English 100 E. Wilputte
Sept 27th 2011
Dragon vs. Beowulf
*Equal, both old and respected.
*respectful tone, both no longer rule, “no more” echoes the “Last Lament”
Beowulf fights Dragon- his comrades leave, run away into the woods to save their own lives. Wiglaf
(young, first fight, this shows he is brave and courageous) stays to fight by Beowulf’s side.
Naegling the sword breaks because Beowulf was too strong. Because of this the Dragon has a chance to
bite him in the neck(burns and swells)
Wiglaf and Beowulf together take down the Dragon.
Wiglaf must deliver the “unlovely truth”- makes all the thanes embarrassed because they ran away and
left their great king to whom the swore allegiance to to die.
Structure- epic poem, circular, digressive(strays away from the story of Beowulf ie Hilduburgh, Freu
Waru digression)
At the end of the epic poem the Christian write backs off and does not input his Christian views and
judgment on the situation.
Style
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3rd person narrative
Biblical
Imagery (kennings)
Rhythms
Alliteration
Tone of voice (somber)
Repetitive
CHAUCER: 1300 years after Beowulf, middle English, 14th century writer, written in iambic
pentameter
Canterbury Tales: 4 stories (we will read only one of them)
21 pilgrims and a narrator (Chaucer the pilgrim: a mask/persona of Chaucer the writer)
Satire- the literary art of diminishing someone/something , uses laughter as a weapon, uses to make fun
of society to reveal how/what is wrong with it to show what needs to be fixed.
Society is broken up into three sections: those who pray, fight or work.
Framing device: brings all of the seemingly unrelated stories together. (ie. They are all at the Inn telling
their stories)
Pilgrimage as a metaphor for life
The Knight
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Humble
Never rude to anyone
Devoted
Courageous
Meek
“perfect knight”
Satire to show what real knights are like: flashy. The knight in the story is used to mock
societies knights by showing what they should be like, showing the errors and corruption of
real life knights
The Squire(son of Knight)
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Lusty bachelor
Curly hair
Vain
20 years old
Moderate height
Great strength
A hot lover
Has money and status
Always travelling on a horse
Flashy clothing
Loves attention
Romantic man
Care free
Talented
Composer/ musician/ jouster
Humble and helpful to his father
Does his job well however his motives are a bit off
Juxtaposition with his father
The Nun (Prioress) (Madame Eglentyne)
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She curses
Upper class lady
Speaks French, sings
Neat and dainty while eating
Charitable, compassionate
If she saw a dead mouse in a trap she would weep for it
Feeds her dogs white bread, roasted beef and milk( useless, she should give it to the poor not to
dogs, and nuns are not able to have pets but she does, this shows she is not a very good nun.)
Plump, loves food
Wide fore head
Gray eyes( mysterious)
Shapely nose
Small red mouth
She is attractive.