For Friday: Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale," Parts I and II

 

A 19th century depiction of The Knight's Tale 

"The Knight's Tale" is one of the longest tales in the book (so of course we're reading it!), but it's also one of the best. It captures the essence of what makes Chaucer so great, while also providing an interesting counterpoint on chivalric romance and the story of Gawain that we read last week. It would be fascinating to know if Chaucer had read that poem, and if it influenced him at all (or the reverse). As you read, remember that this is a poem with three narrators: CHAUCER is telling the story by pretending to be the POET-NARRATOR who is claiming to transcribe, word-for-word, the KNIGHT'S poem. So as you read, ask yourself who is really talking here: the poet, the pretend-poet, or the Knight himself? And where might we hear all three? 

Answer TWO of the following: 

Q1: Though the Knight is telling this story to the entire group, in some ways he has a very specific audience in mind: his son, the Squire. Why might we suspect that this story is really for him? How might this also help explain why tells a story of “long, long ago” instead of a modern tale of knights and battles? Consider, too, the difference between the Knight and the Squire in The General Prologue.

Q2: At the end of Part One, the Knight poses the question: “Now all you lovers, let me pose the question:/Who’s worse off, Arcita or Palamon?” Are we supposed to side with one of the lovers? Does one suffer a worse “hell” than the other? Or does this question have satiric undertones? (again, you might consider the audience)

Q3: Examine Theseus’ response to the lovers at the end of Part II: is this a mockery of the knight’s love or a defense of it? How might this be a commentary on the love story itself?

Q4: What kind of storyteller is the Knight? Remember that the narrator claims that “To tell a tale told by another man/You must repeat it as nearly as you can.” How does his storytelling differ from the narrator’s? What does he do well—or ill? Are we supposed to marvel at his rhetoric or find it somewhat lacking? In other words, does he strike us as a clumsy or a crafty poet?

For Wednesday: Chaucer, "The General Prologue" from The Canterbury Tales

Illustration of Chaucer, adapted from the original Canterbury Tales manuscript

For our next class, read the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, which is one of the most famous poems in the English language. We'll even examine a little of the original in class on Wednesday. As you read, consider the following questions and bring TWO of them with you to discuss.

Q1: As we discussed on Monday, one of the hallmarks of the 14th century is an increasing focus on humanism, capturing people as they truly were in the language they actually spoke in. How do we know Chaucer is part of this movement in the Prologue? How does he defend (or explain) his purpose in the Prologue?

Q2: Which pilgrim’s description did you find most appealing or interesting? How does Chaucer’s language create this character and help us ‘see’ him or her? What do you feel he wanted us to connect with or admire/dislike about the character?

Q3: Where in the Prologue do we see social criticism and/or outright satire of individual pilgrims? How might this connect to the belief of the ‘common’ English man/woman, particularly regarding topics such as the nobility, the Church, fashion, and manners?

Q4: Compare the style of narration of “The General Prologue” to that of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both were written around the same time, though in very different parts of England; that said, Chaucer might have been aware of the Gawain poem, and vice versa. Do you think they have more in common, or are they very distinct works of art?

For Friday: Finish Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part IV (Fit IV)

Shot from the The Green Knight movie (2021)

Remember to finish the book for Friday's class, but there are NO questions to respond to. Instead, we'll have an in-class writing to help you make sense of the ending. 

Without telling you what the question will be, here are a few things to consider as you finish the work (NOTE--you do not have to answer these):

* Why does the poem suddenly introduce Morgan le Fay in the poem? Was she behind this all along, as the Green Knight claims? Or is this a sleight of hand on the author's part, to reinforce the allegory? (in other words, can we trust the Green Knight's explanation--that this was really a test of Guenevere, and not Gawain at all?). 

* Does Gawain 'fail' in his final test with the Green Knight? Is the flinching a sign of cowardice or dishonor? How does the Green Knight judge him?

* What do you make of Gawain's long rant against women? Is this another poem that seeks to throw women under the bus for the sins of men? Is the Lord's wife merely another Eve/Guenevere, etc. who is responsible for the 'fall' of men? Or is Gawain, himself, missing the point? 

* Why do Arthur and all the knights decide to adopt the girdle themselves? Is this a way to erase his dishonor? Is it satirical? 

For Wednesday: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fit III

Answer TWO of the following questions after you read the definition of "allegory" below:

DEFINITION OF ALLEGORY:

“An allegory is a narrative fiction in which the agents and actions, and sometimes the setting as well, are contrived to make coherent sense on the “literal” or primary, level of signification, and at the same time to signify a second, correlated order of agents, concepts, and events.  We can distinguish two main types: (1) historical and political allegory…and (2) the allegory of ideas, in which the literal characters represent abstract concepts and the plot exemplifies a doctrine or thesis…The central device in the second type, the sustained allegory of ideas, is the personification of abstract entities such as virtues, vices, states of mind, modes of life, and types of character” (from M.H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms).

Q1: The poet goes into some detail describing each day of the hunt, much like he did with the description of the Green Knight himself. Choosing one of the days, discuss how the details of the hunt can be read allegorically (see above): how do these events and details say something else about the story, including the story going on in the castle?

Q2: Where do we see the words "knots," "loops," or "ties" crop up in Fit III? Why might this be significant, given that this metaphor ties together (pun intended) much of the earlier poem? 

Q3: During one of their days together, the Lady tells Gawain, "If this is Gawain who greets me, I am galled/that a man so dedicated to doing his duty/cannot heed the first rule of honorable behavior,/which has entered through one ear and exited the other" (119). In other words, she is claiming that he doesn't live up to the reputation of knights in books, who love to flirt with married women and even, to some extent, make love to them. How does Gawain seem to interpret his 'honor' in this situation? How far can he go and still be faithful to his host? And which seems more important to Gawain: to live up to the knightly ideal, or not take advantage of his host? Does he seem to succeed?

Q4: Why does Gawain ultimately accept the Lady's gift, even though he previously refused to accept anything from her he can't give back to the Lord. Is it dishonorable to take the belt, or is the belt his reward for being so 'faithful'? How do you think the poem wants us to read this? (esp. considering he doesn't give it back to the Lord). 

For Monday: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fits I-II (21-95)

For our next class, read the first two chapters (called "Fits" by the poet) of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. When reading a poem, remember that you're reading more for how the poet tells the story rather than what happens, since the story is basically simple (see below):

FIT I: After a tiny introduction connecting ancient Rome to modern Britain, the poet brings us to Arthur's court at Camelot. There, they are having traditional New Year's feasts and games, and in the middle of this celebration, a strange Green Knight rides straight into the hall. He challenges the company to a game of his own, but no one takes him up on it, until Arthur, embarrassed, finally agrees to do it. But at the last minute, Gawain, his young nephew, volunteers. The game is simple: they take a chop at each other's heads, and whoever is left standing, wins. Gawain goes first and chops the Green Knight's head clean off. The Knight then picks up his head and says, "come find me in a year for your turn." 

FIT II: A year passes, and Gawain is nervously awaiting his departure. No one wants him to leave, but he knows he has to go. Not much happens here, so note how the poet describes Gawain, Camelot, and the world he travels through. Gawain journeys for a long time and has many adventures, all of which are glossed over. He finally reaches a castle where a beautiful woman lives, the wife of a gracious lord. They put him up in fine style and the wife is clearly more than a little in love with him. The host says that they should play a game (uh-oh): that whatever one gets during the day, they have to give to the other at night. So the lord will go hunting and share with Gawain whatever he captures. But what will Gawain give him in return???

After you read both Fits, answer TWO of the following questions for Monday's class. Bring them to class with you if possible, either printed or handwritten. 

Q1: How is the court of Camelot described/characterized by the poet? What kind of place is it? A utopia? Or a "ruin"? Is the Green Knight sent there as a punishment for their 'sins'? Or a test? Can we tell? 

Q2: Look closely at Stanzas 7-10: why does the poet spend so much time—almost two entire pages—just describing him? What might he want us to see/understand about his appearance in the hall? What kind of 'man' is he? Is he a monster in the shape of a man, or a man who merely resembles a monster? Why might this be important?

Q3: According to the poem, why does the Green Knight come to challenge Arthur and his court? By barging in like this (and on a horse, no less), he’s breaking the laws of chivalry and being quite disrespectful. What would make him act so flagrantly toward the greatest king in the land?

Q4: Where do we see echoes of the poems we've read so far in class: Deor, The Ruin, and the Gnomic Verses? How do we know this poet share some of the values and aesthetics of those earlier poets? Where does it 'sound' or 'feel' the same? Be specific. 

Welcome to the Course!

This is the official class blog for British Literature to 1800, Fall 2022 semester at East Central University. As I mentioned in class and on the syllabus, all your daily work and readings will appear here, as well as assignments and other announcements. You never have to post or interact with the blog; rather, it's a virtual bulletin board for the class, and should keep you up-to-date when you miss class or when you have a thousand other things going on.

Make sure to buy the books for the class as soon as you can, since we'll be reading them at a decent clip, in this order: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, As You Like It, Pamela, and Northanger Abbey. All of the books are in the bookstore, but you can use any edition if you already have some of these, though they might be different translations (the first two are translated), and the Folger edition of Shakespeare is the most helpful for novice readers of his plays.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns at: jgrasso@ecok.edu, or come by my office after class: Horace Mann 348 (right beside our classroom). 

ALSO: Don't worry about the posts below this one--they're from 2018! The first post for our class will be up on Wednesday.