admits to being dubious about the prospects for actually
achieving the reforms suggested by Raphael's his admiring presentation of Utopian
customs. What, then, is the point of writing a story that compares a non-existent
society with real ones? If the point isn't necessarily to change the real societies, what
is it? What danger lies in not constructing Utopias and making the kinds of
comparisons More offers?

Most scholars see it as a comment on or criticism of 16th century Catholicism, for

the evils of More's day are laid out in Book I and in many ways apparently solved in
Book II. Indeed, Utopia has many of the characteristics of satire, and there are many
jokes and satirical asides such as how honest people are in Europe, but these are
usually contrasted with the simple, uncomplicated society of the Utopians.

Some have argued that More was taking part in the Renaissance humanist debate
over true nobility, and that he was writing to prove the perfect commonwealth could
not occur with private property. Crucially, Skinner sees Raphael Hythlodaeus as
embodying the Platonic view that philosophers should not get involved in politics,
while the character of More embodies the more pragmatic Ciceronian view. Thus the
 society Raphael proposes is the ideal More would want. But without communism,
which he saw no possibility of occurring, it was wiser to take a more pragmatic view.

V. Everyman

1. What are misteries; what are moralities? What is psychomachia psychomachia?

What does ars moriendi mean?

Mystery play, one of three principal kinds of vernacular drama in Europe during
the Middle Ages (along with the miracle play and the morality play). The mystery
plays, usually representing biblical subjects, developed from plays presented in
Latin by churchmen on church premises and depicted such subjects as the
Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the Last Judgment.

Morality play, also called morality, an allegorical drama popular in Europe

especially during the 15th and 16th centuries, in which the characters personify
moral qualities (such as charity or vice) or abstractions (as death or youth) and in
which moral lessons are taught.

Psychomachia is the conflict within the soul, or between the soul and the body;
an instance of this; a literary or artistic representation of such a conflict.

The Ars Moriendi, or "art of dying," is a body of Christian literature that provided
practical guidance for the dying and those attending them.

2. How is allegory used in Everyman? How many different categories of allegory do

you find? (personal characteristics of Everyman; other people/things in his
worldly life; supernatural forces, etc.) What is the interplay of these various sorts
of allegorical figure?

The premise is that the good and evil deeds of one's life will be tallied by God
after death, as in a ledger book. The play is the allegorical accounting of the life
of Everyman, who represents all mankind. In the course of the action, Everyman
tries to convince other characters to accompany him in the hope of improving
his account. All the characters are also allegorical, each personifying an abstract
idea such as Fellowship, (material) Goods, and Knowledge. The conflict between
good and evil is dramatised by the interactions between characters. Everyman is
being singled out because it is difficult for him to find characters to accompany
him on his pilgrimage. Everyman eventually realizes through this pilgrimage that
he is essentially alone, despite all the personified characters that were supposed
necessities and friends to him. Everyman learns that when you are brought to
death and placed before God, all you are left with is your own good deeds.

3. With what new companions does Good Deeds tell Everyman to replace his
original companions? What is the difference between these two sets of friends?
 What message are we meant to draw from the substitution? What is the
message given by the play concerning the value of human qualities such as
strength, beauty, intelligence and knowledge?

When Everyman's friend Fellowship hears of the true nature of Everyman's

journey, he refuses to go. Everyman then calls on Kindred and Cousin and asks
them to go with him, but they both refuse. In particular, Cousin explains a
fundamental reason why no people will accompany Everyman: they have their
own accounts to write as well. Afterwards, Everyman asks Goods, who will not
come: God's judgment will be severe because of the selfishness implied in
Goods's presence.

Everyman then turns to Good Deeds, who says she would go with him, but she is
too weak as Everyman has not loved her in his life. Good Deeds summons her
sister Knowledge to accompany them, and together they go to see Confession. In
the presence of Confession, Everyman begs God for forgiveness and repents his
sins, punishing himself with a scourge. After his scourging, Everyman is absolved
of his sins, and as a result, Good Deeds becomes strong enough to accompany
Everyman on his journey with Death. Good Deeds then summons Beauty,
Strength, Discretion and Five Wits to join them, and they agree to accompany
Everyman as he goes to a priest to take sacrament.

4. Everyman is about to embark on a long journey repeatedly referred to as a

"pilgrimage" (line 68 etc.) Why might Everyman's voyage be called a
"pilgrimage"? Compare with other depictions of pilgrims or pilgrimages
encountered in your readings (The Canterbury Tales). What conception of
time/history underlies this play, and how is it related to the idea of a voyage?

God laments that humans have become too absorbed in material wealth and
riches to follow Him, so He commands Death to go to Everyman and summon
him to heaven to make his reckoning. Death arrives at Everyman's side to tell
him it is time to die and face judgment. Upon hearing this, Everyman is
distressed, so begs for more time. Death denies this, but will allow Everyman to
find a companion for his journey.

The play is the allegorical accounting of the life of Everyman, who represents all
mankind. Everyman tries to convince other characters to accompany him in the
hope of improving his account. The conflict between good and evil is dramatised
by the interactions between characters. Everyman is being singled out because it
is difficult for him to find characters to accompany him on his pilgrimage.
Everyman eventually realizes through this pilgrimage that he is essentially alone,
he learns that when you are brought to death and placed before God, all you are
left with is your own good

After the sacrament, Everyman tells them where his journey ends, and again
they all abandon him, except for Good Deeds. Even Knowledge cannot
accompany him after he leaves his physical body, but will stay with him until the
time of death. Content at last, Everyman climbs into his grave with Good Deeds
at his side and dies, after which they ascend together into heaven, where they
are welcomed by an Angel. The play closes as the Doctor enters and explains
that in the end, a man will only have his Good Deeds to accompany him beyond
the grave.

The cultural setting is based on the Roman Catholicism of the era. Everyman
attains afterlife in heaven by means of good works and the Catholic Sacraments,
in particular Confession, Penance, Unction, Viaticum and receiving the Eucharist.

Maschio Serena Mihaela Deborah

Anul III

Germana - Engleza