Medieval English Literature: A Journey Through Time
Mead-hall
structure built by an Anglo-Saxon lord as a social center for his community. A lord would gather his warriors at this place to eat, drink, pass out gifts and treasure, and renew the oath-bonds between himself and his men. The story of Beowulf includes a Mead-Hall called Heorot that was so big and had so much laughter that the monster Grendel broke in.Retainer group of soldiers which are the king’s favorites, and they are who accompany the king in battles. They swear devotion to their leader and implicate to fight boldly. So the leader rewards his retainers with treasures, protection, and land. Wiglaf is the retainer of Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the dragon while all of the other warriors run away. Scop Old English word for poet and who was commissioned by the early Germanic kings to entertain them by reciting the poetry. His art was directed mostly towards epic poetry (Beowulf), religious verse in epic format and heroic lays of battle. Scop usually lived in the court with the king and he wrote to claim the victories of the king and the kingdom. He recited or sang his verses, usually accompanying himself on a harp or similar stringed instrument. An example of those poems is Beowulf. Heptarchy refers to Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of south, east, and central England during the early Middle Ages, conventionally identified as seven: East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms eventually unified into the Kingdom of England. The term has been in use since the 16th century, but the idea that there were seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms is attributed to the English historian Henry of Huntingdon in the 12th century and was first used in his Historia Anglorum.Elegy sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead. The purpose of this kind of poem is to express feelings rather than tell a story. It goes from the material to the spiritual and it represents a new way of life, new opportunity opened. “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer” are examples of elegies.
Romance: it is a genre imported in 1066 due to the influence of French culture and it consists on a long medieval narrative in prose or verse that tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes. It is literature for entertaining and magic is an important element. Sir Gawain and The Green knight shows the best idea of Romance. Pentacle: it’s a five points star and religiously, it has been known to represent the five wounds of Christ, the five joys of Mary and the five virtues of knighthood: “generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry and piety” (the virtues to which Sir Gawain aspires). This pagan, or religious, symbol therefore represents virtues and ideal characteristics of a knight. So this symbol was used to represent a knight’s particular religious beliefs for the purpose of protection. However, if you invert the pentacle, you obtain a pentacle associated with devils and demons.Girdle: this is the present that Sir Gawain receives from the Queen the third day which is supposed to protect him from all harm, it’s like a magic object. Sir Gawain at this moment has 2 options, continue his believes in Virgin Mary, but they are not going to save him, or the other option is to access to the girdle. So when the King Arthur returns home from his hunting trip, Gawain does not reveal the girdle to his host but, instead, hides it. Sir Gawain is failing his believes and the court, he was the only responsible of his reaction. At the end, Sir Gawain returns to Camelot and he tells the story and the King is able to erase all the bad connotation of the girdle and this eventually becomes a symbol of honor.Mystery cycle Theatre represented by normal people. Thus, for some people is only entertainment. It is a Christian inspiration. Biblical stories. It was celebrated in Easter to commemorate the death of Christ. It’s an opportunity for social gathering and demonstrated the union of the townsmen.
Chaucerian irony: this is very common in Canterbury Tales and Chaucerian irony consists on describing characters acting on a contrary manner which is opposite the way the person should do. One major irony is Chaucer’s representation of the Church, who are all supposed to be holy and virtuous people; However the nun, monk and friar, are all petty, worldly, corrupt, break their vows and are in no way a model of holiness. Chaucer uses a lot of verbal irony when talking about them, saying they are “models” but really just being sarcastic. The Pardoner is perhaps the most intricate example of Chaucer’s irony. Renaissance Humanism: was an intellectual movement in Europe of the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Humanist writers glorified the individual and believed that “man was the measure of all things” (Michelangelo) and had unlimited potential.The rise of Humanism was the relativization of human sciences and growing confidence on the natural sciences. Human nature can be understood from a scientific point of view and not only from a moralistic one. Education must be based on explanation and thinking not indoctrination. Utopian thinking is being idealistic and thinking in a way that reflects the idea that the world should be perfect place. It’s the thought of a place where there would be no problems and that we would all live in peace, where nothing matters except ones happiness. Moreover, the Utopian Thinking tries to specify and justify the principles of a comprehensively good political order. EssayIt’s supposed to be didactic. The image of England was so ideal, but there was a great inequality. Many of the essays are an attempt to change England. There were critical, open-minded and liberal books for that time. The essays are opinions about different questions (truth, religion, literature…). They are supposed to be as objective as possible. Example: Bacon’s essays.
An arturian romance written in late 14or early 15century. Celtic inspiration. Takes SG as protagonist, one of the minor characters in the cycle. Presents as a real character against supernatural enemies. Symbolizes the struggle between Good and Evil. SG is a more human and realistic hero than Beowulf. There are supernatural elements, SG is a normal man with a very strong religious beliefs, and magical elements, they’re part of the game of enemies. Virgin Mary is supposed to protect him in battles, it’s a protective image.It’s told by 3person character who we don’t know who he or she is. The narrator gives us the same amount of information than SG to himself. He used his wife to test him, everything was a game at the end. We don’t know SG is part of the game, only at the end. We are ignorant as SG is. The narrator manipulates us, he doesn’t anticipate us any kind of information.The GK: describing the GN, he’s all green. Someone who is bigger and stronger (colossal). This is the presentation of the natural elements. It places the emphasis on the physical appearance (heavies) he mention the giants, they belongs to the monster (half-giant, full-fleshed) the GN belongs to that group as well. Still these characters are giants, they’re elegant. It’s a knight, implies human characteristic. At the beginning he appears to be a scary character but it belongs as SG to the class of the knights, to the aristocracy. The challenge: this is how GN mock of KA and break the honor that they should have. They don’t know what to do. He compares them with children or beardless boys. The GN should show some sort of education, but what they do is just the opposite, to mock him, to insult the king. From
a sort point of view, the GN is right, since the KA is a young boy, but what’s true is that he’s insulting him. Arthur is not very happy and what GN does is ask him. They increase the tension. They compare him to know how brave he is. Trying to provoke the king, insulting him, so the king gets angry from the answer he receives. easy strategy. However, the king cannot play the game, so SG appears, king Arthur only appears at the beginning and at the end. SG offers his life to play with the GNSG’s self-presentation: this is how SG presents himself. this self-description doesn’t correspond to a hero. He’s not strong or a clever person.true that SG is the most strong and clever in King Arthur’s court. But he’s his nephew, he’s part of the Royal Family of the kAr. SG is here anticipating what’s going to happen soon. He’s part of the game but he doesn’t realize until the end of the story.He recognizes his fault, moral weak, but in the mean-time his weakness will be tested.
Knight’s description: in a yearSG will die. The moment that happens we will have to leave the 2rt. SG is getting ready to leave Camelot and to complete his faith. This is only time which the narrator stops to describe SG. It’s a moral description, the only long description is focus on his morality, his ideas. This is what the narrator tells of him. It’s full of symbolizes and this description says the opposite what he said before. he uses metaphors instead of saying things directly. No illness, he was a healthy man. He’s strong in battles, man victorious. He believes in the sacrifices of his 5wounds. He offers his life for the king. What’s common in the 3 metaphors is the number 5. Number 5 is a traditional and religious number with an important Celtic tradition. Virgin Mary as protection. In battles, he watched the VirginM inside of the “escudo”. His courage never faults with the image of the VM in battles. They’re again 5. Cleanness means to be virgin, no sexual relations. His Cleanness, his moral purity and his obedience will be tested. He’s a “clean” man. Courtesy means obedience to the king, not only Arthur but also any king he should obey. Compassion means tohelp anyone who needs protection of the weak. Pentacle.What we know is that SG is surrounded by symbols, all this beautiful ideas.TheBeautiful Queen: introduction of the new element in the story. As SG enters in the castle, he enters in the game, the game of seduction. The most important elements is on the beauty, her weapon to speak, trying to seduce. This attracts the attention to the reader. The Queen appears for the first time the contrast with the beauty of the Queen, but as an old woman (weaden). Metaphors to make the queen beauty and to seduce SG. This physical beauty will be the test for cleanness of SG.The promise or game: the king goes hunting every morning, he promise to SG gives him what he hunts. The exchange consists on what any kind of gifts that SG receives, he’ll give it in exchange to what the king huntsThe seduction: SG and the Queen are alone in the room. It’s the moment of seduction , very symbolic way. He’s following the game. SG should do what the Queen want to do. This is the beginning of the game. She only gives to him a kiss in the check. The only result of this first attempt is just a kiss, nothing more erotic. SG gives back the kiss, so the promise is maintained, he gives back what he receives. the third day, things changes, is the last day of SG in the castle and the game continues but this day is different. The Queen gives to him something different, the present is the girdle.
The girdle: this is the present that Sir Gawain receives from the Queen the third day which is supposed to protect him from all harm, it’s like a magic object, you cannot be killed if you wear this object. Sir Gawain at this moment has 2 options, continue his believes in Virgin Mary, but they are not going to save him, or the other option is to access to the girdle. So when the King Arthur returns home from his hunting trip, Gawain does not reveal the girdle to his host but, instead, hides it. Sir Gawain is failing his believes and the court, he was the only responsible of his reaction. The moment which he has to choose, he prefers to act with instincts rather than principles. At the end, Sir Gawain returns to Camelot and he tells the story and the King is able to erase all the bad connotation of the girdle and this eventually becomes a symbol of honor.The relevation: what we think is that this magic girdle works. Everything is happy and the girdle apparently works. The GN asks what have happened in the castle, trying to seduce. You’re the most faultless, you resisted the kiss of my wife, but his loyalty was the only thing was failed, the girdle, but only because you love your life, this is the GN recognizes the value, they offered his consolidation, they understood him. Nobody knows if the girdle can work, the narrator doesn’t clarify if the girdle works. The purpose of the GN is to offer comprehension which is the most basic needs to alleviate the reaction of SG. His reaction is to get angry as he knows that Queen and King have been playing with him. He chose to believe in a suppose magic instead of Virgin Mary, not to give back the girdle to the King and to keep it. He abandoned his faith and fault to his court. This is probably a very exaggerated reaction from SG. He went against himself. All this happened because he want to project his life, natural reaction, but he blamed himself because he was the only responsible of his reaction. After all, the roles have changed, SG returns to Camelot and he tells the story and KArthur is able to eliminate all the bad connotation of the girdle. At the end, this story teaches something to SG, all his innocence make him a strong man. He knows what is being against himself. Beowulf is an example of Anglo-Saxon poetry that is distinguished by its heavy use of alliteration. Simply put, alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds of words. Imagery in the poem is vivid and often fun, and frequently related through the use of kennings. Put simply, kennings are compound expressions that use characteristics to name a person or thing. One of the most popular examples is hronrade. Literally, the word means “whale-road”; the kenning, then, is for the sea or ocean, a thoroughfare for the whale.
Sir is a fairy-tale-like story, full of magical creatures and supernatural happenings. This story involves a lot of hyperbole: exaggerated descriptions of people or things as the biggest, best, or fairest of them all. King Arthur’s knights are the “most famous warriors in Christendom,” and the Green Knight is “the largest” of all men. It’s full of praise for Gawain’s exceptional skill and virtue, the beauty of Lord Bertilak’s palace and lady. More importantly, he remains silent at crucial narrative turning points – for example, when Gawain hides the green girdle from Lord Bertilak. This silence means that the narrator avoids ever having to criticize his hero. Sir is a medieval romance. This genre of literature features adventuring knights, noble ladies, and often, elements of the supernatural. More importantly, the hero usually undergoes a process of self-discovery in the course of his adventure, which enables him to reincorporate into society as a better version of himself. Another important element of medieval romance is its exploration of the rules of courtoisie, or courtly behavior. Sir Gawain, for example, is known for his excellence in courtoisie: he delights everyone with his conversational skills, and, most importantly, behaves with impeccable courtesy toward ladies.All knights and ladies have gathered to celebrate and feast. Arthur, however, refuses to eat until he has witnessed something marvelous or heard a great adventure story. Luckily, just when everyone’s sitting down to eat, a mysterious, gigantic stranger with emerald-green skin and clothing bursts into the hall. As if that weren’t weird enough, he’s riding a gigantic green horse and carrying an elaborately-decorated axe.The Green Knight announces that he’s come to test the honor of the legendary knights of the round table, and proposes a game: he will withstand a single axe-blow from the hands of one knight, as long as that knight agrees to meet him in a year and a day to receive an axe-blow in return. Stunned by the total weirdness of his request, no one volunteers. The Green Knight mocks them cruelly, calling out Arthur himself to take up the challenge. But before Arthur can strike a blow, his nephew, Sir Gawain, declares that it’s shameful for the king to have to participate in such a silly game. So Sir Gawain volunteers himself.Gawain leaves King Arthur’s court in search of the Green Chapel. When he arrives to a huge castle where he enjoys the rich hospitality of the magnificent lord and his beautiful lady.The lord proposes a game, moreover: as Gawain lounges inside by the fire all day, the lord will ride out to hunt.
At the end of the day, the two will exchange whatever they’ve won. Gawain happily agrees to the game.When the lord returns to the castle that night, he presents Gawain with a multitude of well-dressed deer, for which Gawain exchanges the kiss he’s received from the lord’s wife. Gawain and the lord continue the same game for the next two days.On the last day of the game, however, the lady convinces Gawain to accept something else as a “lover’s token”: a green girdle, or belt, which she claims will make the wearer invincible, unable to be killed. Gawain realizes that this is just the thing to save his life during his impending meeting with the Green Knight. When the lord of the castles comes home at the end of the day, Gawain breaks the rules of the game and doesn’t exchange the green girdle.The next morning, Gawain rides out of the castle with a guide, who points him to the Green Chapel. The guide begs Gawain to reconsider, because the man who guards it is so dangerous. The Green Knight emerges with his huge axe, and commends Gawain for keeping the terms of the agreement. He moves to strike the first blow, but stops his hand when Gawain flinches. He chews Gawain out for being a sissy. After Gawain promises to flinch no more, the knight moves to strike a second blow, but again stops his hand. This time he claims he was testing to see if Gawain was ready. Finally, the Green Knight strikes a third blow. This time, the axe breaks the skin but doesn’t decapitate Gawain.Gawain leaps up and arms himself, telling the Green Knight that he has met the terms of the agreement and will now defend himself if threatened.The Green Knight explains to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he’s just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only with a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.Gawain returns to Arthur’s court. He tells the story of his adventure, and declares that he will wear the girdle for the rest of his life as a reminder of his failure. The court, however, laughs at Gawain and proposes to all wear a similar girdle for his sake. This tradition is carried down through generations and becomes a symbol of honor.
The friar: low class in the church, poorest and most humble of the congregation. They are also called beg friar, they live of the charity of people. Expert in gossip and flattery. Arrange a marry quickly. When a man and a woman are pregnant, the first they should do arrange a marriage, there is again a contradiction of not suppose to do this. He had good friendship in his community. Well-off women in the town. If you pay, that’s mean that you really are regretting that instead of crying, paying is a sign of regret. A friar should be poor but he makes money with his work, his money is just like a salary. This man contradicts the beginning part of his work. This is a way of criticizes, the behavior of certain people who belongs to the church, but this is the way of acting of particular people. The merchant: the merchant is important because he symbolizes one of the most important transformations of the age. This character is also typical of a new way of life that emerges out of middle ages. This is someone with money, gold, familiar, but symbolizes the most material part of life. This is a man of a practical world, who deals with money. The first character who represents a economical and political world, he is a business man. Chaucer introduces a contrast between the others one. The other character seems to belong to the past and this is the modern one, the first modern character in the prologue.The scholar: Seem to be long in time. Someone from a very real world life in the present with the mentality of the past, a man determined. He seems to be fashioned man, he’s from oxford. The horse gives the idea of being poor. Serious man. First irony. Poor man from oxford is not supposes to be a poor man. This man looks rich. He looks his job living in the clouds rather than in the earth. Someone who prefers have books than material things, he loves books but he’s poor not intelligent enough to make money but really interesting in culture. Chaucer is not mocking of this man, he identifies himself with this man, he dedicates his life to books. He’s a man who enjoy having books than gold, he’s poor but that’s fine.doctor Treating with irony. If Chaucer feels sympathetic with the scholar,THE doctor is very unprofessional. notice the contrast between the past and the present. Contemporary figure, his mentality is not from this. Ironic. Great doctor with knowledge of astrology. Chaucer describes as a good doctor with astrology as he uses it for his treatments. Talismans are no medical treatments, that are part of superstition. He lives in a modern world but there’s nothing modern in his treatments. He doesn’t look like a doctor.
The knight this character represent the middle class. The illustration belongs to the first edition, time when pilgrims go to the Canterbury. This is the first of the 99 people go to the tower. The knight goes from Granada to Algeciras battle, a knight who fights for a Christian faith. The description is a very typical, a man who represents the perfect warrior, knight, man who is gorgeous, valiant, fame, honor of a warrior. Represent a very essence of a knight. It’s perfectly recognizes for the readers, he’s a figure belongs to the past.The squire, the knight go to Canterbury accompany his son, the squire. A man who fight to impress a lady, he’s a lover, his life not only fighting to conquer territory but also ladies. Thus is a younger knight, he fights but he’s also a seductive of ladies. This description suggests a very different knight. This is someone committed for fighting, singing, dancing and also a lover. He should be familiar with weapons, but also with music, literature. Young and strong man, the first man belongs to the past and his son belongs to the present. There is no irony here. He’s more human knight.The monk: The lowest position in the church. Close to poverty, humanity, he also begs money, most humble of religious hierarchy. A monk should not have possession, that does not correspond with his position on the church. He was a modern monk, he didn’t follow the rules of the church, he didn’t care of hunters, he prefers others rules, he doesn’t follow the rules he doesn’t like. Hunters are not pious men, he doesn’t pay attention to the rules are not convenient for him, that’s an example of irony. Contrast of what a monk should do and what he does. A monk is not supposes someone who ride a horse and not being a hunter. Contradiction of the idea of someone who is big, he ate very well and a lot (irony). This looks like someone who enjoys life. Chaucer never evaluates this man. it doesn’t fit to the image of a common monk. Europe changed so much in the late Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance, this changes are related with a economic crisis which provoked a poor country with poor people. Aristocracy start to disappear and people who earned their social status formed the middle class. There was also a religious crisis in the institution. the world cannot be explained only by the Bible while being humanistic believe the things they prove. Literature was affected by all these historical process3most impaspects to understand English literature: 1. Not only the latin (the lingua franca was considered a cultural language, but also English. 2. The complexity of literature was a mark of sophistication and literary value, the more complicated the better literature was. 3. Innovation of the themes to write, from the devil to sexual awareness
THE WANDERER There could be more than one narrator, as the poem fluctuates between personal experience and general advice.The Wanderer” is an elegy composed of alliterative meter that focuses on the Wanderer’s loss of his lord, his subsequent grief, and his search for wisdom. “The Wanderer” is often coupled with “The Seafarer” in academic settings; this is likely because the two pieces have a lot in common, like their solitary speakers, the theme of the decaying material world, a melancholy tone, and idea of finding security through religious faith. The Wanderer is now suffering at sea and dreaming of happier times. The narrative arc of the poem follows the Wanderer, a former warrior whose lord has recently died. He remembers the fealty he paid to his lord, the revelry of his hall, and his relationships with his kinsmen. He tried to find a new lord but was unsuccessful, and now he wanders alone, trying to gain wisdom from his melancholy thoughts. He describes his solitary journey in a wintry world and he identifies with all lonely wanderers. In the second part of the poem, he contemplates more general themes about humanity. He tries to find the key of being a wise man. At the end of the poem, The Wanderer explains that he has gained wisdom from the experience of living through many winters. Finally, he encourages his readers to look to God for security on this journey of life. The poem that has affiliations to Christianity and it indicates welcoming in Christianity– Written in two different narrative voices.A main character looks back on the past and ultimately on the future.Nostalgia substituted by faith: the king substituted by God Comforting vision of Christianity–The Wanderer now expands his ruminations reflexiones towards the supernatural. He says that the Creator of Men has made the world unpredictable, and that hardships can happen to anyone at any time. Things can go from bad to good in a moment. The Wanderer hypothesizes that the Creator of Men, who created human civilization and conflict, is also wise. He, like the Wanderer, also must lament the loss of treasure, festivities, and glorious leaders. The Wanderer contemplates the way that all these things disappear in time, leaving behind nothing but darknesss. the Wanderer concludes, life is difficult at times. Everything is subject to fate perderse. Wealth fades, friends leave, and kingdoms fall. The Wanderer now ascribes atribuye these words to a wise man, or a sage sabio, in meditation. He describes this man as someone who is steady constante in his faith and, when something bad happens, he does not panic, but rather, stays calm until he can figure out a solution. In conclusion, the Wanderer advises aconsjea all men to look to God for comfort, since He is the one who is responsible for the fate suerte of mankind.
THE SEAFARER poem written in Old English that has an alliterative rhyme scheme. There appears to be only one narrator, a solitary figure who describes his own journeys at sea and then transitions into a discussion of the ephemerality of life on Earth. In the 1half of the poem, the Seafarer reflects upon the difficulty of his life at sea. The weather is freezing and harsh, the waves are powerful, and he is alone. He contrasts his solitude to the life of land dwellers which is much easier and more comfortable. In the 2part of the poem, however, the speaker changes his tone and expresses his ambition to continue traveling. He stresses the impermanence of earthly life and the irrelevance of material gain. He encourages his reader to behave piously, because Death will come for all men and, ultimately, God will hold every man accountable. The evocation of Christian themes is much more obvious in this poem than in “The Wanderer”. In “The Seafarer”, the poet’s exhortation for his readers to follow Christian values is unambiguous. Also, the Wanderer is forced into exile when his Lord dies, but the Seafarer’s exile is self-impose “The Seafarer” focuses on how the poem moves from the particular to the general, from the known to the unknown, and from the temporal to the eternal. The Seafarer describes how he has cast off all earthly pleasures and now mistrusts them. He prefers spiritual joy to material wealth, and looks down upon land-dwellers as ignorant and naive– Written by one narrative voice.A main character looks back on the present and ultimately on the future.Faith as the only source of meaning in life Radical vision of Christianity– The narrator observes that the days of glory in the Earth’s kingdom have passed. The powerful kings and “gold-giving” lords of yore are no more. Now, weak men hold all the power and display none of their predecessors’ dignity. Old age LA VEJEZ makes men’s faces grow pale, their bodies slow down, and their minds weaken. Even if a man fills his brother’s grave with gold on Earth, it does not matter because his brother cannot take the gold with him into the afterlife. A soul filled with sin cannot be hidden beneath gold because the Lord will find it.God’s wrath LA IRA is great and powerful. After all, He created the earth, the heavens, and the sea. The narrator proclaims that any man who does not fear God is foolish, and His power will catch the unassuming man unawares. Humble HUMILDE men are happy and able to draw strength FUERZA from God. God’s hand is stronger than the mind of any man. Even if a man is master DUEÑO of his home on Earth, he must remember that in the afterlife, his happiness depends on God. Therefore, it is in every man’s best interest to honor the Lord in his life, and remain humble and faithful FIEL throughout.
Sir thomas more was one of the most versatile and most enigmatic figures of the English Renaissance. Utopia is a description of laws and customes of an imagined society. His dramatic instincts led him to make it a dialogue, an argument between a character named More and a returned traveler named Raphael. Their debate focuses on a subject that was a trouble for More: should the scholar participate in government or should he confine himself to the ivory tower? More is a very ironic and witty writer. Central to the constitution of Utopia is community of property. No fundamental reform in society is possible, the reader is led to believe, until private property is abolished. Utopia was written and published in Latin, it was designed for the educated readers for all Europe.More’s sense of obligation to active citizenship and statesmanship finally won out over his monastic inclinations, and his rise to high office under Henry VIII was great. When he was required to take the oath for the act of Sucession and Supreamacy he refused. He could not admit that Henry was supreme head of that spiritual body, the church. From the point of view of the government, his refusal was reason and later he was beheaded. He was certain that he was not dying for treason, but in and for the faith of the Catholic Church. Years later, he as cononized by that church as St. Thomas More. “Utopia” was the ideal society in terms of moral conditions because human belief in man’s capacity for good. In addition, in terms of material condition due to the rejection of the private property. In Utopia there is no private property and everyone is rich, not in terms of wealth, but in terms of mind. Firstly, there is a detailed description of Utopia; secondly, there is a description of its history. Utopia has 54 towns of the same size. Everything is very much the same, so the idea is uniformity. There is a strong sense of order; therefore, everything is under control. There is a description of how society is organized, a description of work and land. People use land for food, but there are no land owners and the land has to be worked. There is also a description of how local government is organized. No town is better than the others; it only depends on how you work on the land. The mayor works for the town. Everyone works in Utopia and there is no unemployment like in England. The central nucleus in Utopia is the family. All families eat together and listen moralistic literature while they are eating. The issue of happiness and pleasure is a central idea in Utopia.
People are respectful to animals and there is no hunting. Euthanasia is permitted in Utopia. As for the law, people are active participants in it, there are treaties with other countries, there are few lawyers and the council executes the law. Moreover, we are shown the situation of women, who have the same opportunities than men. Religion is essential in Utopia. God is not represented in the book because people could believe in God as they wanted. Religion depends on the individual, not on constitution. Besides, sleeves are people who are prisoners and are treated much worse than any of the foreigners who commit a crime. Thomas More asks if Utopia is the best idea of society. This idea of society is impossible to get because we are human and we are not perfect. The whole book is full of ambiguity. Utopia is not the best country because its social political system has to deal with the imperfection of human beings. There is an open ending so that the readers can think about it. Thomas More tries to attract the readers to his conversation in order to know what they think. There are many imperfections: wars, discrimination of gender (women had to go to another place to find a husband), no individual freedom, people are watched on and cannot be trusted and the free time is controlled by the state so that everything can be in order. We can come up with two conclusions in this book: The first one is that the book is teaching and entertaining simultaneously. It is a message of the corruption of the society at that time and is an instrument to propose reforms in terms of religion and politics. On the other hand, this book is presented as a thread. He is encouraging the reader to find a solution to poverty because it creates social problems. In this book we find a parody of the perfect idea of society because Utopia is not presented as a solution to these problems, but it is an advance to solve them. BEOWULFWritten in the Northumbrian dialect by an unknown author.The author must have been Christian or influenced by the Christianreligion. Takes place outside England and its characters are not Anglosaxon. Presents a supernatural character against supernatural enemies. Symbolizes the struggle between Good and Evil. epic is a long narrative poemdealing with the trials and achievements of a great hero or heroesBeowul Represents the values of the heroic age, specifically the Germanic code of comitatus