Module 3 Study Guide
Identification
Laura (and Beatrice)- Petrarch’s muse, the object of his love poems, He has a “frustrated desire” (164) for her; she has an “ambiguous position between divine guide and earthly temptress contrast[ing] sharply with the role that Beatrice played in Dante’s spiritual pilgrimage…Whereas Dante’s love finally leads him to paradise, it is never clear to Petrarch whether he is pursuing heavenly or earthly delights…
When Dante looks into Beatrice’s eyes on Mount Purgatory, he sees a reflection of the heavens; when
Petrarch gazes into Laura’s eyes, he sees himself.” (165)
Utopians- civilization discovered by Raphael Hythloday in More’s Utopia; live by “a set of hyperirrational, simplified laws that treat almost everyone equally and attempt to quiet the desires…that can wreak havoc with such arrangements” (206) *review their ideas/laws about Gold and Silver, Marriage, Religion and basic life philosophy
Raphael Hythloday- Fictional traveler who discovers the Utopian culture; writes about it from the point of view of an outsider passing through (travel narrative); last name means “peddler of nonsense”
Romulus and Remus- Twin brothers and central characters of Rome’s foundation myth; Romulus wants to found the new city on the Palatine Hill; Remus prefers the Aventine Hill. They agree to determine the site through augury but when each claims the results in his own favor, they quarrel and Remus is killed.
Romulus founds the new city, names it Rome, after himself, and creates its first legions and senate.;
Though NOT IN THE PARTS OF THE PRINCE WE READ, this action seems to embody the Machiavellian principles of what a prince must do to seize and maintain power
Quetzlcoatl and Xanadu and Aztec: I have emailed her about these. I cannot find any reading or information about them in our book.
Quiche- city in Guatemala where the society in the Popol Vuh is located
In 1524, the Spanish and Mexican troops conquered Quiche. In the 1530s, Quiche scribes were being trained to use alphabetic writing. Popol Vuh represents the cultural and intellectual mix of Spanish and
Quiche Mayan culture.
Xbalanque and Hunahpu: Background: The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial K'iche' document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the K'iche' language, the Twins have also been identified in the art of the Classic Mayas (200-900 AD). The Twin motif recurs in many native American mythologies; the Maya Twins in particular could be considered as mythical ancestors to the Maya ruling lineages. Hero twins from Popol Vuh. Ballplayers like their father and uncle. Defeated the lords of the Underworld in the ballgame.Involved in the liquidation of a pretentious bird demon, Vucub
Caquix, and of his two demonic sons. Turned their half-brothers into the Howler Monkey Gods who were the patrons of artists and scribes. The Twins' final transformation into sun and moon establishes a metaphor for unassailable rule over earth and sky.
Sancho- When Don Quixote finds Sancho Panza, he is a poor peasant with a large family and little income.
Promising him an island and innumerable riches, Don Quixote leads Sancho and his donkey on many humiliating quests that often require Sancho to save the day. Sancho is Don Quixote's character counterpart. He is more than willing to point out Don Quixote's flaws, yet he too becomes invested in the delusional adventures Don Quixote drags him on. He and Don Quixote somehow find common ground between peasant and gentleman and unite in their own personal missions to better their situation by their own means.

Quixote-Main character of Don Quixote who journeys out to live out his dreams of romantic chivalry and knighthood; seems out of his mind to those he meets; is ridiculed and remonstrated for his beliefs and behavior, often at the expense of his physical wellbeing (he gets beat up a lot); embodies the big dreamer
(idealist) who risks it all to live out his own sense of right on his own terms; be familiar with the different ways he is defeated in the sections we read (merchants, windmills, sheep herders, etc)
Short Answer
SA1: the allegorical significance of Petrarch's "Ascent of Mount Ventoux" (10 points)
The “Ascent of Mount Ventoux” symbolized a man’s spiritual journey as he made his way to the mountain’s summit. On his way up he continuously tried to make his path easier, although it turned out being longer and more difficult than it would have been if he wouldn’t have strayed off is path. As he made his way through the mountain he faced challenges just as one would face throughout life. His journey through the mountain represented his journey to salvation. On his ascent down the mountain, he reflected on his life and experiences. He looked to Augustine for guidance and turned to a passage that perfectly attended to his needs during that moment.
SA2: the imagery used by Shakespeare: Shakespeare typically uses the format of three quatrains followed by a couplet. He presents his ability to play with literary tradition and explores the nature of true love. Shakespeare describes his female subject from the head down to her feet, while poking fun at the tradition of courtly love and the idealization of women. Shakespeare here shows how his beloved is beautiful for the human she is—he does not need to present her appearance unrealistically because he finds her beautiful just the way she is. If you read carefully, you will notice that he does not actually insult her; instead, he merely states the naturalness of her beauty. Shakespeare describes his love in a very realistic way. His imagery does not make the woman out to be anything more than she really is, because there is no need to be unrealistic about the way he loves her. He thinks she's perfect just the way she is.
SA3: examples of Machiavelli's advice to princes: Princes should build a strong foundation for themselves and not rely on good fortune or good will of others. The prince should rid of rival leaders and win the favor and trust of his followers. A prince should not be concerned with virtue but more so with him benefiting more than others. A prince should be concerned first for his rule of his country, even if this requires obtaining "bad" characteristics such as cruelty, cowardice, stubbornness and miserliness.
SA4: examples of the beliefs and practices of the Utopians, as well as the style and purposes of
More’s Utopia (this will probably require a little bit of additional research) (10 points)
The beliefs and practices of the society in More’s Utopia varied far from what was the current societal normal. Gold and silver were valued less than iron and other useful metals, often being used for prisoner shackles or chamber pots (toilets). The presiding religion in the society was a form of Christianity, however other religious faiths were allowed so long as they did not interfere with the established majority religion. The priority of their values is revealed to be not of substance, but of all things of the mind and sciences. “In intellectual pursuits, they are tireless.” The citizens of Utopia do believe in the ownership of slaves, but the only people taken as slaves are prisoners of war or foreigners who were condemned to death in their native country. The style the Utopia is written resembles that of a travel narrative. It is written in this style because it allows for each aspect of the culture and society to be explored individually. As each aspect is explored, the purpose of More’s writing becomes apparent in the observations he makes and following criticisms to current European society. The overall purpose of the writing is to express More’s idea of a perfect society and all of the “perfect” beliefs and practices that would go along with it.

SA5: identify the formalistic and topic characteristics of a Petrarchan sonnet (this will also require some outside research) (15 points).
Characteristics of Petrarchan Sonnet: When referring to form, the Petrarchan Sonnet has these common characteristics:
● A fourteen line poem in Iambic pentameter:
○ The Iambic Pentameter is a count that has two syllables where the second is stressed, and a pentameter had five “feet” or Iambic pieces.
● Three stanzas, two are quatrains and one is a sestet:
○ Quatrain- stanza of four lines. Sestet- stanza of six lines. Traditionally, the first quatrain introduces the subject, the second complicates the subject, and the sestet resolves the subject or alters it in some form.
● A rhyme scheme:
○ A B B A - A B B A in the quatrains. C D C - D C D in the sestet, with some variations. Usually the poet tries to make the rhymes in the sestet very different from the rhymes of the two quatrains.
● Conceit:
○ Comparisons between two dissimilar things that is surprising and elaborate.
● Metaphors and Similes:
○ comparisons of two unlike objects or ideas and an object. Similes are indirect in comparison, using the words “like” and “as”.
● Blason:
○ Proceeds in a detail by detail manner in either praise or blame, usually using extended metaphors and/or similes to describe that body.
● Personification:
In subject:
○ an attribution of human qualities to an idea, an inanimate object, or an animal.
● Usually conflicts of love and sex, from such came the idea of courtly love. Dedicated to Laura, with the imaginary name of Laurel. She is thought to have blonde hair and he viewed from afar, because his love of her was purely invented.
Essay
E1) the concepts of chivalry and heroism in Don Quixote and how they compare to modern ideals
Heroism
-Although Don Quixote wasn’t the ideal hero, he knew heroic concepts…he was just crazy.
-Don Quixote lived out his dream regardless of the outside world.
-Don Quixote had intentions to perform heroic deeds.
Chivalry
-Don Quixote strives to get his love, Dulcinea, throughout the story.
-Don Quixote chooses to live as a knight, and embark on a journey.
- In today’s society chivalry is viewed more as being polite rather than committing acts of knighthood such as slaying things.

E2) explore the relationship between man and God as depicted in Petrarch's works and then look at how those ideas have survived/changed/disappeared in modern literature
In Petrarch's works, Petrarch focuses more on the journey to salvation as opposed to the actual destination. He is trying to find God. Renaissance writers often focus on the long road to building a relationship with God. They focus on self reflection and trying to find yourself along the way. In the
Ascent of Mount Ventoux, he tries to find the direct path, but ends up taking the long road. This reflects the Renaissance ideal that their is no shortcut to finding yourself or God. In his poems, he alludes to many
Greeks gods and calls for their help. This is not very different from modern literature in that every person is just trying to find their way in life to salvation no matter how hard the trials.
E3) explore the concept of love as it was understood in the Renaissance, and briefly discuss how the Renaissance view of love compares to the modern notion of love.
Renaissance Love
Poetic
 Explorative
 More admiration
 Love at first sight believed in and encouraged
 Unattainable (higher status) love was considered the higher love
 Sacred and secular (married for love/desire and money/status)
Comparison to Modern
 Modern love is similar to Renaissance in many ways
 Admiration/lovey-dovey is very commonly desired
 People still marry for status, but not as often
 Though, love is more based on personality and compatibility than it is first sight
E4 (Maybe Optional): Creation stories are often created by people to explain apparent mysteries.
Explore the obvious parallels between the creation elements of this story with the creation story in Genesis. What do the similar elements suggest about the universality of the questions that these works are trying to answer?
 The nature of human existence/creation: o Popol Vuh- the idea of gods molding human as an imperfect creation and having to make
“corrections” (the gods failed several times to create their desirable mankind) o Genesis- The flood was used by God to effectively eradicate the sinful/evil humans on the world while saving Noah. Similar to the first humans in Popol Vuh, God’s people had issues.
The flood effectively served as God’s second attempt to create humanity.
 The idea of balancing powers: o Popol Vuh- Men were becoming too powerful, so the gods took their knowledge away and the gods created women to make the men happy o Gilgamesh had Enkidu; he was created as Gilgamesh’s mate o Eve was created to be Adam’s mate o Also common pairings in the Bible (Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve, Moses and Joseph)