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Women in medieval literature and society
Literary analysis: medieval romance
Women in medieval literature and society
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The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the mid to late fourteenth century. There is very little know about the author, but many believe he would of be very highly educated to write a compilation of poems in this time period. There are many reference to the time period it was written in helping it to portray a food image of the middle ages, and what life was like during this time, especially in literature. The poem holds numerous themes such as chivalry, law and masculinity with influences of seasons and games with symbols to portray some abstract ideas such as the penangle and the Green Girdle. In addition to this, The Canterbury Tales by a poet called Jeoffry Chaucer, was also a poem written in the late fourteenth century. …show more content…
Chaucer wrote in Vernacular, which was the English spoken in London during this time period. He began to write the talks around 1387, after a trip to Kent, located near Canterbury influencing his work. He then retired, and continued his work. Again, this compilation of tales portrays a life in London during this period of time. He also includes types of things such as courtly love, importance of company, influences of religion and the church, but also included subjects such as romance and fabliaux, with symbols such as the weather and seasons, clothing and physiognomy. A lot of these themes and symbols can be linked to masculinity especially chivalry in the time period the tales are written. Within Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, masculinity can be closely linked to related to the idea of chivalry, as it portrays qualities of what an ideal Knight should be or act like. Even though Knights should be figures of medieval masculinity due to the time it was written in, the Green Knight refers to men of his round table as ‘mere addescents’ and considers himself as “the weakest” which implies to the reader that he is lacking self-confidence, and qualities of a person who is masculine within their walk of life, reinforcing that he doesn’t always show that he is masculine character or classes himself as some sort of hero, because he isn’t forcing his masculinity on to the reader or other characters in the poem, concluding that he may be more the chivalrous type. In addition to this, even though masculinity isn’t portrayed thought out it is showed in some circumstances as he reveals his identity and the castle, as he is honoured one of the greatest. During some New Year’s Eve celebration, the Green Knight challenges the King to fight as he is wanting to find someone brave enough to behead him, as long as he can “Give a stroke in return” meaning he wants someone to do the same to him, he wants it to happen exactly a year on. After challenging the King, none of his Knights want to, he asks for the axe but before carrying out the incident, Gawain speaks up and says Arthur is “not fitting” due to him being the leader, he should not fulfil such tasks. So, Gawain sets himself apart from the rest of the Knights as a show of chivalry by helping the King, again reinforcing the idea of masculinity in numerous forms, due to the way he behaves. Further along in the story Gawain is tested again. He is searching for the Green Knight to receive the stroke a year on, he then comes across some shelter in a castle. He is supposed to rest and enjoy company from the Lords wife, while they set out hunting for the few days left before the New Year. Following this Gawain, is subject to pass all kisses he receives on from the Lords wife to the host, which he does, but keeps an item she gives him which has some powers, that can save his life during the beheading. This can be seen that Gawain has failed his loyal duty to the Lord because he hasn’t done what he was commanded to do. On the other hand, the wife wanted the item, the Green Girdle to be kept as a secret which can show that Gawain is being chivalrous and loyal to a female which portrays the ideology of a male being masculine. Another characteristic of masculinity in a medieval Knight of this time could be being courageous, as it may be a sign of heroic masculinity during the poem. Gawain portrays this is numerous instances. One of the main ways he shows this is that he is the only Knight that is brave and courageous enough to engage in the beheading game. He shows this through the lines: “It was rare if he found no foe to face him.” And when he speaks of what he encounters on his journey: “Dragons, sometimes wolves, or trolls of the forest.” This shows his strength, and heroic side in the poem, as he must overcome fears and puts himself in danger. (Kathrin, 2017) Gawain’s bravery can be seen to have disappear or changed as the poem continues, and begins to unfold. This can be seen as the seasons that the writer uses start to change during the second part of the poem which includes the passing of the following year on the run up to the beheading, and it may mirror Gawain’s feelings with links to gloomy seasons such as Autumn and Winter, as things begin to “Die” and “Rot” his fight is getting closer, which causes an increase in Gawain’s anxiety, especially when he starts to doubt himself: “Gawain thinks again/ about his fearful quest.” Further on in the poem Gawain meets his opponent in the Green Chapel: “he pretends to be fearless/afraid to show his dread.” And he flinches when the stroke is about to hit him, which the Green Knight believes is a sign of being a cowardly action: “never heard such cowardice ascribed to him.” Evidently, showing that Gawain isn’t as brave as recently portrayed, due to his anxiety, but this can be seen a much more positive light by readers as an anyone in this life or death situation, would feel this way. So, the writer maybe making him seem more like a hero as he is someone that the readers can relate to, as he is such a down to earth and likeable character with realistic emotions. This can be seen as someone who is the most masculine can have feelings and is no invincible, but he still kept his word to the Green Knight even though he had a year to back out and change his mind, but he didn’t want to be considered as cowardly Knight even though he was feeling nervous and scared. Reinforcing his overall heroic and masculine self, leading to the readers believing in him more and seeing him as more masculine than the other Knights. Even though Gawain may not be as masculine as some Knights portrayed in different poems, such as Beowulf, he is a hero and masculine figure in other ways for admitting his faults by showing feelings and emotions. This doesn’t make him any less of a hero, which the Green Knight credits him for: “As much as pearls surpass peas in value, so Gawain compares to other fine Knights. As he has shown his human weaknesses openly instead of covering it with ideas of manliness. (Cohen, 1998) Due to masculinity being such a big topic during the middle ages, I believe Chaucer tried to challenger the way men are represented in society at this time, by giving them contradicting characteristics inherited from classical literature and religious references from the bible. Therefore, Chaucer contradicts the typical masculinity during this time. He included two pilgrims in the tale that follow masculinity at first, however even males who fit that specific definition due to their occupation show some contradictions during their tales. Some of the characters in The Canterbury tales, such as the Man of Law, the friar and the pardoner have expectations from the reader to fit the Christian male role, yet they deviate and appear with the pilgrims themselves or with characters in their tales. (De Long, Cullum and Lewis, 2006) Many of the roles in Canterbury tales are supposed to be seen as very masculine but Chaucer takes a different approach to enable to reader to see differences within these characters, and be able to relate to at least one character. The Man of Law was part of the most elite and powerful group of lawyers, named the order of the carf. Due to them being ranked as highly as a knight similarly to the Knight in Sur Gawain and The Green Knight, because of them studying and practising law after a long period of time. Which again gives the idea of masculinity due to their status in society. Being a lawyer during this time depicts education, and wealth portraying the idea of a wealthy life style but in contract to this is “Road but hoomly in ta medelee cote/gidt with a ceint of silk, with barnes smale” which an outfit of this kind would have never been worn by anyone above the class of a Knight. Reinforcing the Man of Law prefers to wear simpler clothing, rather than more expensive outfits which shows his down to earth characteristics but his rank in society shows something different so he prefers to be simpler and non-materialistic giving him more of a masculine relation to the readers. In addition to this the readers are told “Lees and robes hadde he many oon” which reinforces wealth, and status of the Man of Law during this time. So even though he had items like this he still attempts to be a good Christian by being simplistic and wise fitting the masculinity stereotype. The Friar also depicts some types of masculinity through the idea of courtly love and being a heroic male figure.
The Friar tries to use force and show his strength throughout, similar to that of a heroic male. He also gives gifts to women, representing courtly love on how a woman should be treated, following the heroic pattern. In addition to this Friar sees himself and gives a heroic definition of masculinity by associating himself with wealth and power. Another way Friar expresses his masculinity is by through the quote: “double worstede” which was an expensive type of clothing in the middle ages and also used the title for himself: “maister” which shows a high expenditure of money showing the wealth and being a heroic male with the power over people reinforcing the idea that he is portraying masculinity on the other characters, after thinking so highly of himself. In addition to this Chaucer used illustrations of Friars failures of sticking to his religious beliefs by seducing women then marrying them off to other men, creating women into an object for men instead of an equal person, which breaks down the idea of him being a masculine chivalrous man. Which helps to show challenges that Chaucer has created, to show the differences in men and that everyone is …show more content…
different. Lastly the Pardoner is also a pilgrim who deviates from Christianity.
He was a member of the church and given the power to pass on indulgences which were used to forgive sins. He is described as a “mare” which suggests homosexuality, and even thought we know Pardoner is a male, is raises questions over his sexuality, again reinforcing Chaucer’s idea of showing floors in people’s masculinity, no matter who they are, due to it being such a taboo issue in Christianity and the middle ages at this time. Again, to go against Christianity beliefs he doesn’t live simply and serve others as he focuses on personal profits and wealth and power. In addition, the Pardoner says her will “Have a joly wenche in every toun.” Which is the idea of winning women over instead of following the traditional model of chastity. The pardoner also shows characteristics of need, greed and selfishness which again are ideas against being a masculine and heroic
character. Overall Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales, both include constructions of masculinity, but in very different ways. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is very typical with aspects of masculinity with the characters sticking to the way a masculine male should be with some added extras, such as being chivalrous to win the reader’s attention. Whereas in The Canterbury Tales, the characters are less stuck to the norms of masculinity and try to challenge the boundaries of their religion, with examples of homosexuality, and treating women wrongly but both texts raise brilliant issues, and able to give the reader an insight to the way of living and how to be or not to be masculine.
All throughout the poem titled Sir Gawain and the Green Knight it simply seems as if it is full of male power and masculinity. Sir Gawain, a knight from King Arthur’s court who steps up and agrees to take the blow from the Green Knight’s axe when he interrupts the holiday feast. The obvious male power of King Arthur, the power and masculinity of the Green Knight to come in and demand that one knight must receive a blow from his axe, and masculinity of Sir Gawain to step up and not only agree to take the blow but to cut off the Green Knight’s head first. The male power and masculinity shining through all three of these male characters mentioned is very prominent. We later meet Lord Bertilak who also shows male power and masculinity through his
In the novel the Maltese Falcon, the main theme in the play is the masculinity attributes of the piece. In this particular work, there are key characters that from their basis, one comprehends how this author views what masculinity should look like. Masculinity comes to symbolize both strong heroic operate mannerism while expounding on the costs incurred through achievement of this theme in the Maltese Falcon (Huston et al., 45).
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written in the fourteenth century by an anonymous poet who was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. The story was originally written in a Northern dialect. It tells the story of Sir Gawain's first adventure as a knight.
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a poem written by a poet (name unknown) approximately 6000 years ago in the late 1300's in the medieval times. This story was originally written in medieval literature with a real unique rhyme scheme, but was translated later in time to regular English for high school students and researchers to study and read.
but. "Chaucer: The Pardoner's Tale." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2011. .
“Sir Gawain and the Green knight” is a romantic Middle English poem written in the fourteenth century by an unknown author. This poem is a fairy-tale like story that gives its readers a glimpse into the social class system of Medieval England. This literary work opens with the famous King Arthur, a local bishop, and King Arthur’s knights enjoying a royal feast at Camelot during the Christmas season. This poem provides an accurate depiction of the feudal system of the middle ages. Within this tale are individuals representing the “pyramid of power” that symbolizes the social class system of Medieval England. This top of the pyramid group consists of royalty, clergy and noble knights.
“Culture does not make people. People make culture” said Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer and educator, in a presentation on feminism in a TedTalk. The culture in which Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written was misogynistic and it shows in the writing of the poem. Medieval cultural misogyny manifests itself in multiple ways in SGGK. This paper will examine the negative relationships between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and gender by discussing: the representation of female characters, gendered violence, and Christianity in the Middle Ages.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval poem by an unknown author, written in Middle English in the 14th century. This poem is uncanny to most poems about heroism and knightly quests as it doesn’t follow the complete circle seen in other heroism tales. This poem is different to all the rest as it shows human weaknesses as well as strengths which disturbs the myth of the perfect knight, or the faultless hero. The author uses symbolism as a literary device in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give the plot a deeper and more significant meaning. Symbolism is used to emphasise the difference of this heroism story against others and therefore symbolism is of great importance in this poem. The importance of the following symbols will be discussed in this paper; the pentangle, the colour green, the Green Knight, the exchange of winnings game, the axe and the scar. This paper argues the significance of the use of symbolism as a literary device in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
William Shakespeare is well known for being a poet, playwright, and actor. Shakespeare's work appears to be very sexist in gender roles. He uses gender roles in his 'Romeo & Juliet' play. Juliet being the main and most important female role in this play; is supposed to be noble and respectful, but instead she goes against her father’s wishes and acts more educated than she really is. Romeo being the main male role in this play is supposed to be focused and noble, but instead he is passionate in love and isn't very wise with decisions but in comparison to Paris, who is very masculine, focused and noble shows a real renaissance male. This paper will demonstrate how Shakespeare uses gender role reversement ; by having feminism and masculinity, arrangement of marriages, and compare and contrast of different characters to prove the model of genders in Elizabethan England.
In summation, Shakespeare defines and upholds traditional male gender stereotypes. Through the actions of Macbeth and his fellow characters, Shakespeare paints a clear picture on the canvas of verse of what a man should look and act like. From facial expressions views of death, a Shakespearean portrait of masculinity is a fully realized one. Although this work of literature is hundreds of years old, its assumptions about there being a universal idea of what it means to be a “man” are still relevant to today’s world. Everyday, men in the 21st century still live like Macbeth does, always striving to be a “true” man.
Men in Romeo and Juliet want to be the strongest out of everyone. They think they are becoming stronger because of their attempt to be men. This is called masculinity. According to Appelbaum, masculinity says to reach a certain goal which one has set(Appelbaum, 251). In Romeo and Juliet, masculinity is largely prominent. As Romeo is about to commit suicide, Friar Laurence scolds him, saying “Art thou a man? Thy form cries out thou art. Thy tears are womanish; thy wild acts denote the unreasonable fury of a beast. Unseemly woman in a seeming man”(Shakespeare, 3.2.18). In essence, Friar Laurence is asking Romeo if he is a man, and saying he is acting like a woman in the form of a man. Friar Laurence is scolding Romeo for not acting like a man, or following masculinity. The men in Romeo and Juliet are trying to get to a goal, but sometimes it is impos...
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem which tells the tale of a knight who undergoes trials-testing the attributes of knighthood-in order to prove the strength and courage of himself, while representing the Knights of the Round Table. One of King Arthurs most noblest and bravest of knights, Sir Gawain, is taken on an adventure when he steps up to behead a mysterious green visitor on Christmas Day-with the green mans’ permission of course. Many would state that this tale of valor would be within the romance genre. To the modern person this would be a strange category to place the poem in due to the question of ‘where is the actual romance, where is the love and woe?’ However, unlike most romances nowadays, within medieval literature there are many defining features and characteristics of a romance-them rarely ever really involving love itself. Within medieval literature the elements of a romance are usually enshrouded in magic, the fantastic and an adventure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight follows Sir Gawain over the course of one year, from one New Years to the next, as was the deal he and Bertilak, the green knight, struck.
During Chaucer’s time, there was only one church, the Roman Catholic Church. There is only one church because the Protestant movement hasn’t started yet, it started in the 16th century. Anyone who was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, for example a Pardoner, a Summoner, or a Friar, are not to have sex, or party around, as well as not having money. Chaucer notices that some of these people in the Church break these rules repeatedly. Chaucer uses satire to brilliantly describe the hypocrisy in the church. Although Chaucer may come off as anti-religious, he is religious, he is against anti-hypocrisy. The first character Chaucer uses satire on is the Friar. Chaucer tells his audience that the Friar liked to sleep around a lot with women. The Friar also got lots of girls pregnant and then married them off to men in the church. The Friar was also very wealthy, and liked to party. Which are clear violations of the church’s code. To make things worse, Chaucer said that this particular Friar was better than others. The next characters that Chaucer introduced were the Pardoner and the Summoner. The Summoner’s job in a church is to find people who have committed sin and bring them to the church so that their sins can be forgiven by the Pardoner. However, the Summoner abused his power by blackmailing people to go see the Pardoner or else they
The first vestige of gender role analysis is prevalent in the names of the male characters: Puss in Boots, Signor Panteleone, and Master. These names are a reference to male dominance within society. Puss in Boots, and Signor Panteleone both reference clothing items associated with males, and their authoritative role within society. Pantaloons and boots are both emblematic of assertiveness and domination, and therefore the coinciding reference to their names, and their male nature, causes the reader to perceive that the male characters are supreme in terms of their position in society. Puss’s companion, however, is simply referred to as “Master” throughout the text. This term serves as a reminder of the Master’s power, and the societal expectation that other characters would defer themselves to him; it may also allude to the notion of a male bearing the appellation of Master of the Household. This emphasises the traditional role of males, and their presumed entitlement to power, thus enticing the reader to believe that the character in question is the dominant character within the story.
Geoffrey Chaucer was a on a mission when he wrote The Canterbury Tales. That mission was to create a satire that attacked three major institutions. Raphel displays, “Medieval society was divided into three estates: the Church (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought), and the Patriarchy. The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales is an estates satire.” Chaucer wanted to shed light on the institutions that were taking advantage of the everyday man. Chaucer does this by making up tales about certain people that she light to the undercover world of the institutions. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses satire to attack the Church, the Patriarchy, and the Nobility.