balboni,+joseph

2/7 Beowulf

After returning him to his land Beowulf is crowned king where his reign allows the land and people to flourish for 50 years. All is well until a dragon comes and starts to terrorize his land. with his faithful warriors he goes to battle one last time. Upon reaching the lair of the dragon and beholding the beast fear strikes the heart of his men and all flee in terror except his most faithful follower Wiglaf. Wiglaf sees his master struggling with the dragon and charges into the battle together the two of them are able to repulse the dragon and slay him but in the action Beowulf sustains a mortal would. As death approaches he calls upon Wiglaf to bring out the dragon's treasure so he can look at what he fought for. After seeing the treasure he instructs Wiglaf on where to build his tomb so that all who gaze upon it will remember the deeds and actions of the heroic Beowulf.

This final battle shows that with great power comes great responsibility and one must take the good with the bad. Beowulf had 50 years of peace and prosperity in his land while king. Then when the dragon came and started to ravish the land he was bound to fight it as his responsibility as king and warrior. This ending shows that even thought one might be as strong as a god even great people need the help of friends in times of peril. He was no match for the dragon alone but when his friend Wiglaf rushed back into the cave to help him together they were able slay the beast and once again restore peace to the land. The construction of the memorial spire for Beowulf is also an important part to the way of life for the Anglo Saxon. Beowulf does not want to be forgotten for his deeds on earth and feels that this tomb will preserve a little bit of himself on earth for all those to look up to and inspire those people to be great.

2/14 read and react

Many of these rules of love apply to men. They require the men to go out and profess their love to the girl, she is not required to do anything. these rules also go against most religious beliefs. The second rule states " He who is not jealous cannot love" this rule goes against the ten commandments which tells us that we should not covet another's wife or even goods. This is not just an isolated incident rather a reoccurring theme throughout the rules of love. Andreas Capellanus' rules seem to be ideal situations for both the male and female, these instances are "what if" scenarios that the people of the time would have fantasized about living in. Jealousy is a major theme that shows up numerous times in the book of courtly love. It is a powerful driving emotion that should be used to motivated the individual to seek his beloved no matter what it is a guiding light that should be embraced rather than shun from ones life. Although love is important the social standards over ruled love. Although they said that love can take shape in many forms it must be between people of the same social class one could not marry down to another of a lower class.

an important passage that come out of fitt 3 is the passage where the lord's wife gives Gawain the green girdle with the words saying it will protect him from any harm on earth. This is an important passage because before this Gawain and the lord had agreed to exchange any gifts that either of them might gain thorough out the day. This incident becomes the turning point for his stay with the lord as he does not hand over the girdle to the lord instead keeps it for himself so that he might be protected from death when he goes to face the Green Knight the next day. By keeping the girdle he expresses his fear of death and that he is not perfect as the knights are rumored to be. When Gawain finally reaches the Green Knight he is not harmed on the first two blows but on the third he is nicked in the neck. The first two times he was spared because he kept the promise to the lord to exchange all gifts but was nicked the third time for keeping the girdle from the lord. Although the knights of the round table are fearless it does not mean that they are willingly going to walk to their death and that they will look for ways to alter the outcome if the opportunity presents itself to them.

2/28 Undressing Lady Bertilak

In Sir Gawain The Lady Bertilak plays an important role. She is there to tempt the knight to see if he is truly chivalrous and that the knights of Arthur's court are indeed the bravest in the land. In the story she represents more of a symbol of temptation then a actual character. Her sole purpose was to get Gawain to fall for her and sleep with her but Gawain did no such think using quick and cunning language to diffuse the situations while at the same time not offending her or the lord. De Roo tells us that his only fault was taking the girdle which was only in an act to try to save himself from the contract he had agreed to with the powerful Green Knight. The girdle was not accepted by Gawain as a token of their love because he refused it as a love gift as he had already refused her body and her ring. After the meeting and passing of the test with the Green Knight on New Years day and the Green Knight absolves him of his sin for keeping the girdle they return to the castle. Upon returning Gawain thanks the host the lords and the ladies of the castle then shifts abruptly where he calls out the lady for her games and portrays almost a state of humility. Gawain felt stupid for believing in her but what choice did he have when she offered him a girdle that was said to have magic powers that could keep a mortal man alive. He was able to pass her test of seduction but could not pass the test of trust and belief. He fell for her story of protection because he wanted to believe it and felt that if he wished to survive he must believe it to be true. As the story goes along Gawain refuses the sexual advances but in the process falls for her charm and this is what leads to him believing in the power of the girdle and exposing the minor faults he still possessed.

3/7 My favorite Pilgrim

My favorite pilgrim of the prologue is the pardoner. He is one who who is sly and he uses the situation to benefit him self. The pardoner is one who is trying to win the game of life by trying to put himself in the best possible situation and if that is using his cunning and the fears of other in order to do that then that is what must be done. I believe that one must give it all in the role that they are tasked to do in life be it for good or bad because when it comes down to it no one is truly looking after you it is only yourself against the world. This is the stance that the pardoner take., even though what he does is evil, tricks people into believing that the only way to absolve themselves from sin is to pay him to do it for them, he takes what is given to him and uses it to get what he needs. I feel like i do this although to not such an extent, I use the situation that is at hand to benefit me in any way possible and always look for the good that will come out of it for me if i act upon it.

3/21 The Miller's tale is considered a farce because it incorporates many incidents of comical situations in order it bring out the specific characteristics and help move the story forward. The miller himself is a very gullible type when he is convinced that the world was going to flood for a second time like that of Noah. This trait is a key concept because it allows for Nick to spend the night with Allison. It also provided humor because at the end of the tale, Nick is poked with a poker and calls for water and the miller who was in a tub in the roof cuts himself free and crashes to the street in front of the whole town. The Millers tale is a farce on a large scale by exemplifying certain characteristics that moves the story and usually leads to a humorist event.

3/28 Mak

Mak is an interesting character in the story of the Shepherd's tale. He plays a man who is out with the shepherds and by using a little mix of cleverness and magic he is able to take one of their sheep from the flock. When the shepherds near the end of the and start to settle down for bedtime Mak works a spell over them which make them go to sleep which allows him to sneak into the flock and take a small ewe for himself and allow him to bring it home to his wife so that they can use its resources.

4/4 bible passages one significant difference in the bible passages is the language that is used in them, as there is no direct translation for some words from the original text that was written in greek and latin. When william translated it into classical english for the common people to be able to read it he had to use words that did not direct translate but instead pick and choose words that would best allow him to get the original meaning of the passages across to the readers. but this raises the question of whether or not he let his own views interfere with his translation or did he remain impartial when conducting this work.

4/11 "To the troops at Tilbury" this speech show what it is to be a leader. she knew that she did not have the strength of body to fight against the hordes of Spanish warriors but she had faith in the valor and bravery of her own men. It is this quality of being able to find the will and courage that is needed to fulfill the task at hand in those who surround you when you cannot find it in yourself. This is what Queen Elizabeth did in this speech she admitted that she was putting her faith in them knowing that they would be the reason they would win the upcoming battle. I also admire how she was in the font of the forces leading her people willing to risk her life for her kingdom instead of sitting back and just giving commands this shows how she will do anything to inspire her troops and lead them to victory.

4/13 Edmond Spencer was a civil servant and author of the poem the Faerie Queen This poem uses many metaphors in a short amount of time. -RCK- he represents holiness and england -Una- she represents purity and the one true church -so when una is with the RCK england is traveling with the true church -when they are split then england is no longer with the true church (excommunication) -Lion is a representation of natural law and is only tamed by una - so una or faith and purity is the only thing that can tame natural law. faith church and religion bring humans above natural law, separate us from all the other living animals on the palnet herkapin is killed by the lion - this shows that justice is served by natural law when someone tries to break it.

4/18

Thomas moore -master of many fields -is a prominate figure of the society and refuses to swear oath to the crown -king believes this will cause unrest and has him arrested and hanged.

-Moore writes about utopia a perfect society also an island (england is an island, this is a metaphor that england can be a utopia) - he uses satire to show the problems of england but he also then shows how to fix these problems.\

Characters -Moore the author -Raphale- he is well mannered, traveled, Moore sees him as wise -Moore -Peter Moore wants ralph to become advisor of the king, Ralph said that he tried but king does not want his help -this is the same problem that moore the author faced in real life

Why utopia or england should go to war -to protect its land -to aid an ally -to free a land from a tyrant -religion of a utopia should also be a free choice/religious tolerance

4/27

Today we had an alum from the acting department from Fitchburg State come in, Kelly Stowell, she gave us he interpretation of some sections from Shakespearian plays. I thought they were well done. She brought a lot of energy to the lines making them feel as though they were alive and almost brought me to the time period of the plays. i found it interesting how she said that she tries to bring the energy in an almost arc pattern starting off slow, then building, and finally ending with a gradual decrease. I never knew this but when she said it it seemed so obvious as to why it's done like that. It allows for the development of the mood and it shows both the highs and lows of the character so that the audience can see both and not have to guess as to whether this is her at her high point or at her low point. i for one am always amazed at the talent of actors being able to remember hundreds of lines and present in front of hundreds even thousands of spectators. I know that i could never do that and have much respect for those that can.

Poems- are a group of lines chanted read, or sung that follow some pattern

italian sonnet is a 14 line poem of =length. abba-abba-cde-cde- or (dcd) iambic pentameter- 10 syllables per line with 5 pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables shakespearean sonnet is abab-cdcd-efef-gg

5/2 The Poem //On My First Son// By Ben Johnson shows how he deals with the death and the suffering of his first child. He states that he could be angry and mad that his son was taken from him so early in life, only seven years he had with his son. That people have turned their back on God for this seeing it as God not loving them enough and punishing them my taking their child from them. But Johnson does not do this he tries to take all the good that he can out of the death of his son, he exclusively see that glass half filled. He says that by losing his son so early that his on ha escaped the horrors of the world that were sure to plague him in life such as war, famine, and strife. and even if he were lucky enough to go through life without encountering any of these he would succumb to the misery of age and would suffer till the end of his days. Johnson gives a powerful message in the final lines saying that it is important to love but not too much so that if the object of your affection is taken that you can still carry on and by doing so carry on in the way the y would want you to.

5/5 For my thematic essay i want to analyze the role of women in the pieces of medieval literature we studied this semester. I am intrigued by this topic because the women of medieval society were often shun and confined to the day to day activities of the household. but in many of the stories we covered they took on a major role in the development of the story and had a large impact in the themes and images that the author tried to highlight.

sources

Creamer, Paul. "Woman-hating in Marie de France's Bisclavret (1)." //The Romanic Review// 93.3 (2002): 259+. //General OneFile//. Web. 11 May 2011.

De Roo, Harvey. "Undressing Lady Bertilak: guilt and denial in 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.'." //The Chaucer Review//27.3 (1993): 305+. //Expanded Academic ASAP//. Web. 9 May. 2011.

Jurasinski, Stefan. "Treason and the charge of sodomy in the Lai de Lanval." //Romance Quarterly// Fall 2007: 290+.//General OneFile//. Web. 11 May 2011.

Porter, Dorothy. "The Social Centrality of Women in Beowulf: A New Context." //Heroic Age//. 5 (2001):

group work poems 5/7-5/13

====**1) Poet-interesting bio-** Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) is a very elusive guy. He went to Cambridge at age 12, and studied there for 7 years. He published his first poems during that time, which were Latin and Greek. Sadly, also during that time, his father drowned. After that happened, Marvell traveled the continent, learning how to speak Dutch, French, Italian, and Spanish. One of his most merited works is "An Hoation Ode Upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland" and after he wrote that, he worked as a tutor for Lord Thomas Farfax's 12-year-old daughter. Marvel was famous after his death from complications of the fever 1678, and was not so much while he was alive. He was generally known as a politician who satirized the government, but T.S. Elliot re-established his reputation in the twentieth century, calling him one of the best "metaphysical" poets. **2) Poetry froms-** **-**ABBA form (Cornet), AABBCC etc. Also mixes forms around a lot. -Complex -Full of paradoxes and ironies -Frequently talks about balance/debates/settling things. -Contradictory poems -Satirical -Wrote seductive love poetry- Marvell wrote many poems that way **3) Pick a poem-** **A Dialogue Between the Soul and Body (pg. 959)** **Soul-** Soul opens with a complaint- being imprisoned and tortored by the body Escape through death of the body- extended conceit. Body blinds the soul ---> torture. **Body-** Doesn't like being talked at by the soul Accuses soul of driving body around The soul makes the body restless It feels it is possessed by an ill spirit **Soul-** Soul has grief for being trapped by the body Soul is spirituality of human existence Wants to escape by letting the body die Body wants to keep itself alive- makes soul do so. **Body-** Suffering because soul forces hope, fear, love, hatred, etc. through the body. 5-2-11 **Choose a poem assigned for the day to analyze.** **1) Poet-interesting bio-** John Donne (1572-1631) was a poet who represented something new in poetry forms; he could be ambiguous, contradictory from one poem to another, wrote in rough meter, and was elaborate. When he wrote poetry, one sometimes could not define the difference between erotic and divine love in his love poems because he blurred them both together. He distanced himself from the Roman Catholic Church; he had a secret marriage to a 17-year-old girl named Ann More. When they were found out, he was disinherited from his father, and was briefly thrown into jail. After that, he had 12 children, 7 of whom survived. Since he didn't have any money, he got help from his friends. He wrote 2 long anniversary poems, lamenting the death of Sir Robert's daughter, Elizabeth. He renounced his Roman Catholicism, wrote 2 anti-Catholic tracts Pseudo-Martyr, and Ignatius his Conclave. His wife died during childbirth. Donne believed in human inter-connectedness and was facinated by death. He almost died from a grave illness, but then gave a sermon titled "Death's Duel" which was said to predict his own death; he died the March directly after he preached that. (Amanda B.) **2) Poetry forms-** -Writes love poems and sonnets. -They are not the original 14 line sonnets. Pattern, Song ("Go, and catch a falling star"): ABAB CC DDD (Amanda H) conceit- poetic device- extended metaphor...you take an image and you push it and push it and you push it until you can't anymore! (In the poem "The Bait" an example of this would be fishing) One of his most famous poems- "The Flea"- Sex and death are often correlate..."Le Petit Mor" (French) part of you dies every time you have sex.... (?!) **3) Pick 1 poem-** The Bait 1- Come and live with me and be my love, 2- And we'll find something fun and new to do 3/4- "There's a lot of fish in the sea" so this guy is trying to find that one particular girl and reel her in (First stanza- Joe) 5- When I gaze upon you, 6- I give you life more than the sun 7/8- So many people will be jealous of you 9- When you come with me, 10- Each person 11- Will want to be with you 12- But you don't really want to be with them. They think you're a catch, but they aren't. You want to be with me 13- If you don't have any 14- Light, by either the moon or the sun 15/16- Know that I don't need that light either because you are light for me. (Second and Third stanzas- Ashley) 17-20- Let others come, but none will be good enough for you 21- 24- Make sure you stay with me, because if you go looking for somebody else you might fall into trouble. There is only one woman who is the bait, but all the men are fish. (Fourth and fifth stanzas- Chris) 25- But for you, there doesn't need to be any tricks 26- For you don't need to bait anybody, if you pass her up, you're a fool 27- If you aren't captured by her beauty, 28- Then you are far wiser than I am, because I was caught up in her love. (Last two stanzas- Lombe) ====