Feudalism to Renaissance: Society in 14th-15th Century England

Posted on Jan 25, 2025 in Modern Philology. English

Historical Context of Social Division in England

Estates Division

_The tragedy of mankind and our necessity of order (which we cannot get by ourselves, according to the former mentality) was represented in society through the three Estates. The King ruled the country and had absolute power over the three classes. To protect him and the country were the nobles, represented by the archetypal figure of the Knight. To guide him and the country to God was the clergy, represented by the Monk. And to feed him and the country, and to work the land, were the peasants, who produced primary matter and were depicted as the Ploughman (he who ploughs the earth). This feudal system prevailed for a whole millennium, although it had its ups and downs._

• First Estate → Church; those who pray; Monk.
• Second Estate → Aristocracy; those who fight; Knight.
• Third Estate → Peasants; those who work; The Ploughman.

When William the Conqueror arrived in 1066, he brought with him the Norman French language, the Norman tradition and culture, and a more powerful and centralized feudalism. Delving into the Pre-Renaissance England of the 14th and 15th Centuries (1300-1400), we find that society is shaking. This was, of course, a generalized issue throughout Europe. The idea was that each man and woman had to act accordingly to their social status. The idea, thus, was that appearances are the truth, and that there is nothing behind it. Now, it is clear what happened next. Of course, people were not acting as they were supposed to do.

• This particular movement → work named Estates Satire which desperately tried to keep the division into Church (priests), Knights (safety, people of the best families, designed by birth, gradual change of England, exchange of money, wealth was defined according to property and birth, knights started to lose money and low class.
• Late medieval period → gradual influence of ideas that would change religion, the class system in society and how people regard those systems.
• Value of the estates (started in 1200)

“Commons”

→ powerful middle-class, upper-class status. First, we have what in England was called the “Commons”. There was an increasingly influential class re-appearing in society, gaining more money and power than was expected and then it should be. They were carpenters, millers, merchants, architects…people that did not directly produce any material, contrary to the peasants, but rather used it in other ways, and gained far superior income. The peasants hated them because they had more money than they had and worked less. Were they peasants? Were they nobles? What were they, and how could they be categorized?

Problems

Black Death → 1/3 of the population died. Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453) → more money for the kind and more deaths. With the war (taxes went up; Poll Tax → everybody, men, woman, children had to contribute), weather, work condition and plague → People get angry and blame the king and church; people started to go to towns; miracles → beginnings of trade unions. “Peasants’ Revolt” 1381 → first time in history, revolution (Lollards) 1320 → terrible weather conditions, it rained the entire year in England; ruining farms, peasants were living in difficult conditions, England started to trade with Europe. People started to suffer conditions, death rate was of 75%; result: land divided in strips, part of your profit you have to give to Demesne (whole estate) Every person was consisted of being responsible to maintain their part. (Halfacre) Barter society If you are trading overseas, it must be in ships, when you get that kind of trade and you transport food, rats appear, insects, etc… War between Britain and France. And you must go to the army of the King. A wave of dissatisfaction (you will die) At this point they started to raise sheep. They converted the land to pasturage, and it became easier. Less people doing things, one person doing the job of 4.

Lollards

In 1380, John Wycliffe, the leader of the Lollards, embarked on the controversial task of translating the Bible into the vernacular language, a heretical act at the time as translating the Holy Bible from Latin was strictly forbidden (The Vulgate Bible – translated by St. Jerome, from Greek to Latin in the 5th century). Consequently, the Lollards faced persecution by the authorities. Despite this, their message was sympathetic to the peasants, portraying them as the rightful recipients of God’s Graces, while criticizing the Church and Crown for their manipulation. This discontent eventually sparked the Peasant Revolt of 1381, led by figures like Wat Tyler and John Ball, who was a Lollard. The revolt spread across the entire South of England, attracting thousands of participants. However, the rebels lacked a clear strategy beyond their desire for universal suffrage for men. They marched on the capital, besieged the Tower of London, and executed the archbishop, believing that their demands had been met when the King seemingly acquiesced. Their hopes were dashed when the King ordered his troops to assemble and brutally suppress the rebellion. The peasants were massacred, with none escaping the violence. Paradoxically, the shortage of labor resulting from the uprising led to an increase in wages. In the years that followed, in 1399, Richard II was deposed by Henry IV, the son of John of Gaunt, and the following year, Richard was executed. These events marked a significant shift in power and the culmination of a tumultuous period in English history.

• The Bible that everybody supposed to read was wrote in Latin, it was written in approximation spoken Latin until Wycliffe with his movement started to do things against the church translating it into English. The Lollards who associate themselves with Langland were like Jehovah’s Witnesses but different. They were walking around the country 1379-80 and in 81 occurred the peasant’s revolt. “Give Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is his. It’s the beginning of Protestantism, it didn’t start with Luther. The movement against church started more or less is 1360s.
• Peasants aren’t working and Christians must use their hands by one rule proposed by Saint Augustine. Peasant started to being angrier and were translate their home to towns. (The Commons).

Writers

In this time, John Gower, William Langland and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote. And each one of them was allied to a specific Estate. Gower criticized those that did not follow the Estates, not the Estates themselves, and he was fond of the clergy and the nobility, as shown in his “Vox Clamantis”. Langland was in favor of the peasantry, showing his support through his “Piers Plowman”, and attacking the Church and the Crown (with special emphasis on the former). Finally, Chaucer selected himself as the champion of the Commons, as he himself was a Commoner (he was the son of a merchant, even though he studied as a nobleman). He wrote “The Canterbury Tales”, in which he shows this clearly.

• Langland is talking about peasants, more specifically mercenaries that were having more profits that in the village. He shows a and criticise the initial idea of a estate satire. Estates didn’t follow their rules, peasants pretending to be nobles etc. Good peasant is the one that is in village the bad one is one from the town changing his original destiny. Priests aren’t acting like priests; they can’t be in politics.

William Langland’s Piers Plowman

Prologue

IN a somer seson, whan softe was the sonne,/
I shoop me into shroudes as I a sheep were, (He dressed in wool, as if he were a sheep. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The wool tickled and scratched, forcing the wearer to control the reactions. It was vilification of the flesh, and it reminds us of the importance of appearance.)
In habite as an heremite unholy of werkes, (The hermits were the poorest of the poorest. He wants to dress like one in order to pass unnoticed. However, hermits were supposed to be a peculiar sight. Hermits don’t go wandering around, which is why it would be strange to see one around).
Wente wide in this world wondres to here./
Ac on a May morwenynge on Malverne hilles/
Me bifel a ferly, of Fairye me thoghte. (Fairy (people from the other world, supernatural)/
I was wery forwandred and wente me to reste “I was tired and I went to rest.”/
Under a brood bank by a bourne syde; (In the shade of the bank)/
And as I lay and lenede and loked on the watres,/
I slombred into a slepyng, it sweyed so murye. (Langland using alliteration )(He went to sleep, since the water was swaying so merrily/prettily. He was looking at the water, he was tired, the background noise was helping, so he ended up hypnotized by the whole scenery. “As I lay down, watching the reflect of the water I felt sleeping.”)/
Thanne gan I meten a merveillous swevene (marvellous dream)/
That I was in a wildernesse, wiste I nevere where. (place he never were before)/
A[c] as I biheeld into the eest an heigh to the sonne, East as high as the sun… /
I seigh a tour on a toft trieliche ymaked, (He saw a tower on a hill beautifully made)/
A deep dale bynethe, a dongeon therinne,/
With depe diches and derke and dredfulle of sighte. (It’s a dream and immediately starts metaphors. Symbolism as a tower on the hill, dungeons, people, is supposed to be heaven, earth and hell. He uses the dream vision in very original way. Our dream used to don’t use logical order, Langland is doing this to. He saw Dante’s representation of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, but Langland compresses them in three lines, just a hint at Dante) /
A fair feeld ful of folk fond I ther bitwene (He saw a field full of people, in between. This is the earth. Note the 5-stress alliteration: Fair Feld Ful oF Folk Fond).
Of alle manere of men, the meene and the riche,/
And somme putten hem to pride, apparailed hem thereafter – P.23 (Become primed (hem=themselves) )/
In contenaunce of clothynge comen disgised- P.24 (They came disguised in different clothes, which belonged to different classes. Peasants dressing as nobles, mercenaries dressing as knights, etc.)/
In preieres and penaunce putten hem manye, P.25 (In prayers and penance many devoted themselves).
Al for the love of Oure Lord lyveden ful streyte P.26 In hope to have heveneriche blisse– P.27 (Heavenly happiness, from “The Dream of the Rood Same as Chaucer, no one is looking like they supposed to look like).

As ancres and heremites that holden hem in hire selles, P.28
Coveiten noght in contree to cairen aboute P.29
For no likerous liflode hire likame to plese. P.30(We are talking about the Church)/
And somme chosen chaffare; they cheveden the bettre (And some choose trade, they make more profit by it)./
As it semeth to oure sight that swiche men thryveth;
And somme murthes to make as mynstralles konne, P.33
And geten gold with hire glee– [gilt]lees, I leeve P.34
(As it semeth to oure sight that swiche men thryveth; P.32 And somme murthes to make as mynstralles konne, /And geten gold with hire glee– [gilt]lees, I leeve P.34 )/
And geten gold with hire glee– [gilt]lees, I leeve (They are covered in gold. Not “guilt” of feeling bad. They are two types of musicians, one who are guiltless and other that sings in the church. And get gold with their singing (glee). Giltlees= guiltless and gild-less. Gild, gilded, means covered in gold. He talks about those that sang in mass, like he did. He is justifying himself, excusing himself as a musician, not to be mixed with the bad musicians. However, he also shows a little bit of guilt, because of how giltlees can be read.)/
Ac japeres and jangeleres, Judas children, (But jesters and janglers, children of Judas,) (Japeres → people who are making funny songs. Jangeleres → nor fr. Jongleur → person who wrote the music but don’t perform it itself. He is calling them “jangling” (campanas) horrible noise.)/
P.36. Feynen hem fantasies, and fooles hem maketh (Feigning their fancies and making folk fools) (They are “make shit up” → God creates things, that we cannot see, the world (is not quite real), only heaven is real. If you are starting to describe things like dragons, magical worlds, etc. is bad because God doesn’t pretend to create this. Is blasphemy. )/
P.37. And han wit at wille to werken if they wolde (They have wit at will to work if they would) /
P.38 That Poul precheth of hem I wol nat preve it here: (Paul preacheth of them · I’ll not prove it here) /
P.39. Qui loquitur turpiloquium is Luciferes hyne- (Qui turpiloquium loquitur · is Lucifer’s hind) /
I fond there freres, alle the foure ordres, P.58
Prechynge the peple for profit of [the wombe]: P.59 (They pray for money so they can eat, and they have big bellies. They preach for profit → kind of merchants. He prechynge not monks. They supposed to beg for food does not make whole economy with the prayers. )/
Gosed the gospel as hem good liked; P.60
For coveitise of copes construwed it as thei wolde. (He supposed to be written in a state satire separately but as he is describing a dream, he can mix it. He also introduces “the commons” as they trade with the church (corruption). Church people started to act as merchants. Merchants used the money to fundar their own monasteries. War → taxes → problems Church people mixes with taxes → THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN POLITICS, they don’t suppose to)

Exam question: Differences between Chaucer and Langland in Estate Satire

• Chaucer never criticizes (like with the prioress in Canterbury Tale) he let you draw your opinion.
• Chaucer doesn’t criticize everyone directly. Is a strange style of a strange state satire but so is Langland.
• He is talking about the whole state not individual examples like Chaucer (more individualized characters)
• Langland divides in good and bad and criticizes the bad (they just bad)
• Langland is dreaming so he can mix the states (reflect the social realities); Chaucer deliberately confuse the state (his personas comments are important, if he is making, we don’t believe him.
• They weren’t traditional estate satire.

P.31. And somme chosen chaffare; they cheveden the bettre
P.32. As it semeth to oure sight that swiche men thryveth;
P.33. And somme murthes to make as mynstralles konne,( He is talking about Commoner which you don’t expect from Langland. He is talking about usitian which didn’t have a separate class)./
P34. And some to make mirth · as minstrels know how,
And get gold with their glees · guiltlessly, I hold. (Glee → fr. Singing)./

1. What those 3 passages have to do with one another?
Criticize the estate.
2. What does Langland criticize?
Pilgrims, churchmen, minstrels (troubadours) //
P.46. Pilgrymes and palmeres plighten hem togidere (Pilgrims and palmers · pledged them together.) (Pilgrims made stories for pass the time. They came back with stories about places where they went (make stories → lying, blasphemy 🙂 Pilgrimage → opportunity get out of the village safely with a group. They wanted to be free from laws, they were telling stories for pass time. )
What the last of those extract is doing with Lollards?
P.58. I fond there freres, alle the foure ordres,
P.59. Prechynge the peple for profit of [the wombe]:
P.60. Glosed the gospel as hem good liked; (I found there friars · of all the four orders,
Preaching to the people · for profit to themselves,
Explaining the Gospel · just as they liked,) (Criticizing Churchmen. Lollards tries to translate the bible and give the God’s word to people (Reading Bible for soul salvation)

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

Chaucer (east – midland: dialect) was a middle-class man, born to a wine-trader in London. However, although he corresponds to the Commons, Chaucer had the same education that nobles had, having been a page to an aristocrat family. He served under John of Gaunt and his son, and he was even a diplomat, having travelled to France, Spain and Italy. In that last country, he got acquainted with the poetry of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio (and mostly this last one), even though he didn’t meet them personally. From them, he took great influence, even though he maintained his own personality and style. In fact, “Canterbury Tales” is partly inspired by Boccaccio’s “Decamerone”. They are both compendiums of traditional stories, told by a selection of different characters to pass the time. “The Canterbury Tales” are organized in several parts: the mark, the frame of the narrative, is that of an estate’s satire, as told by Gower and Langland. It begins with Chaucer presenting himself as a pilgrim, accompanied by others, on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Chaucer presents them in an orderly fashion, as if they were in an Estates Satire, but separates the Pardoner and the Summoner from the clergy. This is the first hint that it is not an estates satire. He puts them together at the end, to indicate that first of all, they aren’t a part of the clergy, and second of all, that they are apparently the worst of the lot. While so describing them, Chaucer writes the “General Prologue”, in which he transmits his view on them, of what he sees with his own eyes and what they say and do, from what he understands of them. Of course, he is the creator, but he acts as if he were another character in his own story, and not an omniscient or omnipotent narrator. Afterwards, he tells the readers that the pilgrims have started a contest: he or she who tells the best tale will get a free meal upon returning to their point of departure. The Host, however (the one that started the contest), has arranged with the knight that he should be first, and the winner.

Frame Tale → A story inside a story, frame thanks to which other stories can be told. In Canterbury Tale is the pilgrimage.
Estate Satire + Frame Tale → Canterbury Tale (29 pilgrims telling their story and before it we have an introduction making it somehow Estate Satire → Chaucer doesn’t tell us who is behaving well or not)

• The narrator is one of the pilgrims. Chaucer is the narrator, writer himself is there, he places himself in action. He can be lying about everything, he is so subjective (having his favourites) Chaucer did two things, he is describing the people and his copying down everything on the story, and he “should” be reliable. Most characters belong to Commons.
• Chaucer admitted that society is changing, Langland didn’t do that.

“Canterbury tale” General Prologue : There are no noble people in the pilgrimage, there is a knight that is not really a knight (he’s just and assassin); They are a lot of people not interested in prays. Late middle English works so well known, he is one of the people that helped to create English language. In Canterbury Tale the characters aren’t according to the estate (homosexuals, a dirty priest, etc.). Pilgrims that not exactly pure minded. One of the questions is what is doing a noun on a pilgrimage (pertenece a una orden de verdad?). The author is explaining that people on pilgrimage are desperate to do dirty things (they want to do love as animals in spring basically). The sentence “go on pilgrimage” is a metaphor to “people want to make love” en bonitas palabras, and in words of the professor: “they want to fuck”. Church didn’t like pilgrimage. People didn’t used to go out of their village because it was dangerous as they had to pass through the woods. It was safer to go in group, so they started to “pilgrimage”. It was only way to travel safety as they can help each other. Any city used to have they own laws. People do thing on the roads that they are embarrassed to do in the city. //

Noun : Chaucerian

→ describing a noun not exactly like we used to imagine a noun. She is smiling in inviting way. Her smile is ambiguous, it can mean “Am I as holy as you think? Come and “averigualo” or it can mean “Bro, Fuck off.” (Like Mona Lisa). She is kind of clever, if you smile expressed two emotions, one could hide another. People say that this smile if of specific feminine figure in literature: midons1 with means Madonna; it coming from French → Provençal Langue; it was love poetry; (William of Puatie – Eleanor of Aquitane → they populize this kind of poetry), the people that were used to distribute this poetry were troubadours; ideal woman, a lover of the poet, erotic elements: Dante (Divina Comedia) or Petrarch (Sonnets) tried to make the woman less sexual and make her more like Virgin Mary. They were purifying the poetry. “I wish to see you as pure as wite as snow” → basically naked. (Sexualized Madonna)

• Chaucer: “Pilgrimage is supposed to be religious not a place for people to being horny”

Medieval language (typical of the Middle Ages) can be an understatement and, therefore, we add to this harvest some terms that may be useful to understand what courtly love and fin’amor are. – Midons: a word that refers to the beloved, the troubadour’s “mistress”. // Noun is a girl practically (what kind of girl used to be a priestess?) She is cockney, she is a middle class from centre of London. This woman doesn’t speak sophisticated French. She thinks she is “cute” speaking French; Cockney → not very pijo. Her name is not a nun’s name, A noun who choose her own name and her positions is priestess. She put before ser name “madame” not sister or mother like a regular noun. This noun is not exactly so bright. The question is how she became a priestess? She’s from the cheapest convent in London. They are four women in this pilgrimage. The wife of Bath is complaining how men oppress woman. Dowry (dote) → if you have enough money, you can marriage but if you don’t, they became a noun. She doesn’t represent every nun, but she represents the second daughter from commons whose parents didn’t have enough money to find her a husband. Noun’s character has been influenced by experiences form the past. She considers herself a bit above. She’s very young for being priestess. She studied in poor institution, and she is talking Norman French not a modern one. When your daughter became a “wife of God” you still must pay but less than with marriage. Her parents donate to the church, so she has some “special” treat. She has complicated backstory

• Nobody is wearing a proper dress. The noun is dressed as a noun, she is wearing a habit, but she has some thing wrong with ornamentation she has and her way of wearing it. She had a beautiful forehead. Wimple → nouns band, you can se her full face (bad) and her very red lips
• Noun → young, common, not a very good convent, cockney (Norman French), Chaucer didn’t tell the place of origin very often. When he uses the place name // That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy (119) → smiling in contradictory way (Madonna for troubadours) (page 40) / Hire gretteste ooth (only) was but by seinte loy; → Another person would say that she is taking the name of the Lord in wane (in this case the name of a saint) / Bloody hell→ By our Laidy that is in hell (Lady – Virgin) Is a course or alco called blasphemy/ loy, ooth → noun is not supposed to blasphemy / And she was cleped madame eglentyne → eglentyne (not a noun name) //

Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun Le Roman de la Rose: Dream Vision Poem

Dream Vision Part: El Roman de la Rose is a poem written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun in France between 1225 and 1278 that adopts the form of an allegorical dream. The first part of the poem tells how Guillaume had a dream five years ago that came true. In his dream, Guillaume, identified as the Lover, enters a walled garden, the Garden of Pleasure, accompanied by Lady Idleness. There he joins the dance of time, a dance guided by Joy and in which Love, Wealth, Generosity and other allegorical characters also participate. While visiting the garden, near the fountain of Narcissus, the Lover falls in love with the Rose after being hit by the arrows of Love. As time passes, the Lover learns the rules of courtly love: education, discretion, courtesy, patience, devotion and generosity. In order to reach his goal, the Rose, the Lover will receive the help of other allegorical figures such as Hope, Pleasant Thought, Sweetness in the Look and the Sweet Word. The son of Courtesy, Kind Welcome, guides him to the forest in whose center is the Rose, but there he is rejected by Danger. Although Lady Reason tries to discourage Guillaume’s amorous advances, he insists, manages to appease Danger and briefly kisses the Rose. Second Part: Lady Reason appears and talks about Fortune and passions to the Lover. Lady Reason fails to convince Guillaume about the futility of love, so he decides to visit Friend, who advises him to follow rules contrary to courtly love, and devotes himself to philosophizing about the origin of societies. Love gathers all his followers and harangues them before attempting to storm the tower in which Kind Welcome is imprisoned. The assailants enter the square, but the enemies defend themselves vehemently. In the retreat of the forces of Love, Nature opposes the destructive force of Death. She confesses to Genius, and sends him to join the troops of Love, which already have the support of Venus. Faced with their attacks, Danger, Shame and Fear flee. Finally, Kind Welcome allows the lover to deflower the Rose and then the poet wakes up. Garden → a woman, the rose. Confessio Literature: they admit how bad they are; the message is don’t to be like that Satire of evil people in satire, they are two types: 1. Lavielle 2. False Semblae (someone who seems to not be that it is) (He has sex while he is dressed by the priest) Woman: prostitute who is tempting young people to become them to.

Nouns Part analysis

: Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne, (very well she sings divine psalms,)/ Entuned in hir nose ful semely, (nosely)/ Her greatest oath was but by Saint Eloy, / And she was clepèd Madame Eglantine / Full well she sang the servicè divine / Entunèd in her nose full seemèly (proper accepted way – satirical, irony) (She is allowed to sing with nose because she sings so awful; she also sings in French (she thinks it is cool). Singing through the nose became popular and style. She do this because she wanted to appear to be a Lady. She is more interested in this that in being a noun. Singing badly and in bad, old French she looks pretty ridiculous.)// And French she spoke full fair and fetisly (And frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly)/ After the school of Stratford at the Bow, (After the scole of stratford atte bowe)/  For French of Paris was to her unknow. (For frenssh of parys was to hire unknowe). / At meatè well y-taught was she withall: (At mete wel ytaught was she with alle:)/ She let no morsel from her lippès fall, (She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle),/ Nor wet her fingers in her saucè deep. (Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe;)  saucè → los cubiertos were the symbol of status, you weren’t allowed to use fork because it was associate with devil; people were supposed to eat with fingers if you weren’t some noblemen or the king. Pottage: meat of fish in a boll cooked in juice; kind of a soul that you must eat with your fingers (She didn’t wet her fingers in the gravy and: Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel keep; she now how to carry the food to her mouth without letting nothing down. If you eat like that you must practice a lot. This is the closer she is from a miracle, eat without make herself dirty. She is obsessive with appearances; she eats like a lady. She didn’t want to become a noun. She is calling herself madam. She tries to look beautiful and elegant, and she is obsessed with table manners. Chauser had difficulties to say from with state are the characters)//And peyned hire to countrefete cheere (139)/ Of court, and to been estatlich of manere, (140) (She pretends to seem happy like in the court but it’s difficult with the class of people she is. She is trying so hard, but in the next line we have another thing, she tried a lot to have manners that they have in the court. )// But, for to speken of hire conscience /She was so charitable and so pitous (She’s spending her time praying, she is so sensitive. )//(144) She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous (145) Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde. (146) Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde (147) With rosted flessh, or milk and wastel-breed. (She cares more about animal that about the humans, she spends all the time feeding and caring her little dogs. She is like a “little” alone old lady. She’s desperate to go to the pilgrimage and to have a conversation with someone. She’s have a choice of choose her name. If it would be Langland, he would criticize her from head to her feet buts Chauser is using irony and some sympathy for her. In this satire we classify her, it’s different from what state satire is supposer to be. )// (148) But soore wepte she if oon of hem were deed, (149) Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte; (150) And al was conscience and tendre herte. (He is repeating “conscience”. English isn’t as expressive as other languages, but it has a lot of ambiguity (ex: phrasal verbs). It has very flexible grammar and vocabulary. In this context this word can means the real conscience not sensitivity. It’s repeating like six time making special emphasis in it. ) (151) Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was, (white band around the noun’s face)/(152) Hir nose tretys, hir eyen greye as glas, (153) Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed. (154) But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed; (The “wympul” was used for covering the more area as possible. She has nose like Cleopatra, grey eyes and read lips. He is contradicting himself. She is telling how beautiful she is but in reality, he is pointing all the stuffs she should not doing or showing (Is looks like If nowadays a noun wear miniskirt). She also has a decoration in her wimple: It was almoost a spanne brood, I trowe; We can ask ourselves “Why is she doing that?” → I could be because she can attract men or she doesn’t know how to smile; she is a noun in a pilgrimage, she supposed to not to smile; She is not flirting, she chats with people, she dress suggestively → She don’t want to be in the convent!!!; she didn’t realize that her French is sounding bad, she is trying to be a lady; also she is so bored, in the convent she is practicing the manners in the table)

 Langland → “Broo is soo baaad, she is a whore not a noun and we should burn her :v”. Chauser → “Bro, she’s just a girl, relax” (thing about this, let her decide for herself) (Chauser is interested in state of mind by describing external characteristics. He has been in Italy, the land of humanism. He has seen the world, and he knew that the people he met were something new and he can introduce it to the English literature)/ (156) For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe. (157) Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war (She had curves, she isn’t ugly. As a noun she doesn’t look like one. She looks like a “perfect” natural woman in Middle Ages.)// 158 Of smal coral aboute hire arm she bar 159 A peire of bedes, gauded al with grene, (She wears a rosary around her arm like a bracelet. Nouns and monk are forbitten to use gold. For going to the convent, they have to let their wealth and the past life. She is putting the rosary in the wrong place)// And theron heng a brooch of gold ful sheene, (she wears a gold pin)/ On which ther was first write a crowned a / And after amor vincit omnia. (latín “El amor vence todo” ) (The point is that those three words are ambiguous, it can be love of God or not. She is dedicated to one handsome saint. She is a little bit snobbish.)/ Another nonne with hire hadde she, / That was hir chapeleyne, and preestes thre.(➔ Langland was more direct in his criticism. The description of the partner is different from the nouns, is more langlansian, it obviously critical, this is not the way in which Chaucer usually works. ➔ Why he does it? ) // Anglo-Saxon Poetry: William Langland was a village parson from the border with Wales, pretty far away from the new current in literature which was based around London (where Chaucer wrote). In spite of this, he had a good background in literature. He had read Dante’s “Commedia” and traditional Anglo-Saxon tales such as “The Dream of the Rood”, and he reflected those aspects in his creation. From both of them, he took the idea of “dream vision poetry”, in which the plot is presented through a mirage, as if it were the world of dreams. “The Dream of the Rood”, actually, is a tale about the Holy Cross, told as if the item were a living object, with strong heathen influences, such as animism. It was one of the attempts to melt Christianity with Norse paganism. The Cross suffers with Jesus Christ His Calvary. Also, the dreams envisioned in this kind of poetry represent symbolic, allegorical worlds, closely related to the real one and to history. Another thing that Langland gets from this text is the alliterative verse, which is also used in “Beowulf”. The words stressed in the verse have the same sound, creating a rhythm pattern (like “but–big–bold-bang”), which is decided by the third stress. Another feature worth mentioning that has passed on from the traditional texts is the medial caesura, a division represented by “//”, midway through the line. In Piers Plowman it does not appear physically, but it is felt throughout the rhythm. //Vision Dream Poem → Anglo-Saxon alliterative line 4 stress syllables per file, 3syllables alliterate. The stress is in the second part of the line (usually 10 syllables) Fists stress of the syllable of the second part of the line decide the time of alliteration in the first stress of the first line. Forth stress of the syllable is not aliterate. The lines are divided by medial caesura (||). Anglo – Saxon poetry → very strict alliterate poetry; You have a choice of which kin of alliteration you want to use but you must put it. Langland wrote as he wrote because of way he lived (maintaining Anglo-Saxon traditions in the place he leaved). It influences his literary writings; he wrote in dialect of middle English. Chauser probably had problems with reading it. This is one of the points of because the alliterate poetry died. We only have 3000-4000 poems of those. It could be said they thought that it was so “antiquate” ➔ Catholics take their interpretation of good take their interpretate from the pop end priest, you can’t be saved by only reading the Bible. Protestants say that you can be saved by reading the bible texts. ➔ Lollards → translate the bible. ➔ Langland started to use those translations for his books as a didactic source. ➔ 1391: first rebellion in the history (they ended hanged in trees around London as an example) ➔ Pearce Plamer: people believe that this is real name of a ladder of rebellion not only a title of a book. (Important piece of literature: late medieval work), It contain part of the state satire. Langland was the mayor writer in England.

Langland vs. Chauser in state satire. Two introductions. Before they tell individual story, they introduce them; they are two types of prologues (intro and individual character intro)// The information given by individual pilgrim in general prologue is expanded later. Chauser don’t comprehend information he’s expands it. The tales are not invented, they could be based on another but depending on who tell the tale, it can reveal more information about the character. ➔ Prologue ➔ Conversation with the host ➔ Different stories (some have epilogues, other are insults for another pilgrims that tells stories) (Since all the element in CT (state satire in prologue, prologue of individual of each pilgrim, conversations with the host, stories) is an examination of Chauser’s society. It thas state satire, it has portrairt of characters. ) Chauser doesn’t criticize everyone directly. Is a strange style of a strange state satire but so is Langland. Langland is more Dream Vision Poem.//Dream Vision Poem: A lot of problem → Go to sleep → Vision that solves their problem. (Langland take it further. Langland called himself Will (short of William or the “will” for doing something). Passus as a journey to answer our questions. When he is tired of walking he sit down, sleep and have a vision with answers for their problem which generate more problems, etc… and etc… )// Pardoner :  Ther preched a pardoner as he a preest were: P.68 Broughte forth a bulle with bisshopes seles, P.69 And seide that hymself myghte assoillen hem alle P.70 Of falshede of fastynge, of avowes ybroken. – P.71 Lewed men leved hym wel and liked hise wordes, P.72 Comen up knelynge to kissen his bulle. P.73 He bonched hem with his brevet and blered hire eighen, P.74 And raughte with his rageman rynges and broches. There preached a pardoner ·as if he priest were: He brought forth a brief · with bishops’ seals thereon, And said that himself · might absolve them all From falseness in fasting and of broken vows. P. 71 absolve of ayuno Laymen believed him · welcomed his words, And came up on their knees · to kiss his seals; He cozened them with his brevet · dimmed their eyes, P. 74 And with his parchment · got his rings and brooches: P. 75 Thus they gave their gold · gluttons to keep. And lend it to such louts · as follow lechery. –Thus ye gyven youre gold glotons to helpe, P.76 And leneth it losels that leccherie haunten” P.77 Were the bisshop yblessed and worth bothe his eris, P.78 His seel sholde noght be sent to deceyve the peple. P.79//  Pardoner vs. Summoner : Pardoners → After second Cruzada one of the famous of knights were excommunicated by the Pope. For came back you must do penitence (aunque no siempre funcionaba). He went to Rome and gave them a lot of money for putting him back in the church. There the church had this idea of exchanging money for salvation. They created the Bank of Grace, bank of divine forgiveness. The idea was that if you but your salvation you don’t go to hell or heaven, you go to purgatory (like waiting room where you don’t know how many times you will spend in). People who were sailing this “Pardon” were named pardoners. The “Pardon” was a paper with years in purgatory. Also, they were an obsession with relics. Because of they weren’t priests they couldn’t absolve sins (they couldn’t tale confession, collection in church, preach, etc.). Summoner → In Canterbury tale the pilgrims were going to se Thomas A Backet who had a problem with Henry II. They were two kinds of court in middle-late medieval ages. They were Criminal Court (King), and ecclesiastic court (church). Clerk did paperwork for the church. They weren’t strictly priests, but they were in the way to be it. Everyone wanted to go into the church (todavía no había castiad). Clarks started to be associated with crime (stealing basically). If you were member of church, you were judge by ecclesiastic court which couldn’t do the dead sentence (they had lighter sentence). Henry II tried to abolish the ecclesiastic court (as church can go free after murder someone) trying to make the courts more effective. The church sends summoners for church court (very corrupt). Normally they go and find someone that did infraction against church. However, summoners as well as pardoner were very corrupt. → Fabliaux Between those two they did a full “paquete de descuento”. You go to summoner, and he send you to the pardoner that “forgive” you all your bad. The problem was that it involves fraud. This specific type of fraud was associate with Roncesvalles. In the monastery if you were a pardoner you had to be associate with his “boss” who would be archbishop. The monastery of Roncesvalles was the guru of corruption. First monastery for having individual room for each monk, using the dirty money. The most corrupt pardoner. (Representation of “the commons” → molinero) 

Langland Pardoner II;  Ther preched a pardoner as he a preest were: P.68 (There preached a pardoner as if he were a priest. Notice the “p”. He is not THE Pardoner, like in Chaucer, but just another one. He represents ALL pardoners in the world. About this, pardoners were lay men, not priests)/ Broughte forth a bulle with bisshopes seles, P.69 (He brought a papal bull with the seal of bishops. This and the previous line, P.68, refer to the idea that God had a “bank of grace”. They could “sell” the grace of God for money and pardon people’s sins. They were earning money through lies.)/ Of falshede of fastynge, of avowes broken.- P.71 (From failing to observe fast days, or breaking vows )/ Lewed men leved hym wel and liked hise words, P.72 (Lewd men loved him)/  Comen up knelynge to kissen his bulle. P.73 (They came kneeling to kiss his bull. Bull → pardoner itself; Pardoner only sells you time in purgatory, but they started to sell absolutions (only priest can do that) Chauser pardoner → “If you have not absolved your sins, you cannot take a pardon and those have to stay apart (noeone did ‘cause they didn’t want to admit)/ He bonched hem with his breved and blered hire eighen, P.74 (eye) (Chauser go more into the descripition but the here is more catronsih way of explaining (dream vision))/ And raughte with his rageman rynges and broches. P.75 (ring s and broches)  (Noone had money )// For the parisshe preest and the pardoner parten the silver P.81 That the povere [peple] of the parissche sholde have if they ne were. P.82 Persons and parisshe preestes pleyned hem to the bisshop P.83 That hire parisshes weren povere sith the pestilence tyme, P.84 To have a licence and leve at London to dwelle, P.85 And syngen ther for symonie, for silver is swete. P.86 (His perception of singers. Langland is more objective (he says that it’s sin but he divides those singers in two groups). Self-contradiction: he felt guilty of writing it as we was a village priest that went to the town for singing songs for death for money)//   Difference between Calvinist / Lutheran / Episcopalian / Anglicanism / Presbyterian / Catholicism : Calvinism:  Sovereignty of God: Emphasizes God’s absolute sovereignty, including the concept of predestination (the belief that God has predetermined who will be saved). Salvation: Believes in the doctrine of the elect, asserting that God has chosen specific individuals for salvation. Worship and Governance: Worship is often simple and focused on preaching. Calvinist churches may have presbyterian, congregational, or reformed church government structures, often led by elected elders. Lutheranism: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone: Emphasizes salvation by grace alone, received through faith alone, and based on scripture alone (Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura). Sacraments: Holds sacraments, especially the Eucharist (Holy Communion), in high regard. Believes in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Liturgical Worship: Follows a liturgical worship style with a focus on rituals and sacraments. Has a hierarchical structure led by bishops and pastors. Episcopalianism (Anglicanism): Balance of Tradition and Reformation: Maintains a balance between Catholic and Protestant traditions, allowing for diverse theological perspectives. Worship and Governance: Follows a liturgical worship style, similar to Catholicism. Has a hierarchical structure led by bishops. Episcopalians believe in the three-fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. Presbyterianism Church Governance: Characterized by a presbyterian form of church government, where elected representatives (elders and ministers) govern the church collectively. Reformed Theology: Shares theological roots with Calvinism, emphasizing the sovereignty of God and predestination. Simplicity in Worship: Focuses on simple and reverent worship services, often centered around preaching and the reading of scripture. Catholicism: Sacraments: Recognizes seven sacraments, including Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, and Holy Orders. Papal Authority: Acknowledges the authority of the Pope as the leader of the Catholic Church. Tradition: Emphasizes the importance of Sacred Tradition, in addition to Sacred Scripture, as a source of revelation. Hierarchy: Has a hierarchical structure with the Pope at the top, followed by cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons. 

 Pardoner in Canterbury Tale’s General Prologue: Chauser – dialogical, present aspects the character’s dress and speech and we have to judge by ourselves. Langland – monological, he tells you what you should be thinking. General Prologue: Chauser impression → kind of state satire While so describing them, Chaucer writes the “General Prologue”, in which he transmits his view on them, of what he sees with his own eyes and what they say and do, from what he understands of them. Of course, he is the creator, but he acts as if he were another character in his own story, and not an omniscient or omnipotent narrator. Afterwards, he tells the readers that the pilgrims have started a contest: he or she who tells the best tale will get a free meal upon returning to their point of departure. The Host, however (the one that started the contest), has arranged with the knight that he should be first, and the winner. Before each story the creator has a conversation with him. He used to tell “he is stupid” so his impression can me wrong (he does this deliberately so we can think). He introduces characters one by one here. (2) Presentation / dialogue with the host – Harry Bailey (3) Pilgrims Prologues → Introduction of the characters and their stories (4) Individual Tales (5) Epilogue / Is the pardoner doing stuffs “aposta” or he is just doing it because he is “stupid”, the listener has to react to it, it is so ambiguous, there is no moral, we have to think about the implications what it is said and done in the tale. We must ask ourselves “why is he doing this?” He’s from Rounsevell Roots of evil are greed. Pardoner look like he pretends to represent. We could say that his tale starts in general prologue (is he acting or is he doing It because yes) The most complete tale. Prologue → state satire; with Langland we see bringing the state satire in the main boy of the work. Canterbury takes structural ad thematically it could be divided in 5 parts. Difference between frame tale and Chaucer: Each character is telling their story in their own way and he don’t tell us what to think about them. (669) With him ther rood a gentil Pardoner homosexual couple? (The Pardoner is presented after the Summoner. They are both put at the end of the General Prologue, before Chaucer’s defines, and separated from the Clergy. They arrive together. The Summoner was a lay man who worked for the Church, to bring sinners to ecclesiastic court, in order to get a punishment for their wrongdoings. However, he could easily be bribed. The Pardoner, too, was a lay man. He only had the power to sell pardons in an enclosed space within the church, after each sinner had already confessed and repented. He had no other power nor right, but many pardoners went inside the mass and started preaching or went throughout the world to sell fake bulls and relics, such as this guy here. Chauser didn’t knew where t put them on the estates, they supposed to be a member of the church. They aren’t technically workers of the church. Be a member of the church are Nouns and priests. Summoners and pardoner aren’t priests, but they are associated with the church. Word pardon started to be associated with absolution. Chauser put them together because a reason. When Summoner were summoning the sinner, he sent him to pardoner. After confession he can take the Eucharist, after visiting the pardoner the sinner could. Chauser mess with the order, if you do the wrong order, you are in dangerous religion ground. Bloody hell → by our Lady in hell They were methods for reversing the blessing. First supposed to go pardoning not summoning but Chauser is representing them al revés. Is a perversion of a religious ceremony. )// A “hypotext” generally refers to an underlying or source text that serves as a basis for another text. In literary theory and intertextuality studies, a hypotext is an earlier text or work upon which a later text, known as the “hypertext,” is based or derived. The concept of hypotext and hypertext is often used to analyze the relationships between different texts and how they influence each other. In simpler terms, if one piece of writing, such as a novel, poem, or any other text, inspires or influences another work, the first piece is the hypotext, and the second piece is the hypertext. The hypertext builds upon, responds to, or reinterprets the ideas, themes, or content found in the hypotext. This concept is commonly used in literary analysis and critical theory to explore how texts are interconnected and how meaning is created through these connections. 

When Chauser create the description of pardoner he is using other sources for creating it. The whole pint of putting them together amputating summoner first because they are associated with redemption of sin. Examples of inventions of religious accepted forms of ceremony. If the ceremony is revest is a blasphemy is a potential way of curse. (Black mass→ A Black Mass is a ceremony typically said to be celebrated by various Satanic groups) Exam question: Why P and S are separated for the other members of the church in General Prologue? (669) With him ther rood a gentil Pardoner (Gentil In the sense of gentleman, related to something from upper class. Is used in ironic way, he is not associated with rich people, and he doesn’t have good manners)./ Of rouncivale, his freend and his compeer, 670 (Rounsevell) That streight was comen fro the court of rome. 671 (Pardons stand by the Pope (probably by himself, Chauser loves irony) / Ful loude he soong com hider, love, to me! 672 (Sing very loudly). /This somonour bar to hym a stif burdoun; 673 bass melody Slang for “penis” (Le Roman de la Rose (catedra) second part (Jean de Meun) → 2 long speaches, one by old woman ( inspired the Wife of bath of Chauser); Faux Semblant → diseases as a priest, pardoner, present every 7 sins as a pardoner, Chauser’s Pardoner is based on this character. Confession (name of the speeches). I commit a sin, I know it, I like it, and I admit that I will go to hell.) Pardoner: a) Pardoner is an example of the “bad”. (Chauser’s version of Faux Semblant) b) Pardoner is sinning for porpoise for showing the people what is bad so they can notice it and don’t to that. (An actor pretending to be evil) c) Accidental combination of both d) A sinner who attempts to employ his sinful nature for virtuous purposes (connected with b) (Chauser’s characters as ambitious individuals. He inspired himself in Dante. Pardoner is playing cartoonish representation of evil (based in Faux Semblant).)Goliards → El término goliardo se utilizó durante la Edad Media para referirse a cierto tipo de clérigos vagabundos (giróvagos y sarabaítas) y a los estudiantes pobres sopistas y pícaros que proliferaron en Europa con el auge de la vida urbana y el surgimiento de las universidades en el siglo XIII. (Example: François Villón) (pardoner is act like it) Was nevere trompe of half so greet a soun. 674 This pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex, 675 But smothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex; 676 By ounces henge his lokkes that he hadde, 677 And therwith he his shuldres overspradde; 678 A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot. 688 (voice like a goat)/ No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have; 689 As smothe it was as it were late shave. 690 (He didn’t have barba) I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare. 691 (He swear that he is castrated) (Argument between miller and the host because of the order. Miler tells the next story which is a parody of a knight story who is not a knight is a mercenary. The whole order of the stories isn’t following the correct order of the states, its messy. Chauser introduce the wrong order in the general prologue. After the miller interrupt a monk is a disaster, the host must reduce to say and choose the next (chaos, choosing without order). The tales are introduced by an argument or discussion from where is and who is the storyteller. Each story has an introduction. 1. General Prologue → Estate Satire (nearest thing that we get to this genre) 2. Host (Harry Bailey) pics the teller (Conversation/Argument with the host) 3. Individual introduction of the tale 4. Tale (Epilogue) )// When we get to the end of the tale, the conversation between pardoner, doctor (doesn’t speak) and the host is fact is a volunteer for pardoner’s tale is being choose. He Is not exactly a volunteer, but the pardoner picked him. There are gaps between the story tellers. 

The Pardoner in conversation with the Host about the Doctor: What is the doctor doing here? He is a member of the commons. Host need someone funny and comedy story but he pics a pardoner. You expected his to say something serious / Oure hooste gan to swere as he were wood; 287 Harrow! quod he, by nayles and by blood! 288 This was a fals cherl and a fals justise. 289 As shameful deeth as herte may devyse 290 Come to thise juges and hire advocatz! 291 Algate this sely mayde is slayn, allas! 292 Allas, to deere boughte she beautee! 293 Wherfore I seye al day that men may see 294 That yiftes of fortune and of nature 295 Been cause of deeth to many a creature. 296 Hire beautee was hire deth, I dar wel sayn. 297 Allas, so pitously as she was slayn! 298 Of bothe yiftes that I speke of now 299 Men han ful ofte moore for harm than prow. 300 (A history is about a man that has beautiful daughter. The man kills his daughter so other cannot hurt her and later he killed himself) But trewely, myn owene maister deere, 301 (But truly, my own master lief and dear),  / This is a pitous tale for to heere. 302 (This is a very pitiful tale to hear,)/  But nathelees, passe over, is no fors. 303 (Yet let us pass it by as of no force.)/ I pray to God so save thy gentil cors, 304 (I pray to God to save your gentle corse,)/ And eek thyne urynals and thy jurdones, 305 (Your urinals and all your chamberpots,)(The host basically said, “I bless your urine collector”.)/  Thyn ypocras, and eek thy galiones, 306 (Your hippocras and medicines and tots) (Galiones → Alcoholic drink used in medicine; named after Galen. It can be also a wordplay with collions which mean testicles.) And every boyste ful of thy letuarie, 307 God blesse hem, and oure lady Seinte Marie! So moot I theen, thou art a propre man, And lyk a prelat, by Seint Ronyan! (Irish saint associated with medicine.) Seyde I nat wel? I kan nat speke in terme; But wel I woot thou doost myn herte to erme, That I almoost have caught a cardyacle/ By corpus bones, but I have triacle, Or elles a draughte of moyste and corny ale, Or but I heere anon a myrie tale, (funny tale). Myn herte is lost, for pitee of this mayde! Thou beelamy, thou Pardoner,” he sayde, (pardoner for funny tale?) “Telle us som myrthe or japes right anon.” / it shal be doon, quod he, by seint ronyon! 320 (Saint, ronyon also means pines (host is not a wery educated man and he is making mass of medical terminology) Pardoner is making fun of the host for using wrong words by medical terminology). // But first, quod he, heere at this alestake 321 I wol bothe drynke and eten of a cake. 322 but right anon thise gentils gonne to crye, 323 Nay, lat hym telle us of no ribaudye! 324 Telle us som moral thyng, that we may leere 325 Som wit, and thanne wol we gladly heere. 326 (conscience, some moral thing)//  I graunte, ywis, quod he, but I moot thynke 327 Upon som honest thyng while that I drynke. 328 Pardoner is the only one who stops. Lat be, quod he, it shal nat be, so theech! 947 Thou woldest make me kisse thyn olde breech, 948 And swere it were a relyk of a seint, 949 Though it were with thy fundement depeint! (Pardoner said that host is a sinner, and he has to buy his pardon and kiss his relics but the host said “you would give me you shitty trousers for kiss telling thetthey are relics” )// I wolde I hadde thy coillons in myn hond 952 (Host “I may confuse some words, but I am not stupid and I can see that collinos and gallions sounds similar”) / In stide of relikes or os seintuarie. 953 Lat kutte hem of, I wol thee helpe hem carie; 954 (Host: “I will cut your balls and help you carry them” is a blasphemy, he will help him carry his balls as Simone helped Jesus with his cross. It would be a “miracle” as Pardoner didn’t have balls.)/ They shul be shryned in an hogges toord! 955 (Host: “I will take your inexistence balls and put them on a box and help you to carry them” He doesn’t believe in his relics. It was a lesson of pardoner for showing that he is a sinner and what they don’t have to do. He pretends to be angry so they will remember the lesson. (Sin → cheat the pilgrims and sell false relics). We don’t see this until the end of the Pardoner tale.)// The pardoner tales deal with blasphemy. Eminence gris → grey person which is behind everything (Chauser in this case) The last person in speak is a peasant (village priest) using exactly the same moral (deliberately large a badly done). Pardoner is better preacher that the village priest and he wrote his tale deliberately boring to criticize it. Chauser said that he wasn’t create nothing he just “wrote down what people says”. Or ellis he moot tells his tale entrecore. He must everything or instead it wouldn’t be true. He said a phrase that probably didn’t mean one thing or another. Or ellis if he doesn’t copy word by word, he can give wrong impression of the tale and also it would be because he invented // Moot → if its meand “must” he must use every word that the person says even if it’s a blasphemy bit if it’s means “might” it means that you can change it because you can. Chauser manipulates everything (behind the pardoner there is Chauser) 

Al is related. He is telling about themselves through the tale. One sin goes to another. Is like a snowball going down the hill. The three revellers ended in killing each other. The story of Pardoner starts in the General Prologue. Frame tale → all stories are framed by the pilgrimage, different stories but related. *A frame tale, also known as a frame story or frame narrative, is a literary technique where a main story encompasses one or more smaller stories. These smaller stories are presented within the context of the main narrative, often serving to provide additional context, depth, or different perspectives to the overall story. The frame tale acts as a structural device, framing and enclosing the inner stories, creating a layered and complex narrative structure. “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer is considered a classic example of a frame tale. In this literary work, a group of pilgrims traveling to the Canterbury Cathedral in England each tells a story to pass the time during their journey. These individual stories are the smaller narratives contained within the main story, which is the pilgrimage itself. The frame of the pilgrimage and the interactions among the pilgrims provide context for the diverse stories they tell, making “The Canterbury Tales” a notable example of a frame tale. Frame Tale → A story inside a story, frame thanks to which other stories can be told. In Canterbury Tale is the pilgrimage. Estate Satire + Frame Tale → Canterbury Tale (29 pilgrims telling their story and before it we have an introduction making it somehow Estate Satire → Chauser doesn’t tell us who is behaving well or not) Chauser didn’t finished his tale (de died before and most of his manuscripts were brunet). Every part is related to another. The Canterbury tale supposed to be 4 tales per person (two in the way to Canterbury and two in the way back). So basically, Chauser didn’t even finished the first half of his work. Wife of Bath (old witch is herself who ties make herself prettier) // Pardoner tries to say “blasphemy” saying that the greed is the worst sin (If you change the bible is a blasphemy”). Eve was sinner because of disobedience not because of greed. Pardoner/Christ relation? (he is doing the opposite of Christ – AntiChrist) He is giving parabol. He should be quoting from the bible, not inventing one. He starts with the sermon; he cut it and say examples. This is a Black Mas because he is doing things out of the order. Going back to his tale, the tree boys heard a bell, which is out of time with tehe usual monastery bell (sinister). They asked the barman why the bell is ringing. He said “your frend just been killed, he was sitting drunk and killed by the person named “Death”.” They (obviously drunk) started to say “where is he, where is this “death” we will kill him. → blasphemy Christ last words to Satan are “I will kill death” → “O mors sero mors tua”. → this is why this is blasphemy; they are drunk, and they are repiting the words of the Christ. It’s a moral tale + blasphemy. Reference to the Black Death. ➔ Old man: “The death is in this tree” (there were gold) ➔ They found gold; they killed each other. 

PETRACH’S SONNETS A sonnet is a kind of poem, made by fourteen lines and are usually written by using the iambic pentameter. The kind of sonnets depend on rhyme and structure. The Petrarchan sonnets are made of fourteen lines: one octave (ABBA ABBA) and one sextet (CDE CDE). Between the octave and the sextet we find the volta. The Shakespearian sonnets have three quatrains and a couplet. The structure would be ABABCDCD-EFEF-GG. Of course, the final couple inserts the turn (volta). Usually, the content is organized differently. The Petrarchan sonnets present a problem in the octet, whereas its resolutions are presented in the sextet. The Shakespearian sonnet is formed by following the problem-resolution structure but is presented differently. The quatrains present and introduction, thesis and antithesis; and the couplet presents the resolutions. There are more twists in this type of sonnets. The volta introduces the resolution, and usually stats with a marker (but, still, yet…). Petrarch, who was first introduced in England by translating his masterpieces, is the father of humanism and the Renaissance. He is famous for a collection of texts, most of which are sonnets. Petrarch has a deep love for Laura (woman who saw in church). They were never together. Indeed, we know by the sonnets that Laura dies, and Petrarch kept writing about her. It is believed that Laura never really existed and that he invented his own fantasy. 132. ‘S’ amor non è, che dunque è quel ch’io sento? This sonnet talks about the feeling of being in love which results to be unfamiliar to the writer. This is about the paradoxical definition of love. Love is presented in terms of paradoxes and it is confusing due to love being irrational, ambiguous and bittersweet feeling. In terms of rhyme structure, it would be ABBA-ABBA-CDE-DCE (slight variation). In general terms, analysing the rhetorical figures to express love, the main one would be oxymorons, antithesis, conditionals (anaphoras). Also, there is a large number of caesuras which provoke anxiety The first quatrain presents tons of questions (to present the topic), follows by the idea of love being defined by conditionals (if this… that.) which are full of antithesis: good vs. bad and/or and oxymoron: suffering sweet (?). The second quatrain presents a metaphor about desire and the willingness of the poet to feel that passion, the desire to desire. Also, in line 5, there is a metonymy to sadness when talking about the tears (pianto) followed by a polyptoton with the words ‘lamento’ and ‘lamentar’. In the end of this quatrain, there are a bunch of oxymorons “living death”, “delightful evil”. Right after, there is a personification of love, which is inside the poet, and has had sexual relations with the actual poet even if he does not admit it. The sextet introduces the volta and is here linked by a rhetorical figure: anadiplosis. This emphasizes the idea of love. Still in the sextet, and image of Petrarch is presented, which is the idea of love as a boat (far from shore, in a sea which can result to be savage…). This means that people have no control over love as they do not have of the boat. The last part of the sextet and therefore of the sonnet, we’ve got antithesis. The conclusion which is presented in the end is presented by using two antithesis which are metaphors. This emphasizes the overall meaning of confusion of feelings that love provokes. 190. ‘Una candida cerva sopra l’erba’ There is one significant difference between the sonnet above and this one. In this one, we find a plot or story which is all about a white doe. The speaker, who is working there, can not stop looking at the doe which runs away. The speaker runs after the doe, which does not manage to catch due to it being fast, and the sonnet end with the speaker falling into the water, after having quit to reach her. In terms of the rhyme-scheme: ABBA-ABBA-CDE-CDE. Talking about the main theme of this poem, it would be about desire of courtship of unattainable mistress/love (courtly love). The white does is a metaphor which stands for the mistress. Moreover, the colour white refers to purity (important in courtly love and never ending courtship). It is also important the fact that it is a doe. In the first quatrain, another metaphor shows up when referring to the golden horns which makes reference to Laura, who is a blond girl. More about the setting, it mentions that Petrarch found Laura in a laurel’s shade which is a symbol of triumph (also Apollo and Dafne). The sun is uprising (new beginning) in late winter or early spring, which can be compared to vitality and a ‘new beginning’. In the second part of the octet, the speaker puts what he is doing in order to chase the doe. There is a simile in this second quatrain “… as a miser”. In the sextet, the speaker gets close enough to the doe and sees that it has a necklace which said, “no one touch me”, and it was made by diamonds and topaz. Diamonds in her necklace compares her to a treasure, but also that she belonged to someone who had money – The beloved had to be above the other -. The idea that here is an owner letting the doe be free due to the fact that no-one would ever touch her. Moreover, the topaz, is a symbol of chastity. In the end if the sextet, we have chronology going hand in hand with the narrative. It shows how the end is ending/decline of the day and how the speaker did not succeed in catching the doe. The speaker’s eyes are personified right before the speaker fell into the water, what prevented him from chasing the doe. 

‘Zepiro torna, e’l bel tempo rimena’ The speaker is suffering miserably because the mistress is dead. The speaker cannot find any comfort nor joy in nature. In terms of rhyme scheme: ABAB-ABAB-CDC-DCD would be the rhyming pattern. In the first quatrain, there is a personification of Zefiro which is making reference to spring. In this sonnet, anaphora is present, together with the rhetorical figure of polysyndeton. The main theme is the contrast between the return of life in nature vs. speaker’s suffering because of his beloved’s death. When talking about Progne and Filomena, Petrarch is making reference to ‘Metamorphosis’ in which Progne is the swallow and Philomena would be the rightful. This is a clear reference to the fact that not everything is happy in nature. In the second quatrain, the sky is presented as clear and bright = new beginning. In the second part of the second quatrain, there is a polysyndeton listing all the elements, and also presents a polyptoton with “d’amor” and “d’amar” repetition of the root. The beginning of the sextet starts with a hyperbaton, followed by a metaphor which explains that everyone’s heart has an owner who has the key, just like the beloved (who is dead) has the speaker’s heart’s key and it is therefore that he cannot overcome that situation. In the end, rhetorical figures such as polysyndeton appear, together with antithesis when talking about all the luxurious images of nature (full of flowers, etc.), which become a torment for the speaker due to his sadness, which is the reason why he is not capable of admiring the beauty. Petrarchan motifs in the three sonnets: – The idea of courtly love – Mistress/master (female tyrant). Never lets the lover to be close enough or catch her and love her. – The beloved is unattainable. – Worship of angelic beloved (kind of religious). – Process between love and despair: the process of chasing or going after the beloved, what allows the speaker to some introspection and get to know his feelings. Love poetry as an excuse for self-introspection. – Complete focus of lover on beloved – speaker just focuses on the beloved one and forgets about everything else. – Separation. – Love elevates the speaker. – Idea of love being between pleasure and pain, and also between freedom and servitude. – Typical metaphors such as love as fire and/or love as a boat. – Due to Petrarch, the beloved tended to have a precise physical appearance: • Golden hair (usually compared with embroidery) • Snowy skin, pain skin. • Cheeks compared to flowers (roses and lilies on her cheeks). • Pearly teeth. • Coral lips. All these motifs are used and reused in Renaissance poetry in England, sometimes to mock this artifice whereas, other times, in order to promote this idea of beauty and the beauty of expressing in this way.

MIDDLE AGES AND RENAISSANCE THEATRE Introduction of the evolution of theatre and drama. Theatre has always existed; it is a performance whereas drama is the text. Humans were already performing before they had a text. The birth of theatre came with plays being associated to myths and rituals. It comes from Greek and Romans who used plays as part of ceremonies, funerals, wars… The first plays were about Dionysus in the 700 B.C. Actors used to improvise, wearing masks with music at the background. Theatres started to be constructed in 582 B.C. Romans copied Greeks’ theatres and brought it to England. Romans in England. When Romans went to England, they brought with them their idea of theatre. Suddenly, theatre disappeared in Europe after being the most popular entertainment. They started to be seen as devilish places and people belonging to theatres were seen as sinners as people were pretending to be other people (acting). Theatres were closed down and forbidden everywhere. It is paradoxical that when it started again, it happened within the church in the 10th century in the form of religious drama. Theatre became the means to transmit many messages from the Bible and when theatre came back, religious stories were being told by priests and people working for church (of course, in Latin). But they were already using their body and gestures together with music in order to achieve their messages to come across. Theatre only happened in two major events every year. Due to the fact that there was not much more entertainment, plays were taken outside because people demanded it. At that point, plays were taken outside, but still within the church’s terrains. This was getting out of control, and the next step of theatre’s evolution would be the fact that drama comes to the market. This means that the more theatre stayed away from church, had more popularity. Now, people within theatre were no longer just priests and people belonging to church, but they introduced new techniques and languages. The Pageant Wagon was the place in which actors acted the plays, in front of everyone who attended the market. Some scholars believed that people stayed at one spot while the Wagon kept moving, whereas some other believe that villagers where the ones who kept moving among different wagons in order to see the whole play. Wagons were fully decorated and perfectly organized in order to create an impact. A large variety of actors were needed, which started the careers of professional actors. These people where often people belonging to guilds, who wanted to prove that they were good. This led people to take care of the wagon as it was perceived as a competition between guilds, who gave amateur actors too. The audience was mainly formed by the clergy, aristocrats, burgesses, peasants, around a hundred people at each staging. This is the beginning of the Mystery plays/miracle plays. A mystery was a guild at that time. They were only performed one day a year (Corpus Christi: from dawn to midnight). As secular people started to act, this prompted some changes: – In English by secular performers in secular costume- Talked and/or recited. – A series of religious scenes (little stories inside the great story of the Bible). – Folk music and dance.  Mystery plays • They were composed in cycles: chains of scenes from the Old and New Testament, from the creation to the Final Judgement Day. • Changing repertory: plays changed from one year to the next. • Written anonymously, probably by friars (the earliest ones preserved belong to 1370). • The most important plays left belong to the Cycles of York, Wakefield, Chester and Coventry. Mystery plays are one of the greatest achievements of middle age from the point of view of literature and the point of view of social impact (everyone could see it). This was a community work and could move almost everyone in the city. People started adapting pieces of the Bible. They were performed in English by secular performers in secular costumes. They were talked or recited (not sung) and were composed by a series of religious scenes. These plays had influences of folk music and dance. They worked during all the year for the Corpus Christi and the performances lasts from dawn to midnight; they worked for culture. It was very important the change from Latin to English. 

Morality plays A kind of allegorical drama that became popular in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages (15th and 16th centuries). In this time, it took place the foundation of universities and colleges. Morality plays tended to be written by schoolmasters for their students to perform. Stages: they were mainly open-air scaffolds, or indoors (House of Mayor Houses). Only 5 morality plays have survived: – The Pride of Life – The Castle of Perseverance (1440) – Wisdow (1460-65) – Mankind (1465-70) – Everyman All share the same features. They teach a moral instruction and the whole plot is an allegorical dramatic action set in no time. They involved symbolic characters that personify moral qualities, vices or abstractions. The protagonist represents all humanity (anyone). Plot: we follow the character from his birth until his death and alienation from and return to God. These plays were written in verse (English). Characters speak differently depending on what they represent (rhetorical markers): • Fall into sin/sinner characters: fragmented lines, blasphemy… Virtue/virtuous characters: high style, Latinate structures, complete stanzas.  THE CASTLE OF PERSEVERANCE The main protagonist is Mankind (Humanum Genus), and he represents, as in the previous play, every human who sins the same way we could have sinned. He is usually accompanied by the Good Angel (Heaven) and the Bad Angel (Hell). Furthermore, there are other characters in the scene to tempt Mankind into the sinful actions: Mundus (World), Caro (Flesh) and Belial (the Devil). Mankind almost joins Covetousness, retrieved by 2 allegorical characters: Penitence and Confession. He enters the Castle of Perseverance (setting), where he is protected from these vices and which is where the potential sinner reflects the temptation. In the moment he leaves the castle, he joins covetousness, death comes… The earliest complete morality plays extended. 2846-2864: The key to salvation is going to be the world “Mercy”. “To freeze in hell”: antithesis The speaker is an impact for spectator to be against sin. 2904-2916: repetition of the idea that God mercy is the hope. 2971-3007: appeal to the idea of Christ death. Righteousness you read what you saw. MANKIND Themes: 1. Good and Evil: The morality plays, according to Bevington’s definition, concern themselves with “a conflict between… abstractions representing good and evil”, and in one sense, this conflict is the central one. Though the leaf from the manuscript is missing where it would perhaps have been expressly stated, the play itself is basically a conflict between the force of good (Mercy) and the forces of evil (Mischief, the three vices and Titivillus) with the soul of Mankind as a prize. 2. Humanity: Mankind, of course, represents all mankind, but the play Mankind, more than any other morality play that survives, takes huge pains to involve and include the audience in its theatrical action. The audience are expected to pay up in order to see Titivillus made visible, and they are even hoodwinked into joining in the vices’ Christmas song – not realising, of course, at first, how rude it is. In being a play about Mankind, the play is also a play about mankind – about all of us – and there is therefore a tight thematic unity in the way the play considers and appropriates the audience into its theatricality. 3. Work vs. idleness: “The devil makes work for idle hands”, the proverb tells us, and it is made very clear from the start in this play that the way to fend off vice and sin is to work. Mankind, who initially associates himself (and therefore humanity as a whole) with clay and earth, is a manual labourer, tending his patch of land and growing his corn – and the symbolism is all too clear when the vices are beaten away using Mankind’s own hard-handed implement of labour: his spade. References to work abound in this play – Mischief even tells Mercy he has come as a winter corn-thresher – and it is even possible that it might have been performed in front of a working community of some description. 1-52: Mercy is the one who opens the play and directly addresses the audience (long speech). Iambic pentameter: ABAB. Mycheefee: shorter speech (bla bla bla). A triplet followed by a tail. AAAB CCCB. Rhetorical markers very different. Mercy: is a praise to God. The idea of forgiveness, mercy…She introduces herself. 43-44: the distinction between the goods and the bad. We have to choose. Mycheefee: very colloquial and direct language. To mercy: can you just shup up and go away? Introduction to himself (Mankind): 186-204. Presents himself as made of the soul and the body and that there’s a battle between them. He compares this division between the soul and the body with the one who should master and the one who should be mastered. New Gyse, Nowadays and Nought: when he meets them, he wins and go ahead. 554-564: Tihvillus tempts Mankind. He’s stronger, he tries to convince Mankind that Mercy is dead. 908-914: it is never too late to ask for mercy if you don’t commit sin. The interlude End of the 15th century: a new kind of morality play. Indoors – compression was needed. Piece for 2-4 actors. Secularization of morality plays 

Elizabethan Tragedy Influenced by Aristotle’s Poetics and Seneca (Revenge play – a wronged hero who seeks revenge -> Hamlet). – The unities are not usually respected. – 5 acts (Horace’s Ars Poetica). – Characters are as important as plot. Their hamartia has a leading role in the development of the action. – Audience also gains importance – commercial part of drama (spectacle also matters not like in Aristotle). – Inclusion of scenes that were narrated in Greek tragedy (fights, death…). The Elizabethan audience enjoyed the performance of violence Inclusion of comedy: scenes that aim to create comic relie HAMLET A revenge tragedy was one of the most famous tragedies. They are influenced by Aristotle and the words of Seneca (father & son). A ghost appears and talks about the murderer. Preliminary data. – Sources. – Plot structure. – Climax. – Hamlet as a revenge tragedy. – The tragic hero. THEMES: – Delayed revenge. – Death. – Corruption. – Women’s position. PRELIMINARY. – 1600 – 01 first performed. – 1603 first printed (First Quarto). – 1623 First Folio. SOURCES. – Saxo Grammaticus’s Historica Danica (Circa 1200): the Norse folk tale of Amleth. – Translated into English in 1608. – Belleforest’s translation of Saxo: Histoires tragiques (1570), vol. 5. – Amleth = fool, one who feigns madness. – Thomas Kyd’s (Or Shakespeare’s?) Hamlet in the 1580s (now lost); this is referred to as the ‘Ur-Hamlet’. – Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy (1580s) (Revenge tragedy SHAKESPEARE’S INNOVATION. – Ghost. – Metatheatre (players and play within the play). – Ophelia’s madness. – Hamlet’s madness. – Laertes and Fortinbras. – Gravediggers BASIC PLOT STRUCTURE. – Simple basic structure. – Shakespeare develops the plot of his ‘revenge’ tragedy in classical form. 1) Act I: exposition, main characters and the conflict are introduced. 2) Acts II, III, IV: rising action, largely in Hamlet’s mind. 3) Acts V: contains the climax, a short period of falling action, and the denouement, or conclusion, in which Fortinbras takes control of Denmark to bring order to the country once again. CLIMAX. – Act 5: when Hamlet kills Claudius? – Act 3, when Hamlet kills Polonius? – Act 3, when Hamlet has the murder of Gonzago performed? – Act 1, when the Ghost reveals his murder? TRAGIC HERO. – Hamlet as an Aristotelian tragic hero. – Horatio is in the play to represent that Hamlet is a good friend. – Education: Wittenberg. – Black humor: Melancholy. – Hamartia: HESITATION. Because he has a mind. HAMLET VS. MOST CHARACTERS. Hamlet is: Character is: Clever. Polonius. Thick-headed. Honest. Claudius. Dishonest. Displays decency. Gertrude. Displays impropriety. Emotionally strong. Ophelia. Emotionally weak. Man of thought. Fortinbras. Man of action ELAYED REVENGE. – The ghost scene. – Barnardo, Francisco, and Horatio: ‘This thing’, ‘looks like’… – UNCERTAINTY. – Hamlet sees the ghost himself. – 4 reasons: Treason, religion… – Conclusion: 1.5 196 – 198: ‘O cursèd spite, That ever I was born to set it righ 

The sonnet, a 14-line poetic form, has a rich history characterized by formal ingenuity, thematic evolution, and subversion. Below is an exploration of the outlined elements of the sonnet’s development: 1. Origins and Growth of the Petrarchan Tradition: • Origins: o The sonnet originated in 13th-century Italy with poets like Giacomo da Lentini, but Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) perfected it. o The Petrarchan sonnet (also known as the Italian sonnet) has a clear structure: an octave (8 lines, ABBAABBA) introduces a problem or theme, followed by a sestet (6 lines, varied rhyme schemes such as CDCDCD or CDECDE) that resolves or reflects on the issue. o Central themes include unrequited love, the idealization of the beloved, and deep introspection. • Influence: o Petrarch’s poetic voice shaped European Renaissance poetry. His Canzoniere inspired poets to adopt his balance of technical rigor and emotional depth. 2. Formal and Thematic Development of the English Sonnet: • Introduction to England: o Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, introduced the sonnet to England in the early 16th century, translating Petrarch and adapting the form to English verse. o The English sonnet, often called the Shakespearean sonnet, emerged with its distinct structure: ▪ Three quatrains (ABABCDCDEFEF) explore variations of a theme or argument. ▪ A concluding couplet (GG) provides resolution or commentary. • Key Features: o The English form accommodates the flexibility of the English language and allows for argumentative or meditative progression. o Themes diversified beyond Petrarchan ideals of love, exploring politics (Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella), spirituality (Donne’s Holy Sonnets), and mortality (Shakespeare’s sonnets). 3. Foreshadowings of the Metaphysical Mode: • Characteristics: o The metaphysical poets, exemplified by John Donne, drew on sonnet forms to convey complex philosophical, spiritual, and emotional themes. o Features include: ▪ Conceits (extended metaphors): Innovative comparisons, such as Donne’s linking of spiritual love to celestial mechanics. ▪ Introspection: Sonnets became spaces for self-reflection and metaphysical questioning. • Examples: o Donne’s Holy Sonnets transform the love sonnet into a platform for meditations on God, death, and human frailty. o Batter my heart, three-person’d God employs violent imagery to plead for divine intervention. 4. The “Anti-Sonnet”: • Definition: o Anti-sonnets subvert traditional expectations of form, theme, or tone, challenging the conventions established by the sonnet tradition. • Examples: o Breakdown of Form: Poets like George Meredith in Modern Love extended sonnets to sequences of 16 lines, disrupting structural norms. o Satire of Content: Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella contains moments where the speaker mocks his own hyperbolic romantic laments, deflating Petrarchan idealism. o Modern Usage: Contemporary poets often deconstruct the son net for irony or critique, using its compact structure to overturn expectations. Thematic Arc and Development: Stage Key Figures Themes and Innovations// Petrarchan Tradition /Petrarch, Dante /Courtly love, idealization, emotional introspection //Tudor Period /Wyatt, Surrey /Exploration of love and virtue, structural experiments// Renaissance Flourish/ Shakespeare, Sidney /Love, mortality, politics, synthesis of quatrains and couplet Metaphysical Shift Donne, Herbert Divine love, existential questions, complexity of conceits //Anti-Sonnet and Beyond /Meredith, Modern Poets/ Subversion of ideals, structural and thematic innovatio 

CHAUCER’S CANTICUS TROILI (400-420) – Part of Troylus and Criseyde (trans. Of Bocaccio). – Chaucer added this translation of Petrarch’s sonnet. – 1st translation of Petrarch into English. – Much clearer definition of love. – Rhyme scheme: ababbcc dedeeff fgfgghh RHYME ROYAL: 7 lines (usually iambic pentameter, 1 tercet and 2 couplets). – Use of conditionals, anaphoras and questions: all come from Petrarch and reproduced by Chaucer. – Line 3 antithesis – Sweet suffering: torments (to meet with the beloved) and savory – Last line of 1st stanza: Paradox: the more I drink the thirstier I feel, can be a metaphor. – 2nd stanza: burning as passion of love. Oxymoron. – 3rd stanza: Anadiplosis with the idea of consent “and if that, and if that”. Caesura and image. Going back and force. He is not piloting the boat. The next line introduces a new metaphor: love presented as a beautiful ?. Last line: antithetical terms: feeling hot when it is cold and the opposite, this is presented as a chiasmus. Feeling of confusion. Ends with “I dye”: I know that the boat is going to sink and will never reach the point where the lover is.2-Whoso List to Hunt BY Sir Thomas Wyatt – Sir Thomas Wyatt was an important English poet born in 1503. His work was admired during his life and continues to be so long since his death. – This poem is not about hunting a hind or female deer. Rather it’s about the difficulty to win the heart of the lady to whom the poet once gifted his heart. Whatsoever, rejection caused him so much pain, the words of the poem reflect a sense of coldness in the poet’s heart. -Theme: Impossible love. – Rhyme: abbaabba cddcee./ 14 line sonnet The poem can be divided into one set of eight lines or octaves, and as mentioned previously, one concluding set of six lines, or sestet. In addition to the number, and rhyme scheme, of the lines, the poet has come quite close to sticking to the traditional metrical pattern of iambic pentameter. – Basic differences: there are more hunters. In the first one he falls into the water while this one, he quits, he loses interest. It isn’t mentioned that she is free as the first one. – Hunting= courting. – Lots of alliterations (‘h’ and ‘m’) and enjambments. – Line by line: 1) He invites other to hunt. 2) He is already tired of chasing her. 3) It is pointless to go on with the hunt. 4) There are many more hunters that may come closer to her before than him. ‘I am of them’: hyperbaton. 5) Metonymy. Even though he is physically tired, he still follows her with her mind. 6) She runs, escapes. 7) ‘Fainting I follow’: alliteration of f. Caesura: he is done, he stops chasing her. 8) It is impossible to hold the wind = impossible to catch her. 9) A piece of advice addressing other hunters. 10) How vain trying to hunt her is. 11) Similarity with the first one: she carries a necklace that signifies she is Caesar’s with diamonds. This one isn’t wearing topaz: she wears the necklace signifying that she is taken but she isn’t to be trusted. – Sir Thomas Wyatt: He wrote this poem for Anne Boleyn based on Petrarch’s sonnet. An adaptation  

1-Zefiro torna by Claudio Monteverdi -Introduction: “Zefiro torna” is a madrigal composed by Claudio Monteverdi during the early baroque period. – Everything seems in harmony, but the lover is dead. – Theme: contrast between the return of life in nature vs. speaker’s suffering because of his beloved’s death. – Rhyme: abababab cdcdcd. – Procne, Philomela, Tereus (Ovid’s Metamorphoses, book VI). – Line by line: STANZA 1: Anaphora: e, e, e. Personification of zefora of the West Wind Polisyndeton: et, et, et. Caesura: second line. Line 3: Antithesis of Progne and Filomena (figures from Greek mythology → joy vs sorrow). Gives the hint of a tragic story. STANZA 2: Line 6: Giove (Jupiter) looking at his daughter (Diana). → Jupiter, known in Roman mythology as the king of gods, is depicted as delighted and proud of Nature’s beauty, personified as his daughter. Line 7: everything is full of love: air, water, earth… Line 8: even animals love one another. STANZA 3: Hyperbaton: tornano… Line 11: ‘ciel’: she is in heaven, dead. He is very depressed. STANZA 4: Anaphora. Polysyndeton. Metaphor: ‘sono un deserto’, all of these beautiful images represent a desert, he feels empty. ‘E fere aspre e selvagge’: savage creatures who are bitter. 2-The Soote Season of Henry Howards -Author: was the poet who invented the Shakespearean sonnet, sometimes known as the English sonnet. It was the Earl of Surrey who made the innovation of ending the sonnet with a rhyming couplet, and in ‘The Soote Season’ he uses this to brilliant effect. This is one of the first sonnets written in English, but it’s not as well known as it perhaps should be. -Summary: about the coming of summer and the various ways in which a world previously in a sort of stasis or hibernation is now springing into life. (‘Soote’ in ‘Soote Season’ means ‘sweet’.) However, despite this, the poet’s sorrow also springs into new life at this time. We usually associate autumn and winter with sorrow, but not the summer. – Rhyme: abababababab aa. – Differences: Change Petrarch’s setting to England. The beloved might not be dead. – Personification: giving clothes to nature. Hyperbaton: the nightingale. Anaphora. Repetition of the same syntactic structures. Talking about renewal constantly. Busy bee: sexual connotation. No mention of love or a beloved. It is more a description of the English countryside than a poem for a belove Sonnet 3, Shakespeare – Theme: Procreation. – Addressee: A man. – Rhyme: ababcdcdefef gg. – Line by line: 1) Look at the mirror!!!!! It is time to start procreating. 2) Have a conversation with yourself, now is the time to form another face: a baby. 3) Fresh repair: you renew yourself through your children 1) If you don’t renew yourself, you are a thief, you are robbing the world of children. You unbless other women of the role of having children. 5) The woman is reduced to a womb. The woman hasn’t been ‘cultivated’: the idea of ‘planting the seed’. 6) Husbandry: agriculture, same root as husband. Word play. 7) The death of family if you don’t have children. 8) You love yourself so much, you won’t have children and end your heritage. 9) You are a reflection of your mother; we continue through our children. 10) ‘Lovely April of her prime’: you are a younger reflection of your mother in her prime. 11) Windows: metaphor of eyes. 12) Despite of your wrinkles, you will see a younger version of yourself in your children through your eyes. 13) And 14) Antithesis: Live and die. If you don’ procreate you will be forgotten. Literary devices: – Assonance (my mistress eyes are nothing like the sun: rep of e) (Who is he so fond Will be the tomb: rep of o). – Consonance: (whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest: rep r) (thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in the: rep t). – Metaphor: perseverance of beauty to show beauty is short-lived (preserves before it dies Sonnet 3: “Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest” Summary This sonnet persuades a young man to reflect on his fleeting youth and encourages him to have children to perpetuate his beauty. Rhyme Scheme & Structure • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (Shakespearean sonnet form). • Structure: Three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. Each quatrain develops an argument: 1. Look in the mirror and recognize your beauty. 2. Preserve beauty through procreation. 3. Without children, your beauty dies with you. 4. The couplet ties it together, emphasizing the value of reproduction. Context Part of the “Procreation Sonnets” (1–17), addressing a young man believed to be the “Fair Youth,” encouraging him to reproduce and preserve his beauty. Literary Devices • Symbolism: The mirror represents self-reflection and the passage of time. • Personification: Time is portrayed as a destroyer. • Imagery: “Look in thy glass” evokes the act of introspection. • Theme of Legacy: Reproduction as a means to defy mortality. 

Sonnet 18: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Summary The poet compares the beloved’s beauty to a summer’s day, ultimately declaring their beauty more lasting and perfect because it is immortalized in verse. Rhyme Scheme & Structure • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. • Structure: 1. The beloved is compared to a summer’s day. 2. Imperfections of summer are noted. 3. The beloved’s eternal beauty surpasses nature. 4. The couplet affirms poetry’s power to immortalize beauty. Context This sonnet stands out as a confident declaration of poetry’s ability to defy time, likely written to celebrate the beloved (possibly the “Fair Youth”). Literary Devices • Metaphor: Comparing the beloved to a “summer’s day.” • Personification: Time (“Death brag thou wanderest in his shade”). • Imagery: “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” • Theme of Immortality: Poetry preserves beauty. Sonnet 94: “They that have power to hurt and will do none” Summary This sonnet praises self-restraint, describing the nobility of those who possess power but abstain from abuse. It warns of the decay that comes with corruption. Rhyme Scheme & Structure • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. • Structure: 1. The nature of those with power who abstain from wrongdoing. 2. Their strength and divinity. 3. Warning against corruption. 4. The couplet compares the decayed state of corruption to rotting beauty. Context Part of Shakespeare’s exploration of virtue and inner morality. The sonnet also contemplates the transient nature of beauty and its reliance on character. Literary Devices • Paradox: “They that have power to hurt and will do none.” • Imagery: “Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” • Symbolism: Lilies represent beauty; their decay symbolizes corruption. • Theme of Self-Mastery: Celebrating moral strength over external charm. Sonnet 129: “The expense of spirit in a waste of shame” Summary This sonnet delves into the destructive cycle of lust, from longing to indulgence, and the inevitable shame that follows. Rhyme Scheme & Structure • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. • Structure: 1. Describes lust as shameful and destructive. 2. Emphasizes the cycle of desire and guilt. 3. Philosophical reflection on the torment of lust. 4. The couplet emphasizes that this self-destructive cycle is universally acknowledged yet difficult to resist. Context Written as a darker reflection on the human condition, particularly on the uncontrollable and regretful nature of lust. Literary Devices • Repetition: “Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.” • Juxtaposition: Anticipation versus the guilt that follows. • Imagery: “A waste of shame.” • Theme of Despair: Lust’s transient pleasure leaves lasting regret. Sonnet 130: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” Summary The poet humorously dismisses exaggerated metaphors in praise of his mistress. By presenting a realistic description, he conveys that his love is genuine. Rhyme Scheme & Structure • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. • Structure: 1. Contrasts traditional hyperbole with realistic descriptions. 2. Each quatrain emphasizes plainness over romanticized ideals. 3. The couplet affirms the rare, true nature of his love. Context Shakespeare critiques the conventional style of idolizing lovers, challenging the norms of love poetry. Literary Devices • Irony: While describing his mistress plainly, the poet declares his love is exceptional. • Satire: Poking fun at exaggerated metaphors (e.g., “her eyes are nothing like the sun”). • Imagery: “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.” • Theme of Authenticity: Emphasizes honest and realistic love over false idealization.

The Defence of Poesy:by Sidney the first piece of literary criticism in England. He said that poetry doesn’t have to be written in verses. It was a fierce defense not only of what today we understand as Poetry, the lyrical genre, but of creative writing in general – a celebration of Literature. Along the way, Sir Philip Sidney spiced his text with intertextual references that disclose the Humanistic philosophy that shaped his life and works. The Defense of Poesy or An Apology for Poesy was written in 1579, but it was not published until 1591. Genre, Structure and Form Structurally, it follows the pattern of classical oration: the text starts with the speaker calling the readers’ attention to the subject, then facts are presented. After this, the case is explained, and the key issues put forward. Then, logics and facts are used to support the speaker’s claim. After this, the speaker refutes opposing arguments. Finally, a summary is provided and a direct call to action, in this case, Sidney’s very famous parting curse. In this text, Sir Philip Sidney also makes use of rhetorical devices, such as metaphors, similes and myriad intertextual references that place his work within Humanism. To defend the superiority of Poetry over any other science and field, Sidney bases his arguments on famous philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, makes numerous references to Classical mythology, and quotes at ease in Latin from the Bible, from Horace’s Epistles, from Seneca’s Oedipus, from Virgil’s Aeneid or from Homer’s Iliad, to name just a few.Themes The main theme Sir Philip Sidney argues is evident in its very title: a thorough justification of the value of creative writing. In his defense, Sidney goes back to the Bible and to the foundation of Western culture, ancient Greek and Roman writers, not only to make a case for writing but to claim that this is the greatest of all fields of knowledge, from Philosophy to Logics, from Law to History, and from Grammar to Rhetoric. Indeed, Poesy’s superiority, Sidney argues, is also evident as regards Nature itself, since Poesy can create new worlds. But this piece of literary criticism is not merely an appraisal, but a call for writers to do justice to their art: to teach and delight at the same time, to move themselves and readers towards virtue, and to make use of the English language in the proper way. This leads Sidney to analyse the current situation of this art in England and the reasons why, as he complains, there are so few good poets at the moment (Edmund Spenser is the clearest exception). Sidney also devotes space to describing what he considers the horrible state of drama and theatre (a genre from which he only saves Gordobuc). By reading Sidney’s The Defense of Poesy, writers should then be moved to write works that would deserve being called “Poesy”, and readers should be aware that literature is a means to move us to virtuosity and, as in the parting curse sentences, even to eternity.  Impact: The Defense of Poesy is a timely response to the state of literature of the time, a Humanistic reply to a text that had attacked literature, and a claim in itself for national writers to arise and emulate what Chaucer had done before them. The call was not only heard by Sidney’s contemporaries, as his words would resonate throughout the Romantic period. But, more importantly, perhaps we feel today that his words are timeless too: Sidney’s convincing arguments and his fine use of rhetorical devices still move writers and readers now to feel the ternal power of literature to create new worlds, to teach, to delight, and to make lives immortal. ‘English is an exceptional language to write in verse’. He defends the use of English in poetry. In that time, people thought that Greek and Latin would be timeless languages and that nowadays we are going to continue speaking in that languages. England is the mother of excellent minds: good thinkers, good writers… He gives 3 main reasons why there are not good poets in England in that time: 1) War and conflicts: the creation of poems where made during turbulent times. They reflected this in their poems. 2) An orator is made, and a poet is born. Apart from being a good poet, they have to practise. He says that they don’t have good models; they don’t practise 

Elizabethan Prose Inside and Outside the Court: • Inside the Court: Prose like Lyly’s Euphues was characterized by its elegance, artificiality, and refined rhetoric. It catered to the tastes of courtly readers, serving both as entertainment and as a reflection of social and intellectual aspirations. • Outside the Court: Parodies and more popular narratives evolved as a counterpoint. Writers could mock the overly ornate style or provide a simpler, more accessible form of prose, leaning toward what eventually became the novel. 2. The Acceptable Face of Elizabethan Prose – Euphuism: • Features: Euphuism involved balanced sentences, extensive use of similes, alliteration, and references to classical mythology. It set a benchmark for courtly language while also prompting ridicule for its extravagance. • Cultural Role: Euphuism aligned with the ideals of Renaissance humanism, emphasizing education, virtue, and decorum, but its excesses made it ripe for parody. 3. Towards the Popular Novel: • The transition from euphuism and court prose to more democratic forms can be traced to early picaresque novels. Petronian influences highlighted satire, roguish adventures, and the critique of societal structures, presenting a bridge between elite and popular culture. 4. Petronian Picaresque as Court Satire: • Court satire emerges through picaresque tales (adventures of a rogue protagonist). These narratives blended humor, criticism, and accessibility, contrasting the lofty ideals of courtly literature. Such tales often masked incisive social commentary within entertaining narratives. Text Example: John Lyly’s Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578) is foundational for understanding euphuistic prose. Below is an excerpt to illustrate its ornate style: “It is virtue, ye noble gentlemen, that maketh gentlemen; neither is it the descent of birth, nor the affluence of wealth, that setteth down the title of a gentleman, but virtue… The rose is always sweet in the nose, and the virtue is always seen in the heart, though not in the eye… Euphueswas groundbreaking in its time for elevating prose to an art form. Written for the Elizabethan court, the work addresses an audience enamored with wit, rhetoric, and displays of intellectual sophistication. Lyly blends morality with entertainment, promoting ethical refinement while showcasing linguistic virtuosity.The passage als reflects Renaissance humanist ideals, which prioritize individual moral development over feudal notions of hereditary privilege. Such perspectives were particularly resonant in an age striving for merit-based identity within the courtly environment.StructureLyly’s prose is carefully organized:Opening Definition: The sentence defines what constitutes true nobility (virtue) Listing Virtue’s Outcomes: Four consecutive clauses detail how virtue manifests outwardly: it gains love, credit, and universal respect.Conclusion with Emphasis: The final clause, “that is in estimation everywhere,” suggests virtue’s unassailable position as the ultimate measure of character.

Literary Devices Rhetorical Appeals Logos: Logical arguments about the nature of virtue.Ethos: Establishing moral credibility by invoking shared human values MetaphorVirtue is metaphorically presented as a force that “carries credit,” giving it agency and importance.ClimaxThe progression of ideas builds to a universal conclusion: virtue commands universal respect.HyperboleWhile the statement may overstate virtue’s power by implying universal recognition, it serves to magnify its importance in moral discourse.Critical AnalysisLyly’s Euphues and its stylistic distinctiveness reflect the Elizabethan fascination with rhetoric and wit. While the ornate nature of Euphuism was admired in its time, later critics (e.g., Samuel Johnson) criticized it for excess and artificiality. Despite these critiques, Lyly’s prose significantly influenced Renaissance literary culture. This excerpt exemplifies Lyly’s didactic intent, aligning moral edification with the pleasure of linguistic dexterity.