Debra Bronstein
English 46A
Medieval Paper
Essay Due: Wednesday 4/4
Please write a 6-8 page paper on one of the following topics. Papers must be typed,
double space, 1-inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font. If you are doing a
comparison/contrast paper, you may go up to about 10 pages. More than that will
probably make your paper repetitive or overly focused on plot.
See syllabus for late paper and plagiarism rules
Please choose one of the following topics. Please note: you do not need to answer all of
the mini questions. They are to spark your ideas. Please do not frame your essays to
answer each subpoint in consecutive order.
1. How do Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and/or Lanval challenge or uphold the
typical medieval notions of courtly love, courtly behavior, civility, and chivalry? If you
focus on Gawain, you might want to consider the following:
a.
What different ideological systems govern morality in Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight? Do they seem to compete with one another, or do they
overlap? Which systems appear to dominate by the end of the tale, and why?
b.
What forms of love (brotherly love, spiritual love, courtly love, erotic love,
and so forth) exist in the text, and in what types of relationships do they
appear (friendships, marriages, relationships with God, and so forth)? Does
love most commonly manifest itself as suffering or as ennoblement?
If you are focusing on Lanval, you might want to consider how the gender reversals in
the text redefine the notions of chivalry and courtly love.
If you are doing a comparison/contrast paper, then you will need to look at what how
Gawain presents courtly love and chivalry, and how/why Lanval is overturning the
traditional mode of behavior.
2. Formal question (that means this question is focusing on the form in relation to the
content of Gawain): Why might the Gawain-poet wish to frame his Arthurian, courtly
romance within the context of classical epic? Also, many scenes and characters in Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight are doubled or multiplied. Why do you think the writer
structures his poem this way? What effect does the repetition of passages have on the
reader? How does this formal element of poetic composition relate to what is happening
at the content level? Does it relate to the way the epic unfolds?
3. What is the role of the supernatural in Gawain and Lanval? Does it connect to earthly
love, spiritual love, or is it an outside force? What significance does the supernatural
play in the text? Why? If you are focusing on Lanval, you might want to consider the
opposition between earthly female desire and supernatural female desire. Why is
supernatural desire deemed righteous even though it overturns gender regulations, while
earthly lust must be punished?
4. Both Lanval and The Wife of Bath argue for female desire. How is this desire
expressed? How does the female character’s expression of desire comment on the
prevailing sex/gender norms at the time? Is there a reversal or overturning of sexual
stereotypes? To answer these questions you might want to consider:
 What role does sexuality play in these texts (standard or controversial)?
 If women are expressing the desire, then where does that position the men? If
sexual norms are being challenged, then what kind of a comment are these authors
making about masculinity (not just femininity)?
 Do you agree that these texts actually are the woman’s desire? As we asked in
“Lanval”: whose desire is this (the man’s or the woman’s)?
To answer this question you can use either Lanval or The Wife of Bath, or do a
comparison/contrast paper.
5. Is The Wife of Bath meant to contradict the misogynist (woman-hating) ideas of the
time, or to uphold them? You need to reconstruct what these ideas would be from her
arguments in the text and then use quotes to back up your claims. What would it mean
for a woman who is apparently so sexually liberated to be upholding misogynist
ideology? What would it mean for her to contradict it? What sources does she rail
against (Biblical/classical) and why? What kind of commentary does The Wife of Bath
make about the role of women in medieval society?
6. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales presents a satirical look at a slice of medieval society.
“The General Prologue” presents a cast of characters in order to poke fun at certain
elements of society and question the notion of medieval society. How does Chaucer use
satire in order to critique the values of the Middle Ages? You might want to consider:
 The importance (or self-aggrandizement) of the military
 The corruption of the church
 Vanity of women
 Material wealth/clothing/consumerism
 Courtly love and chivalry