Dignum,+Rebecca

__**Feelings on British Literature and Introduction:**__ Hello my name is Rebecca Dignum, I�m a sophomore and an education major. I was kind of nervous about taking a British Literature course at first but once I got into class and realized that subject matter was interesting I�ve become much more excited about submersing myself in this course. When I found out we were reading Beowulf, I�ll admit I wasn�t looking forward to it but with Gareth Hinds� graphic novel, the story is interesting and is presented in a less confusing way then when I had read Beowulf in high school. I think this class is really going to fun and I hope it will aid me in gathering that appreciation for British literature in the fullest extent.

**__The 3rd story of Beowulf: __**

The end of Beowulf was very sad and dreary. This foreshadowed the death of Beowulf and the sadness to come with it, through the literature presented and the illustrations. Gareth Hinds� illustrations portray sadness and pain among the Geats as they watch the slow decay of Beowulf due to Old age. Hinds� illustrations are set to a gray tone which adds to the dramatization of Beowulf�s death. It seems like he surrounded Beowulf with grayness in the third part of the novel because he wants to symbolize the lamenting of his old age and the decay of this once Super hero like man. This decay of the King and the approach of death also coincide with the decay or destruction of the Kingdom after Beowulf passed from his battle with the Dragon. Beowulf stood up to battle the Dragon that was tormenting his Kingdom in the end of the tale, but selfishly sacrificed himself out of pride. When Beowulf had battled Grendel and his mother, he had been young and just a warrior but because of the body politic his body was now part of the Kingdom. He had no queen and no sons to take over his kingdom when death finally met him, so to battle the Dragon put his Kingdom at risk to be overthrown by other conquerors. His pride had overcame him, he wanted to be this strong, heroic man that he had once been but he is much older and weaker than he once was. This essentially seemed like he was trying to run from old age and not face his true match: Death. When I had originally read Beowulf I hadn't really grasped the sadness behind this ending.

**__ Courtly Love: __** It�s amazing to me that these rules were once taken so seriously by people when they really hold little weight today. This transition in societal rules seems like a passage of time. I also find it amusing that they held courts (trials) condemning people for acts against love. This seems silly to me because today we have so little restrictions on who we are a loud to love and how we choose to love that other person. These intense set of rules just exemplifies the restrictive nature of the culture around the time this was created. The rules don�t mention one problem a lot but it is mentioned at some point that love or affairs should be kept secret, giving the reader an idea of the kind of aristocratic social structure and the hush-hush way of the upper class. The rules seem contradicting to me, almost allowing women to act kind of sexier and more open towards sexual relations with men but it was still behind closed doors. Women couldn�t act like the Wife of Bathe did in Chaucer�s tale, The Canterbury Tales. Women seemed more like objects in these rules, almost sounding like a piece of property to their lovers. I say this because of the many rules involving jealousy, like this one, �28. A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.� This line doesn�t seem too controlling but it hints at the idea the women are to blame by saying �his beloved� instead of �their beloved� and also this gives almost any man who feels like his love is unrequited may be able to prosecute a woman who doesn�t actually love him. I found this piece amusing and liked the contrast to the social constructs of today

**__Pick an important/key passage from Fitt 3 from Sir Gawain and the Gre__****__en Knight:__** “ ’Truly,’ replied Gawain, ‘I am greatly honored, Though I am not in fact such a man as you speak of, To deserve such respect as you have just I am completely unworthy, I know very well. I should be happy indeed, if you thought it proper, That I might devote myself by words or by deed To giving you pleasure: it would be a great joy” pg. 177  · This passage symbolized his test of honor from the Green Knight/ Lord Bertilack. Lady Bertilack was very gorgeous and easy to look at, so Sir Gawain is tempted to be closer to her, or at least the text suggested sexual tension. He was supposed to be this great knight that faced dragons and creatures and was valiant in battle but in this scene he faked sleep to escape Lady Bertilack for fear of what she might want from him. · The irony behind this is that he faced the fiercest of creatures fearlessly but feared the allure of this woman. She seemed much more innocent but tested his will more than any of the bravest of warriors or greatest monsters; she was essentially the sheep in wolf’s clothing. He was forced by knightly standards not insult the lady of the kingdom but also wanted to respect the Lord of Bertilack by not fornicating with his lovely wife. This represented the many psychological trials that Sir Gawain was placed with from the Lord and the lady. All the physical trials couldn’t match the psychological ones he had to face. · The lady of Bertilack tried to seduce him, knowing full well that Gawain had to give the Lord anything he received in the mansion. If Gawain were to essentially give her what she wanted from him, to spend an evening together, then he would have to reveal his sin to the Lord and essentially have to deflower the Lord. If he kept it from the Lord, he wouldn’t have been such a knight that everyone had praised for his chivalry and honesty. · It did show a good test of honor that he fought the temptation of this beautiful woman, it showed to me that Gawain was a good character, he just feared death but wasn’t selfish and sneaky enough to sleep with the Lord’s wife. He had respect for this man; he just couldn’t get past the griping fear of a sure death. · The Lords hunting descriptions are very graphic and vivid to contrast with the lightheartedness of Lady Bertilack’s advances. If he were to sleep with her he’d be committing adultery and bad hospitality. The hunt symbolizes the trouble that could come from such an innocent looking being, if he were to succumb to her advances. Dressing was defined as disemboweling a deer, likewise Gawain was undressed so this was a parallel to symbolize bad things to come from this Lady’s presence.

__** FAVORITE CHARACTER/PILGRIM- Wife of Bathe: **__ The Wife of Bathe is a woman who likes power and she enjoys being experienced in worldly travels. She not only has traveled on several pilgrimages but had also been married five times, so it’s safe to say she has gotten a lot of experience in the sex department while maintaining and adapting different cultures. She not only held so much importance in experience but also in power, sexuality, and skill. She uses her sexuality to obtain men suitors and to get attention but also to cast control over men. She gets what she wants always, no matter what other women may think of her. She not only wields her sexuality but also has a lot skill in cloth making. Cloth making made her so wealthy and she raised her own self from poverty to become the woman in the Canterbury Tales. While she does come off as a slut, she is an extreme view of woman’s liberation, just in the most extreme nature possible being that Geoffrey Chaucer was a man. He created her to be an extreme/ in your face character from a man’s perspective and this could be the reason why feminists don’t agree that the Wife of Bathe as an early example of a feminist character. She was created by a man so of course a sexual stereotype is tied to her character. To me, she establishes power and strength. I love how she doesn’t just settle for what’s given to her but tries to bring herself up throughout the classes independently. I like that this character isn’t perfect, she isn’t a virgin but doesn’t shun her sexuality; she embraces it which to me is a noteworthy feature. Although socially it’s frowned upon to act the way she does, she is essentially free as person because she is free from the constraints of societal norms, which is my favorite feature of this character.

__Why is the Millers tale a fabliaux/farse?__ The Miller's tale is a fabliaux because he doesn�t tell a story about honor, or romance, or even courage. His tale only really shows the angle behind everyone�s actions and the humor in life. He describes a shop owner and his young beautiful wife. His helper and college student wants to engage in sexual activities with her so he comes out with a couple smooth lines so that she agrees to cheat on her husband. This tale shows the lies behind a man�s words, it gives a good indication that the college student is making false promises to his forbidden lover in order to achieve what he wants physically. He adds the humor through the story by integrating scenarios that seem to makes the reader want to laugh at the silliness behind the tale. The �Miller�s tale� holds no real lesson on life; it�s merely used as an anecdotal story to lighten the Canterbury tales.

__ Analysis of John from the �Miller�s tale� __ John is higher in society than Nicholas and yet Nicholas is more knowledgeable and has the ability to trick him. John has blind faith in the bible, so Nicholas exploits that fact by making up a premonition. John believes this because he believes in Nicholas� ability, he admires Nicholas, respects him even. He�s good man which causes the reader to draw sympathy for John because he was deceived due to his ignorance. Although I think John is mostly good as a character, John is more concerned with his material possessions, even portraying Alisoun as an object rather a significant other. He felt the need to imprison Alisoun instead of giving her the chance to love him, if he hadn�t been so sure of her betrayal and treated her like a wife, she might�ve had more affection for him instead of fearing him. John provides everything for Alisoun even though he was convinced she will betray him as she did with Nicholas. This shows he isn�t a very good judge of character because he was convinced that Alisoun would be the one to betray him when in fact she resisted Nicholas� advances until he sweet talked her into the idea of the affair and set up their night together. While Nicholas and Alisoun are both at fault, Alisoun seemed more na�ve in the situation.

__ The Miller’s Tale Prologue Rap: __ The thing I liked about this rap is that the rapper found a way to connect The Canterbury Tales with a modern edge. He managed to change voices to switch characters and still make his rhymes funny and interesting. I like how he mentioned Old Dirty Bastard who has become a part of our history too, even if some don’t enjoy his music. I like rap and I thoroughly enjoyed how he played with his words to give the Canterbury Tales this interesting spin. The only thing I didn’t like was that his rhymes were off from the beat somewhat, they may’ve not been the main focus but I find it necessary in rap. I only heard the prologue like the rest of the class, so maybe the miller’s tale and the other tales are better matched up. Regardless of the beat, I hope to listen to more from this rapper, he sounds super interesting.

__ Discuss the character of Mak: __ The character of Mak is one of a thieves�. He seems eager to get ahead, no matter who he hurts in the process. While I�m not sure whether or not he was close with the three Sheppard�s, it was clear that the Sheppard�s were hurting also but worked very hard in life to provide. Mak seems shifty and sneaky; he will stop at nothing to get what he wants even if he doesn�t work for it. His relationship with his wife seems loveless and the Sheppard�s even comment on the lack of love between them. They seem more like partners in crime than significant others. Mak is intelligent because he sets up an elaborate way to conceal his crime and the sheep. He doesn�t seem very smart in the fact that he revealed himself to the Sheppard�s in the first place.

__ Identify one significant difference in the language of the biblical passages: __ A significant difference in the language of the biblical passages that I found deals with the emphasis on some words in the King James Bible. Some words are italicized to show their stresses and importance in the scripture which the other bibles like, Tyndale’s English Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Douay-Rheims Bible do not have. The passages have a main focus on the past and present, italicizing words like //was, is, that, etc.// By doing this the author is trying to reiterate the fact that God was the one who created us, he was the one who brought light upon this earth, and because of this he was given joy. This suggests that the scripture wants to emphasis that people’s sins hurt him emotionally; he is tied to the land like humans are. It seems by having these words italicized is a way of driving home the point to the readers that their sins have a negative effect on the most important person, God. Whereas the other bible’s leave the power behind the words to speak for themselves.

__Trends of evolution between the Early Medieval Period and the Modern Period:__ · Major wars like the Hundred Years War and the War of Roses were both wars that shifted the social structures of society in both periods. A central reason that both wars began was because so many people has such little faith in the government. · The medieval Period set up the foundation for science and technology one example being the advent of the printing pressing which enabled much more progression in education among the masses and the Modern Period was able to advance because of it. · In the Medieval Period literature changed rapidly, and began to have more dialects because of people constantly moving around. With the printing press people began to read more in the middle class. The Medieval Period started this growth in literature and the Modern Period only continues to develop it. · The Medieval Period brought to light the creation of the middle class because of the Black Plague, which gave commoners more rights to themselves and their stuff because of the demand from factories for workers. This break away from the feudal system gave way to the Modern Period and their focus on humanism. · Geoffrey Chaucer began the gender movement with the introduction of the character, Wife of Bathe, she portrayed a woman who got what she wanted in life, she flirted with whomever she likes, and she was a woman who was in love with the idea of power and control. Her character is flawed in some major ways; she’s a lot skankier of a character than I think modern feminists would rejoice about. In the Modern Period we saw this trend with Queen Elizabeth I; she was a huge role model for women everywhere. Elizabeth I not only ruled her land, she ruled it well.

__Ruminate (think about/brainstorm) on “The Troops at Tilbury” p.687:__ “The Troops at Tilbury” exemplifies the shear strength as a Queen that Elizabeth held. She spoke these words with confidence and complete selflessness to inspire and unite her people against Spain. Her words not only spoke of her strength of will but also addressed her gender and deemed to “have the body of a weak and feeble woman”. She assured her troops that while this is a noteworthy feature that most people saw as a weakness in the kingdom, she had “the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too”. With her words she graced her people with the comfort of being watched over and she showed them her fearlessness because ultimately it was the only way to unify the troops. She mentions she is a king of England to help the people realize their greatness as a people, she wanted them to see and know how strong England really was. She faced people’s doubts of her rein because of her gender and protestant reformation but never cowered under her oppressors. She had to be seen in the same light as a king would and commanded the masses to actually recognize her as a powerful and good leader. She really inspired me, in spite of all the doubts surrounding her she overcame them and commanded a nation that was tolerant and focused on the greater good. She was a powerful woman who really just wanted her people to be happy, not acting noble to be remembered after death, even though that’s what happened.

__ Thoughts about being an actor/actress: __ Kelly Stowell brought about many different feelings towards being an actor. It seems difficult but essentially from what I got out of it was that once she could understand Shakespeare and Middle English she fell in love with the literature and wanted to be submersed in it as much as possible. I like that she admitted to not reading Shakespeare until forty and to the fact that she had difficulty understanding it because I find many people just expect you to understand Shakespeare. Kelly Stowell addressed a key issue with many today and helped me understand that these texts are very difficult for many but the key to understanding them is to do your research and investigate if these characters are real or not. Instead of just thinking about how crazy, or heroic a character is, one must question why they are that way, what qualities or characteristics give them these characters the drive to act the way they do. I think that once one is able to comprehend it to the fullest they are able to draw their own feelings from it, making the text more memorable to anyone..

__Describe your final paper project/ brainstorm 1 or 2 ideas for final project:__ For my final project I want to correlate Queen Elizabeth’s successful rein to an early example of feminism. She not only successfully led England through wars, religious problems, and social troubles; but also did it without a King. Even in her poetry Queen Elizabeth exemplifies the utmost power and command in her words and tone while staying true to her identity as a woman.

__Cite a source for the paper: __ McGeary, Johanna,(Friday December 1999).  16th Century: Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). __TIME Magazine__ [online]. [| (3 May 2011).