livro proprietário -literatura inglesa i

7/25/2019 Livro Proprietrio -Literatura Inglesa I

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autor

HLCIO DE PDUA LANZONI

1 edio

SESES

rio de janeiro 2015

LITERATURA INGLESA I


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Conselho editorial luis claudio dallier; roberto paes; gladis linhares; karen

bortoloti; marilda franco de moura

Autor do original hlcio lanzoni

Projeto editorial roberto paes

Coordenao de produo gladis linhares

Coordenao de produo EaD karen fernanda bortoloti

Projeto grfico paulo vitor bastos

Diagramao bfs media

Reviso lingustica hlcio lanzoni

Imagem de capa daniel rajszczak | dreamstime.com

Todos os direitos reservados. Nenhuma parte desta obra pode ser reproduzida ou transmitida

por quaisquer meios (eletrnico ou mecnico, incluindo fotocpia e gravao) ou arquivada em

qualquer sistema ou banco de dados sem permisso escrita da Editora. Copyright seses, 2015.

Dados Internacionais de Catalogao na Publicao (cip)

L297l Lanzoni, Hlcio

Literatura inglesa I / Hlcio Lanzoni.

Rio de Janeiro : SESES, 2015.

88 p. : il.

isbn: 978-85-60923-35-9

1.Literatura inglesa. 2. Lngua inglesa. 3. Old english. 4. Middle English.

I. SESES. II. Estcio.

cdd 820

Diretoria de Ensino Fbrica de Conhecimento

Rua do Bispo, 83, bloco F, Campus Joo Ucha

Rio Comprido Rio de Janeiro rj cep20261-063


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Sumrio

Prefcio 7

1. A Formao do Povo Ingls eda Lngua Inglesa.As Lendas Celtas 9

Objectives 10

1.1 Britain Peoples - the origin 111.1.1 First peoples 12

1.1.2 The origins of English language. 13

1.1.3 Celtic Britain 15

1.1.4 Druids, War and Mythology 18

1.1.5 Invasion of Britain by the Romans 20

1.1.6 Rome in Need of a Capital in Britain 22

1.1.7 Roman Relations with the Druids 23

1.1.8 Modern Druidism 23Reflection 24

Activities 24

References 25

2. Beowulf e a Literatura Anglo-Saxonica 27

Objectives 28

2.1 Anglo-Saxon Literature 29

2.1.1 Pagan Epic Poetry - Beowulf: A Literary Work. 29

2.1.2 The Plot and Structure of the Poem. 30

2.1.3 Features and Major Characters Analysis 31

2.1.4 Old English 33

2.1.5 Heroic and Historical Elements 33

2.1.6 Pagan and Christian Elements 35


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2.1.7 Old English Religious Poetry 37

2.1.8 Old English Literature: some characteristics 37

Reflection 38

Activities 38

References 38

3. Literatura Inglesa Medieval 41

Objectives 42

3.1 Middle Ages: society, culture, language 43

3.1.1 Life in the Middle Ages 443.1.2 Middle English 45

3.2 Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales 46

3.2.1 The Canterbury Tales 46

3.2.2 Chivalric Code 49

3.3 Chaucer's Knight 50

3.3.1 Chaucer's Knight's Tale 51

3.3.2 Characters Analysis 53

Reflection 54Activities 55

References 55

4. Rei Arthur Histria e Lenda. 57

Objectives 58

4.1 King Arthur- Historical aspects 59

4.1.1 The Enthroned Arthur 60

4.1.2 Was Lancelot the greatest Knight? 61

4.1.3 Was Guinevere an adulteress or not? 61

4.1.4 Did Percivale see the Grail or not? 62

4.2 The Knights 64

4.2.1 King Arthur gives the rules to the Knights 64


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4.2.2 The Symbol of the Knights 65

4.3 Medieval Authors- Mallory and the Legend of Arthur 65

Reflection 70

Activities 70

References 70

5. O Renascimento e Shakespeare 71

Objectives 72

5.1 The Tudor and the Elisabethan Age 73

5.1.1 The Renaissance 745.1.2 Thomas More 74

5.2 Christopher Marlowe 76

5.3 Shakespeares life and career 78

5.3.1 Shakespeares Globe Theater 80

5.3.2 Shakespeares works 81

Reflection 84

Activities 84

References 85

Answer key 86


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7

Prefcio

Prezados(as) alunos(as),

A literatura inglesa refere-se literatura escrita em ingls por autores tanto

da Inglaterra como de outros pases. Como um dos elementos facilitadores

da expanso da literatura inglesa, podemos citar o desenvolvimento histrico

da arte de navegao, que na Inglaterra adquiriu status de prioridade estra-

tgica, ampliando assim o poder poltico, econmico e cultural do pas e sua

presena e influncia no mundo.

Na literatura inglesa h diversos autores audaciosos, criativos e geniais

que souberam cristalizar em suas obras elementos e sentimentos originadosnas lendas e no folclore, nos sentimentos das pessoas simples e desconheci-

das e nos personagens histricos, reconhecidos mundialmente.

imprescindvel entender algumas caractersticas desta literatura para

que possamos entender sua complexidade e formas. Se considerarmos o cli-

ma da Inglaterra, por exemplo, podemos entender o motivo dos poetas da-

quele pas se referirem neve, tempo nublado e cinzento e rvores nuas como

sinais pesados de solido e tristeza. Um nativo de um pas cujo clima ma-

joritariamente quente precisa entender que o clima ingls influencia direta-mente na personalidade daquele povo, o que fica evidente em sua forma de

expressar sua arte, comportamento e literatura.

Alguns, sofisticados, outros mais populares, diversos autoresajudaram

a compor a diversidade do mosaico de textos que formam a Literatura de

Lngua inglesa.

Bons estudos!


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A Formao do PovoIngls e da Lngua

Inglesa.As Lendas Celtas

1


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A lngua inglesa teve um longo perodo de evoluo e transformao que

perdurou por muitos sculos. Neste livro ns vamos discutir como as

transformaes da lngua inglesa afetaram a literatura, uma vez que essas

transformaes refletem a vida e aspectos culturais da sociedade.Neste captulo, o foco na histria da lngua inglesa e todas as transformaes

que ocorreram por um longo perodo de tempo.

OBJECTIVES

Para conhecer a literatura de um povo importante conhecer tambm seu idioma e sua

histria. S assim possvel compreender as fases e as razes que levaram determinados

autores a escrever o que escreveram e da forma que escreveram. Voc sabe quais as origensda lngua inglesa? Voc sabe quais lnguas existiam antes na antiga Bretanha antes do

ingls? Estas e outras questes sero respondidas ao longo do livro.


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1.1 Britain Peoples - the origin

Archaeology suggests that for over 10,000 years people have been moving inside

Britain and outside Britain, sometimes in great numbers. Therefore, the historyof early Britain has traditionally been told considering the waves of invaders to

the island.

Britain' had no political meaning and no cultural identity and was just a

geographical subject, before Roman times.Arguably this remained generally

true until the 17th century, when James I of England and VI of Scotland

sought to establish a pan-British monarchy. The characteristic of the island has

changed, but slowly and far less completely than presumed by the old 'invasion

model', and the idea of large-scale migrations, once the key explanation forchange in early Britain has been widely degraded.

Substantial genetic continuity of the population does not avoid profound

changes in identity and culture. It is quite common to observe important

cultural change, including the adoption of entire new identities, with little or

no biological change to a population. The British identity was only created in

1707 with the Union of England, Wales and Scotland, but millions of people

since Roman times have thought of themselves as 'British', for example.

Along the history the island contains multicultural groups and identities.

Many of these groups looked beyond the seas, for their closest connections - they

did not necessarily connect naturally with the other islanders, many of whom

were more difficult to reach than their neighbors in Ireland or continental

Europe.

Looking at to Britain in isolation does not make any sense; we have to

consider Britain with Ireland as part of the wider 'Atlantic Archipelago', closer

to continental Europe and part of the North Sea world, like Scandinavia.


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1.1.1 First peoples

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

The first people from Britain, called 'Britons' actually were an ethnically

mixed group. From the arrival of the first hunter-gatherers humans - following

the retreating ice of the Ice Age northwards to the beginning of recorded

history is a period of about 100 centuries, or 400 generations. This is a long

period of time, and we know very little about what happened through those

years; it is hard even to answer completely the question, 'Who were the early

peoples of Britain, or the called Britons?', because they did not leave any

accounts of themselves.


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But it is possible to say that biologically they were part of the Caucasian

population of Europe. The regional physical stereotypes familiar to us today, a

standard widely thought as a result of the post-Roman Anglo-Saxon and Viking

invasions - red-headed people in Scotland, small, dark-haired folks in Walesand blondes in southern England already existed in Roman times. So far

as they represent reality, they perhaps attest the post-Ice Age colonization of

Britain, or the first farmers of 6,000 years ago.

Since the early stage, the constraints and opportunities of the multiple

environments of the islands of Britain motivated a great regional diversity of

culture. During prehistoric times there were plenty of small-scale societies,

and many petty 'tribal' identities, typically lasting perhaps no more than a few

generations before dividing, merging or becoming obliterated. These groupswere in contact and discordance with their neighbors, and sometimes with

more distant groups the aspect of exotic imported objects testifies exchanges,

alliances, relationships, and wars.

1.1.2 The origins of English language.

We can divide historically the English language into three main periods: Old

English (approximately 450 to 1100 AD), Middle English (1100 to 1500 AD) and

Modern English (from 1500 on). Along the centuries, several other languages

have influenced the English language.

In the 5th Century AD Germanic tribes (Saxons, Angles, and Jutes) arrived

in the British Isles from several regions of northwest Germany as well as

Denmark. These tribes were warlike1and banned most of the original, Celtic-

speaking population from England into Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall. Some

of these people migrated to the Brittany Coast of France and their descendants

still speak the Celtic Language today.

The Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different Germanic dialects over

the years. This group of dialects created what linguists named Old English or

Anglo-Saxon. The word "English" actually was in Old English "Englisc", and that

originates from the name of the Angles. The Angles were named after Engle,

their land of origin.

Britain belonged to the Roman Empire for above 400 years and Latin was

brought into Britain by the Romans. Many words from this period were coined2

1 Warlike: blico

2 Coined (to coin): cunhada (cunhar).


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by the Roman army and foreign merchants. Some of these words werebelt

(belt), weall (wall), candel (candle) and win (wine). The language spoken during

the time before the Saxons was a mixture of various Celtic languages, spoken

before the Romans came to Britain, and Latin.The influence of Celtic upon Old English was not strong. Actually, few Celtic

words have lived on in the English language. But many places and river names

originated from Celtic: Kent, York, Dover, Cumberland, Thames, Avon, Trent,

Severn.

Many Latin words were brought into the English language by the arrival of

St. Augustine in 597 and the beginning of Christianity in Saxon England. As they

were mostly worried3 with the naming of Church members and ceremonies,

some words, such as presbyter, bishop monk, baptism and church came fromLatin.

Especially in the north of England, many Norse words were introduced into

English by the Norsemen and Danes, who were known as Vikings, by the time

they invaded the country in approximately 878 AD. Because the Vikings were

Scandinavian, they spoke a language which, in its origin, was just as Germanic

as Old English. This language was called Old Norse.

Check the following table:

UNTIL 449 Celtish

450 TO 1100 A.D. Old English

1100 TO 1500 Middle English

1500 TO 1800 Early Modern English

1800 UNTIL TODAY Late Modern English

As we can see, the English language formation is full of invasions, battles,

wars. Actually, it has a very violent origin, for all of those invasions did not

happen without fights and battles. For this reason, the first works of English

Literature always mention heroes, battles, courage and bravery as their highest

values.

3 Worried: preocupado


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1.1.3 Celtic Britain

According to Britain Express (2010), the Celts had many particular characteristics.

Who were they? The Iron Age can be considered the age of the "Celts" inBritain. For over 500 years until the first Roman invasion, the Celtic culture spread

throughout the British Islands. To define who they were, we can say that it is a

modern and romantic reinterpretation

of history to say that there is something

called a "Celtic" people. Tribes of warriors4

who certainly wouldnt have considered

themselves as one unified people at the

time is a good definition of Celts.The "Celts", as we traditionally regard

them, exist mainly in the magnificence

of their art and the words of the Romans

who fought them. The trouble with the

reports made by the Romans is that

they were a mix of reports and political

propaganda. It was politically common

for the Celtic peoples5 to be considered

barbarians and the Romans a great

civilizing force. And history written by

the winners is always biased.

Where did they come from?over

the centuries between 500 - 100 B.C.

is the period that the people we call

Celts progressivelycame into Britain.

The Celts were very divided and given

to fighting each other, so the idea of a

Celtic invasion would have been out of

question. Possibly there has never been an organized Celtic invasion.

The Celts were a group of peoples weakly linked by cultural expression,

language and religion, which were very similar. They were the people who brought

iron working to the British Islands. Nevertheless, they did not have a central

government, and they liked to fight each other and also against any non-Celt as

well. They considered themselves great warriors, conquering the glories of battle.

4 Warriors: guerreiros

5 Peoples: povos

WIKIPEDIA.ORG


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The use of iron had awesome impacts. First, it changed trade and caused

local independence. During the Bronze Age trade was essential, because it was

not easy to find the necessary material to make bronze. Iron, on the other hand,

was relatively cheap and available almost everywhere.


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There are studies that have demonstrated that, in some scientific and economic aspects,

the Celts were much more precise than the Romans. Calendars in Pre-Roman Celtic

times were more accurate than the Roman ones. Possibly, they were more precise

than the calendar we use nowadays, the Gregorian calendar. Besides, compared to the

Roman world, the Celtic world was much more decentralized and several Celtic towns

had high stone walls (up to five kilometers long) similar to those of Rome.

The curious thing about the Celts is that we don't know whether the hill 6

forts were built by the Britons who inhabited the island to defend themselves

from the Celts, or the Celts built them, as they moved their way into more

dangerous territory. The hill forts were often small constructions on defensiblehilltops. Some are very small and probably had no practical use for more than

an individual family, though over time many larger forts were built. The time of

the "Celtic conversion" of Britain saw a huge growth in the number of hill forts

throughout the region.

The clan was the basic unit of Celtic life, a kind of extended family. The term

"family" is a bit weird for them, because the Celts practiced a peculiar form of

child breeding; they didn't really raise them instead, they farmed them out.

Foster parents, often the brother of the real mother, actually raised the children.

When the Celts weren't fighting, they were farmers. One of the amazing

innovation that they brought to Britain was the iron plough7. Earlier ploughs

were really weird, basically a stick with a pointed end harnessed behind two

oxen. They were adequate only for ploughing the light upland soils. The heavier

iron ploughs were an agricultural revolution all by themselves, once they made

it possible for the first time to cultivate the rich valley and lowland soils.

Concerning the role of women, the Celts owned the lands communally, and

wealth was mainly based on the size of the cattle herd8 a person could have.

The role of women was better than in most societies of that time. They had the

option of becoming war leaders and they were equal to men, they had their own

property, and could choose their own husbands.

6 Hill: colina, morro

7 Plough: arado8 Herd: rebanho


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A written Celtic language was developed after Christian times, so for much

of Celtic history they had just oral language to transmit their culture, specifically

with poets and storytellers. These were very relevant to the Celts, and much of

what we know of their history and traditions comes to us today because of oldtales and poems

1.1.4 Druids, War and Mythology

They were a sort of glue that kept Celtic culture together. The Druids had their

own universities, in which knowledge and their tradition was passed on. They

had the privilege of addressing the king in council, and may have had even more

authority than the king himself. They upheld the law and were ambassadors inwar times, besides composing verse. There has been a lot of nonsense written

about Druids, but they were very interesting; a sort of special priests, political

advisors, teachers and healers.

When it comes to their religion, their enemies in battle could have their

heads cut off and shown as trophies. This may look barbaric, but to the Celt

the head was considered the center of spiritual power. Therefore, in order to

get that power for themselves they got the head of an enemy. From what we

know of the Celts, they held many of their religious ceremonies in the forests

and near sacred water, such as springs. But, as we saw, one thing we do know:

the Celts valued human heads.

The biggest problem with the

Celts was that they simply loved war

and wanted to fight all the time,

even among themselves.The Celts

loved war, but each tribe fought

on their own, which meant that

this cost them the control of the

island. If a war wasn't taking place

at the moment, it was necessary to

start one. In addition, they enjoyed

dressing themselves as scary

as possible, sometimes dyeing

themselves in blue and going into

battle completely naked, screaming

loudly towards their enemies.

WIKIMEDIA.ORG


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With elaborate weaponry and clothes, they had huge pride in their

appearance in battle, with fancy helmets and bright shields for instance.

Once the Romans and Celts were enemies, Roman descriptions of Celtic

customs were often unfavorable. The Celts had an intense mythology andthey did not, however, record their myths in writing, once they had hundreds

of tales, passed on orally. Celtic mythology, according to our knowledge of the

villains, the gods and the heroes. Came from other sourcesespecially Roman.

Nevertheless, the Romans sometimes used Roman names to Celtic gods, so

their accounts were not always trustworthy.

WIKIMEDIA.ORG

One tale from Celtic mythology is The Tragedy of Deirdre.Forced to live with

Conchobar, the king, the sad Deirdre is unhappy and makes clear to the king that

she hates him. In the end of the story, Deirdre kills herself by hitting her head

against a rock. Deirdre's tragic tale inspired plays, poetry, etc.

Each tribe worshipped a certain god, who protected and took care of the tribe.

Some of them shared characteristics. Dagda, for example, is Irelands god of life

and death. The Celts worshiped a variety of gods who appeared in their tales. Most

were local deities and very powerful rather than gods with specific characteristics.


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There were a large number of relevant female deities among the Celts.Some

of them had more clear roles. These included the "Great Queen" Morrigan,

who appeared during battle as ravens. The horse goddess Epona, who was

associated with death, fertility and water.Another deity was Brigit, goddess ofmetalworking, learning and healing therefore a very important goddess.

The supernatural played an important role in Celtic mythology as well as

magic and magicians. A common theme was the magic cauldron. The cauldron

of plenty was never empty and supplied great amount of food. The cauldron

of rebirth brought slain warriors to life again. Merlin, in the Arthurian legends

actually was Myrddin, a magician in the Welsh tales.

Other important themes in the myths were voyages to mysterious and

dangerous lands and larger-than-life heroes. The heroes experienced all sortsof adventures and often had to perform impossible tasks before marrying their

loved ones. Love, romance, and mischief also figured prominently. The gods

played tricks on humans and on one another. Animals changed shape at will.

CONNECTION

Acesse o link http://www.misteriosantigos.com/celtas.htm para obter mais informaes

sobre os Celtas.

1.1.5 Invasion of Britain by the Romans

For what reason did the Romans decide, in 43 AD, to invade Britain? Their

empire already extended from the northern Rhineland to the Sahara, and from

the Channel coast until the Caucasus.

The important era of conquest had ended a few decades before. In the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, three legions had been destroyed by rebellious

Germanic tribesmen in 9 AD, and the emperor Augustus concluded that the

empire extended too much and stopped to call for new wars of conquest.

Britain was an afterthought. Military security was not a reason, once the

Channel was a very effective a frontier against invasions. Economics was not the

reason, once the rulers of Rome were already the wealthiest men in all times.

What would be better than a glorious victory in Britain to help Claudius secure

his throne?


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The invasion of Britain was a war of prestige. The 'mad' emperor Caligula

had been murdered in 41 AD, and an nebulous member of the imperial family,

Claudius, had been elevated to the throne. The new emperor faced opposition

from the Senate, Rome's House of Lords. Claudius needed a quick political fixto secure his throne. What better than a glorious military victory in Britain?

In a few centuries, the Roman army had transformed the country from a

small city-state into the biggest empire of its time. War was very profitable, once

tribute, booty and slaves made Roman conquests more than pay for themselves.

MEUN

IERD|DREAMSTIME.COM

Julius Caesar had invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC, focusing on conquest,

but before he had beaten British guerrilla resistance, there was revolt in Gaul

(todays France) and he was sent away

Britain had remained free and mysterious, dangerous, exotic. In the

popular Roman imagination, Britain was a place of wetland and forest, fog

and mizzle, inhabited by violent blue-painted warriors. Here was a fine testing-

ground of an emperor's fitness to rule.For the Claudian invasion, an army of

40,000 professional soldiers half citizen-legionaries, half auxiliaries recruited

on the wilder edge of the empire - were landed in Britain under the command

of Aulus Plautius.

The queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudicca, came close to beat the invaders,

but the presence of Claudius himself made the Romans storm into the enemy

capital at Camulodunum (present-day Colchester).

But resistance continued elsewhere. Pushing into the southwest of

Britain, the Romans fought a war of sieges to diminish the great Iron Age


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cliff forts of the western tribes. Driving through and beyond the Midlands,

they encountered stiffening opposition as they approached Wales, where the

fugitive Catuvellaunian prince, Caratacus, rallied the Welsh tribes on a new

anti-Roman front.The oppression of the Roman empires left deep marks on the peoples in the

Wales surrounding region. The diverse tribes joined forces to try to expel the

common enemy (namely Rome) and almost succeeded in doing so. The place

that is now called Moray, faced a Roman occupation in 84 AD. At that time,

northern Britain fell under Roman forces. This represented the settlement of

Rome in Britain status that was due to last for centuries ahead.

1.1.6 Rome in Need of a Capital in Britain

A small settlement that already existed was adjusted to become a centre of

trade and administration. The Romans named it Londinium, which is todays

London. But the first Roman capital in Britannia, that was a new province, was

at Colchester. The Thames River was a communication and transport highway

and it didn't take long until the Romans realize its strategic importance.

London became the heart at the center of a major network of roads built

basically to serve troop movement and administrative communication. Not

exactly by accident they also served the expansion of trade that rapidly made

London the most important town, and even the capital, of the new province of

Britannia.

Instead of trying to conquer with force, Romans defined "client kingdoms"

on the territory borders that they controlled directly. The Romans, therefore,

followed the formula in Britain, once it had been successful in other places.The

basic idea was that, in return for not being attacked, certain Celtic tribes agreed

to ally to Rome. While the process of mopping up resistance continued, treaties

with northern tribes and in East Anglia protected the frontiers.


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The stereotype that most people have regarding a Celtic warrior is a man wearing long

hair and beard. Actually, their hair was cut short, and they were also shaven. The Celts

did not wish to work together or have any kind of cooperation with Rome. Concerning

their military power, they were able to face the romans, but were defeated due to a

lack of interest of the different tribes in joining forces to face their fierce and common

enemy.

1.1.7 Roman Relations with the Druids

The Druids represented real political and administrative authority,not justa hierarchy in their religion. According to Roman standards, they could be

tolerant with peoples they conquered and their religions. Despite this, they

were genuinely horrified by what they considered the uncivilized practices of

the Celtic Druids. Eradicating the Druids became important to Rome.

The Romans saw themselves with the right and the duty to expand the

Empire and apply the Roman way of life as a benefit for the civilization they

conquered. The same attitude was employed centuries later exactly by what

later became the British Empire.

1.1.8 Modern Druidism

Like occurred during the New

Age movement, Druidism can adapt

to a huge range of spiritual beliefs.

So, those who are monotheists,

polytheists, animists, orpantheists

can adopt the philosophy of

Druidism, which also is a religion

that was used by the Druids. A

nature-based religion, Druidism has

many elements that are similar to

New Age, but with anancestry focus

and nature focus. It has no sacred

Scripture, neither official dogma, so

WIC|DREAMSTIME.COM


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it can take many forms. Polytheistic Druids believed in gods and goddesses, and

Monotheistic Druids believed in a god or goddess. Pantheistic and animistic

Druids did not accept a personal God, who would exist in all things.

Druidism depends on the individual and the way that he or she has chosena god, besides the practice of tolerance of many diverse philosophical and

spiritual traditions and it explains that one belief is not different from others.

To become a Druid one had to learn stories and stand intensive training for

years. There were the healers, the philosophers and teachers.

REFLECTION

Most artifacts that are classified as Celtic, like the weaponry, jewelry, the hill-forts and artwere not really related to ethnicity. They were more closely related to military, political and

religious characteristics. We have to take into consideration the ever-present cultural sharing

that typically occur when boundaries between diverse cultures are crossed. One important

fact that should be taken into consideration is that it were the monks in the middle Ages who

told us most of what is known about the mythology of the Celts. Their studies are based on

manuscripts that recount most of the myths, legends and other forms of culture and life of the

ancient Celts. As in other moments in history, sometimes certain facts are recorded in writing

centuries after the events actually took place.

ACTIVITIES

A literatura baseada no ingls antigo (Old English) no muito extensa, como puderam

observar ao longo desta unidade.

01. Como exerccio de reflexo, enumere algumas caractersticas dos textos escritos em

Old English.

EXPENDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Schtz, Ricardo. "Histria da Lngua Inglesa." English Made in Brazil . Online. 01 de outubro de 2013.


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REFERENCES

BLOOM, H. O Cnone Ocidental. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 1995

BRITAIN EXPRESS. Celtic Britain. Disponvel em: . Acesso em 07 fev. 2015.

BRITAIN EXPRESS. Roman Invasion. Disponvel em: . Acesso em: 07 fev. 2015.

CARM What is Druidism? Disponvel em: https://carm.org/druidism. Acesso em: 17 fev. 2015

Celtic Mithology. Disponvel em: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ca-Cr/Celtic-Mythology.

html#ixzz3SgZnEsyq


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Beowulf ea Literatura

Anglo-Saxonica

2


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O incio da literatura inglesa marcado pelo incio da lngua inglesa. A

Bretanha j possua povos nativos, os Celtas, e sofreu diversas invases e

influncias culturais ao longo dos sculos: romanos, vikings e outros povos

germnicos, gauleses, etc. Deste caldeiro de lnguas emergiu aquela quehoje chamamos de ingls antigo (Old English). A primeira obra escrita nesse

idioma foi Beowulf, um pico de autor desconhecido que retrata a figura do

heri Anglo-Saxo que auxilia um rei a salvar seu reino de um terrvel monstro.

Apesar de ser considerada a primeira obra escrita em ingls, os eventos no

se desenrolam na Bretanha e sim na Sucia. Neste captulo voc vai conhecer

melhor este grande heri da literatura inglesa e compreender as caractersticas

da literatura anglo-saxnica.

OBJECTIVES

Neste captulo voc ver que s anglo-saxes produziram excelente literatura, com temas

picos, religiosos e histricos. Sua poesia se caracterizou por complicadas e belas metforas

e jogos de palavras. Voc compreender a importncia da literatura anglo-saxonica e sua

influncia na literatura contempornea. Entender, tambm, os conceitos de tradio, glria

e honra com base no poema pico Bewoulf.


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2.1 Anglo-Saxon Literature

The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes invaded Celtic Britain in the first half of the fifth

century (the Old English or Anglo-Saxon period) up till the conquest in 1066 byWilliam of Normandy.

The Anglo-Saxons began to develop a specific type of written literature after

their Christian conversion in the 7thcentury, once before that timetheir literature

had been mainly oral. The development of literacy, learning and cultural life in

the Anglo-Saxon England was influenced by the Church and the Benedictine

foundations. Besides that, their Latin culture played an important role in many

Anglo-Saxon poems, since scribal effort had been spent on the new language of

culture: Latin. King Alfred was the main reason why this was possible, due to thefurther development of the programs in the late tenth century.

Even though very little of it survives, Anglo-Saxon England is considered

very rich in poetry. Nevertheless, the available part of Anglo-Saxon literature,

which means little more than 30,000 lines, no more than that, is present in just

four books, which were manuscripted. There is hardly no survival of purely pre-

Christian compositions. The little survival of poetry was thanks to the Church:

the result of the monastic revival in the last ten centuries.

What is known as Old English literature comes from the Anglo-Saxon period,

which was composed in the vernacular Anglo-Saxon. Pagan Elegies and Pagan

Epic Poetry, Latin Writings and Old English Prose, and Old English Christian

Poetry are included and considered early national poetry.

2.1.1 Pagan Epic Poetry - Beowulf: A Literary Work.

Beowulf is the main Anglo-Saxon epic poem and has mysterious origin. Nobody

knows who was the writer, when e where it was written or even the reason

why it was written. Beowulf is a poem in the form of a narrative of 3,182 lines,

written sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries and transmitted in a

manuscript.

Beowulf survived in only one version, in a manuscript copy that can be seen

at the British Museum. The dating of this copy of Beowulf manuscript is still

contradictory: some put it as early as 700 AD, while others think it was probably

made by scribes of about the year 1000 AD. King Alfred admired Beowulf in the

ninth century.


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The poem was printed in 1815 and is the longest Old English poem. Some

Beowulf translations contain a prologue and numbered sections; however, the

division of the text into numbered sections does not happen in other translations.

Beowulf literary creation is traditionally placed in the Northumbria, at the ageof Bede, who died in 735.

2.1.2 The Plot and Structure of the Poem.

The main part of the story is Beowulf's fights against two monsters:Grendel, a

male, and his mother, a dragon. Beowulf is the hero of the poem.In general, the

poem depicts two stories: the first is the youth of Beowulf and the second the

old age of Beowulf. Beowulf is the hero of the Geats. The poem also introducesmany incidental stories and digressions.

In the first part Beowulf is young and reaches glory in a foreign land

by fighting and exterminating

Grendel, a monster who has been

attacking Heorot, the hall of the

Danish King Hrothgar. Then the

hero kills Grendel's mother, who

comes the next night to vindicate

her son, in an underwater cave.

After ruling his country

remarkably well for fifty years,

Beowulf is an old man in the second

part of the story. A dragon shows up

and attacks his kingdom, just like

Grendel had done years before.

Beowulf has to fight the dragon and,

for this new challenge, requests the

manufacture of a fireproof shield.

In the end of the fight, Beowulf kills

the dragon with the help of Wiglaf, but falls mortally wounded. After his death,

the poem ends describing Beowulfs funeral.

WIKIPEDIA.ORG

The monster Grendel.


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The story of Beowulf represent the pagan heroic way of life. When he fights

Grendel, he makes a choice and gets himself in a situation that allows no

coming back. He has to live his heroic life until destiny claims for his life, and

this fate, As stated before, he cannot quit.

2.1.3 Features and Major Characters Analysis

Not only in its central character but also in its world and values, Beowulfis a

typical heroic poem. Warriors are sometimes celebrating and sometimes

fighting, and they are devoted to heroic acts and glory. However, the poem has

a variety of specific characteristics: Beowulf as an epic; Historical Elements;

Heroic Legend; Pagan and Christian Elements;Allegorical Elements; andNordic and Germanic Elements. Lets see now some features of the main

characters of the poem.

Hrothgar: Until Grendel terrorizes his kingdom, the king of the Danes,

Hrothgar, enjoys prosperity and military success. He is a paternal figure to

Beowulf and a model for the king that Beowulf is fated to become. Nevertheless,

the leadership shown by Hrothgar, a wise and older ruler,is different from that

shown by the young warrior Beowulf.

Beowulf: strong and fearless, is the prince of Geats, "the greatest of all

heroes". Once he makes a promise, he stands by his word, by whatever cost,

even at the cost of his own life. He wants to be there for the people who are in

great need to be saved from evil. He signifies the true heroic character because

he is willing to risk his life for his ideals. Beowulf defeats three abominable

monsters, two of which are descendants of Cain.

Grendel: He is a monster that is half-man and half-beast. He is the first

monster that Beowulf kills. Also he is enormous and has superhuman strength,

which makes him invincible by the warriors of Denmark. He lives in the

bottom of the lake not far from Heorot. Grendel is the descendant of Cain who

represents evil and corruption. He has been battling Heorot, where Denmark's

warriors live, for twelve years, causing suffering and misery.

Grendel's Mother: Virtually invincible by any human being. She is another

beast that Beowulf kills. As a vengeance for her son's death, she kills Aeschere.

She is defeated by Beowulf in a fight under water.


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Unferth: He is a courtier, envious of Beowulf, who feels inferior to Beowulf.

He does not believe Beowulf's power to defeat Grendel, claiming that it is luck

that has been helping Beowulf in his previous encounters. Upon learning of

Grendel's defeat, Unferth is impressed by Beowulf and presents him his swordas a sign of reconciliation.

Wiglaf: He is a warrior who aids Beowulf against the battle with the dragon. At

this point, Beowulf is an old aging king. He does not have the power anymore as

he once had when he fought Grendel and his mother. Wiglaf's relationship with

Beowulf is similar to that between Beowulf and the deceased King Hrothgar.

Below is a part of the poem Beowulf, written in Old English:

HWT, WE GAR-DEna in geardagum,

eodcyninga rym gefrunon,

hu a elingas ellen fremedon!

oft Scyld Scefing sceaena reatum,

monegum mgum meodosetla ofteah,

egsode eorlas, syanrest wear

feasceaft funden; he s frofre gebad,

weox under wolcnum weormyndum ah,

o t him ghwylc ymbsittendra

ofer hronrade hyran scolde,

gomban gyldan; t ws god cyning!

m eafera ws fter cenned

geong in geardum, one God sende

folce to frofre; fyrenearfe ongeat,

e hie r drugon aldorlease

lange hwile; him s Liffrea,

wuldres Wealdend woroldare forgeaf,

Beowulf ws breme --- bld wide sprang---

Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.

Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean,

fromum feohgiftumon fder bearme,


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This poem provides an interesting overview of the way people lived in those

days. It describes their life in the city, the awful creatures that they had to fight

and their travels in their ships. Those people had a hard life both on land and

sea. They did not like their lives, but they understood it well and did their bestto survive.

2.1.4 Old English

Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons, was used by the poet who

wrote Beowulf. He used poetic diction, often old-fashioned words, A large

number of specific compound words are commonly found in Old English verse,

but many of them were originally coined by the poet. As a word is repeatedlyheard in different contexts, old English vocabulary collects groups of meanings.

The most common strategy used in Beowulf is called variation, when a word

or expression is frequently repeated, not identically, but in each repetition a

new concept is created. Words like Providence, Wyrd, Reputation Fate, and

Glory, have a lot of associations, pagan and Christian alike. For example,

King Hrothgar is called by Beowulf, "Shepherd of the Danes", "guardian of the

people", "glorious hero", "son of Healfdene". This way, a new quality is added

to Hrothgar with each title..

In order to create a complex and poetic picture of a certain event they are

narrating, the Old English poets were able to apply a technique which allowed

them to compound together simple comments as an alternative technique.

2.1.5 Heroic and Historical Elements

The poet who wrote Beowulfdiscovered most of his material in Nordic-Germanic

folklore, heroic legends, historical traditions and biblical sources. Specific

comparisons exist between Beowulf and certain Scandinavian narratives. The

alliterative verse form that the author used is another indication of the Nordic-

Germanic tradition.

The heroic legends dealt with in Beowulf are sometimes mixed with

historical elements and folklore. Sometimes a historical figure is camouflaged

in legends which the author of Beowulf uses to set off a character, such as the

legend of Scyld himself, allegedly the founder of the Danish throne, a hero who

settled an example of a strong king. His name is associated with the legend of a

child coming in a boat with a sheaf of corn.


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A Lenda de Beowulf um filme de 2007 dirigido por Robert Zemeckis que retrata

o poema pico homnimo escrito originalmente em ingls antigo (ou ingls arcaico) e

considerado o primeiro da literatura Inglesa. Neste filme, foi utilizada uma tcnica de

captura de movimento, usada tambm no filme O Expresso Polar..

There are several things that are still unclear concerning the manuscripts

of Beowulf. For one thing, the style of the handwriting indicates that it might

have been written by two people instead of a sole writer. The people who wrote

the text probably are not the author and it is unknown how much of the text

was altered of embellished by the person (or persons) who wrote the poem.

Nevertheless, the manuscript had been owned in the 16th century by LawrenceNowell, a scholar.

In 1818, Grmur JnssonThorkelin, a scholar from Iceland, transcribed the

poem for the first time, but there are some questions concerning the accuracy

of this version. To further protect the pages, which were decaying fast, paper

frames were applied for each page of the manuscript in order to protect them

from damage, even though this procedure had an undesirable side-effect: it

covered the edges and, consequently, some letters.


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2.1.6 Pagan and Christian Elements

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Christian and biblical elements are evident in the poem. Some critics believe

that Beowulf was created by a pagan poet, and that the presence of the Christian

material is to be explained by subsequent removal of pagan, and interposition

of Christian passages. Others have argued that the Christian elements represent

the work of a poet with unclear and general knowledge of the faith. Most critics

believe that the original author of Beowulf was a Christian who was capable

of putting together both pagan and Christian elements in his text and that a

reviser or interpolator has nothing to do with the Christian elements.


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The primitive material of Beowulf derived from pagan folk-tale, chronicle

and legends appeared as a Christian poem, but this mutation is not a matter of

altered phrases, or Christian faiths interpolated references, but is an infusion

of Christian spirit in a deeply universal way,, showing up thought the actionsand governing motive and narrative. Nevertheless, there are certain pagan

elements which resist to changes, or that the influence of the Christian spirit

can only restrain partially.

We know that the ideas of fidelity and good nobility were also deeply

grounded in the early Germanic and pagan societies, so not all of these ideas

can be attributed to Christian ideals. Many ideas of rightliving, such as loyalty

and generosity, were derived from the idea of "comitatus", and the relationship

between lord and thane. When the the author of Beowulf speaks of praise,the word does not have the Christian connotation suggested by the concept

of "heavenly praise". he speaks about the praise of one's peers, praise which

the warrior must obtain in order to be remembered by future generations. The

concept of "hell" was known to the pagans, and the author of Beowulf makes

reference to "hell" as the destiny of Grendel.

Another important concept in Beowulf is "Fate. In the Anglo-Saxon world

Christianity and paganism existed simultaneously but in the Old English

vocabulary there were only pagan terms with which Anglo-Saxons would

incorporate Christian concepts. Aside from Beowulf, the only surviving works

of early national epic poetry are a fraction of Deor's Lament, The Finnesburg

Fragment, (50 lines), and two short pieces (63 lines together) of Waldere, The

Battle of Maldon and The Battle of Brunanburh.

CONNECTION

Access on the link below to get more information on Christian and Pagan elements.

http://oaks.nvg.org/ap3.html


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2.1.7 Old English Religious Poetry

Christian poetry seems to have grown in northern England along the 8thcentury,

though most of this poetry has survived only in the late tenth century, in the WestSaxon writings. Besides a lot of Christian poetry, monks produced several other

artistic pieces, from sculptures to masonry. Much of this poetry is about the

Old Testament: recounts of books and episodes. Much of this religious poetry

is anonymous, but the names of two poets are known: Caedmon (670 A.D.), the

first English poet known by name, and Cynewulf (late 8thor early 9thcentury).

"Caedmonian" is the name given to the era of Old English poetry, whose

focuses were on religious subjects. The traditional meter diction for Christian

religious poetry was first used by Caedmon, who became the creator of a schoolof Christian poetry. Cynewulf was the poet of the second phase of the Christian

poetry originally written in Old English and, therefore, most of the old religious

poems were originally written by him or Caedmon.Anglo-Saxon religious poetry

moves further with Cynewulf.

2.1.8 Old English Literature: some characteristics

Concerning the linguistic features, Old English texts have distinct graphic and

phonological characteristics, being completely different from contemporary

English. Concerning their literary aspects, the remaining fragments of Old

English literature are supposed to materialize graphically centuries of the past

oral literature tradition. That is the reason why most of the fragments have

unknown or anonymous authors. This is the case of the epic poem Beowulf,

considered the first English literary text.

One curiosity about Old English poetry: the descriptions of sad events or

cruel situations are more common and in better writing than the situations of

happiness.

Besides texts which exalt the honor and value of the warrior, there are

also other texts which narrate the adventures of the seamen. These narratives

compound the Exeter Book. Two of them are famous and were translated into

Modern English: The Seafarer and The Wanderer.

In addition, there is one more influence on the formation of English language

and Literature: The presence of Latin language, brought by the Romans and,

after them, by the religious missions who went to Britain to Christianize the


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pagan Anglo-Saxons. From this influence came the Miracle and Morality plays,

as well as versions of parts of the bible into Anglo Saxon language.

Therefore, we can say that there were three great thematic centers in the

literature of the Angle-Saxon or Old English period: war, battles and heroism;travels and travelers and some religious themes. This scenery, however, is not

static, and it changes radically after the Norman Conquest, in 1006, as we shall

see later on in this course.

REFLECTION

In this unit we studied the evolution of English Language and Literature from its very

beginning. The focus here was The Old English Poetry, like Beowulf. You can have a deepercomprehension of the topics and works mentioned in this unit reading some texts, watching

movies and visiting some websites.Enjoy and learn!

ACTIVITIES

Com base no que voc aprendeu sobre o poema pico Beowulf, responda a pergunta abaixo:

01. Como o poema Beowulf est estruturado? Como a estrutura est relacionada como o

tema ou temas desenvolvidos no poema?

EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Para uma melhor compreenso sobre Beowulf, leia a obra abaixo:

ALLARD, JOE (Editor),; NORTH, RICHARD (Editor). Beowulf and Other Stories: A New

Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures

REFERENCES

BLOOM, H. O Cnone Ocidental.Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 1995

BRITAIN EXPRESS. Celtic Britain. Disponvel em: . Acesso em 07 fev. 2015.


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BRITAIN EXPRESS. Roman Invasion. Disponvel em: . Acesso em: 07 fev. 2015.

BURGESS, A. English Literature.Essex: Longman, 1989.

CEVASCO, M.E. & LELIS, V.Rumos da Literatura Inglesa.

So Paulo: Ed. tica. Srie Princpios, 1990.OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE- disponvel em:

. Acesso em: 15 fev 2015.

SANDERS,A. The Short Oxford History of English Literature.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.


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Literatura Inglesa

Medieval

3


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Pudemos observar que durante o processo de formao da lngua inglesa a

regio esteve permeada de guerras, batalhas, heris e conquistas. Os Anglo-

saxes desenvolveram uma tradio de escrita vernacular em ingls que

influenciaria a Europa medieval como um todo. Neste captulo, o foco nesseprocesso de assimilao, sua influncia na idade mdia inglesa e todas as

transformaes que ocorreram em razo disso.

OBJECTIVES

Neste captulo sero abordados fatos histricos que vo esclarecer o contexto em que

Geoffrey Chaucer viveu e criou sua obra Canterbury Tales, uma das pedras fundamentais

da literatura do Ocidente, uma coleo fenomenal de histrias de cavalaria e alegorias morais.Essas histrias ajudaram - assim como Dante e Cervantes fizeram em suas respectivas

culturas literrias - a sedimentar a literatura de todo um pas.


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3.1 Middle Ages: society, culture, language

Middle Ages in England begins in 1066, after the Norman invasion and conquest

of the Island. From that moment on, the Normans took over the political powerand ruled over England until 1399. As it is widely known, during the Middle Ages

the Catholic Church was the most powerful institution in Europe, helping to

promote, to keep or to destitute kings and their regimes. Historically speaking,

England never had strong political relationships with Rome, except for the time

of Norman domain over the British Islands. This domain brought great changes

in the social and political structures of the Englishnation, which were reflected

in the literary works of that time.

One of the main changes that could be noticed was the imposition of theNorman language (French) to the English court and all its documents, official

papers and everything related to it. This fact influenced heavily the flexible

and open structures of the English language, which was still in a process of

formation and evolution. Many words and expressions were incorporated to

English, despite of1its Germanic roots2presence in the vocabulary, phonology

and syntax. The Norman influences collaborated to the consolidation of the

English Language, which becomes different, more likely to the English spoken

today. Latin was mostly used for written language, especially that of the Church.

Meanwhile, The English language, as the language of the now lower class, was

considered a vulgar tongue.

Some particular characteristics of the Middle English can be observed

by reading its medieval texts. Some of its grammatical elements, such as

inflections for verbs and pronouns, were present in the Modern English, spoken

in the 17th century. The contact with the Norman culture offered new literary

characteristics to English writers, brought from Italy and France, with its Greek

mythological figures and themes that were not known or not explored by the

Germanic and Nordic cultures.

1 Despite of: apesar de2 Roots: razes


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3.1.1 Life in the Middle Ages

In order to guarantee safety and defense, people in the Middle Ages formed

small communities around a central lord or master. Most people lived on amanor3, which consisted of the castle, the church, the village, and the enclosing

farmland. These manors were isolated, with occasional visits from vendors,

pilgrims4on their way to the Crusades, or soldiers from other regions.

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In this "feudal" system, the king donated land grants or "fiefs" to his most

important aristocrats, barons, and bishops, in payment for their contribution

of soldiers for the king's armies. At the lowest levels of society were the peasants

or laborers. In exchange for living and working on his land, known as the

"demesne," the lord offered his peasants protection.

Nobles shared their land among the lesser aristocracy, who became their

servants or "vassals." Many of these vassals became so powerful that the kings

had a hard work controlling them. By 1100, certain barons had castles and

courts that were compared to the king's; they could be serious threats if they

were not pleased in their dealings with the crown.

3 Manor: vila4 Pilgrims: peregrinos


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Although peasants worked the land and produced the goods necessary to

the nobleman and his castle, the vassals had to pay all the heavy taxes imposed

by the nobles and they were required to give to the castle much of what they

harvested. Actually, the peasants belonged to the lords, who were associatedwith the church and acted as judges in applying the medieval laws.

It should be no surprise that women, whether they were aristocrats or

laborers, held a difficult position in society. They were largely circumscribed

to household tasks such as cooking, baking bread, tailoring, weaving, and

spinning. However, they also hunted for food and fought in battles, learning

how to use weapons to defend their homes and castles. Some medieval

women held other occupations. There were women farriers, merchants, and

druggists. Others were midwives, worked in the fields, or were engaged increative enterprises such as writing, playing musical instruments, dancing, and

painting.

3.1.2 Middle English

In about 1200 AD, English had changed a lot, because it was mostly being

spoken instead of written for about 300 years. The use of Old English came back,

but with many French words added. This language was called Middle English.

Most of the words inserted in the English vocabulary are words of power, such

as crown, castle, court, parliament, army, mansion, beauty, poet, romance,

duke, servant, peasant, traitor and governor. In this sense, Middle English is

the vernacular language spoken and written in England between 1100 and 1500

AD, the descendant of Old English and the ancestor of Modern English. It can

be divided into three periods: Early, Central, and Late. Early Middle English-

from about 1100 to about 1250- during which the Old English system of writing

was still in use. The Central period happened from about 1250 to about 1400,

and it was characterizedby the gradual development of literary dialects, and

the use of an orthography greatly influenced by the Anglo-Norman writing

system. It was also marked by the borrowing5 of many Anglo-Norman words

and the increment of the London dialect, used by such poets as John Gower and

Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century flourishing of English literature. The Late

Period marks the transition to Modern English.

5 Borrowing: emprstimo


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The main form of secular literature in later medieval England is the Middle English

romance. There is an estimate that eighty (or even more) metrical and alliterative verse

romances were composed between1225 and1500. The Middle English romances

give us a very instigating view about the medieval settings and provoke a new thoughtabout cultural aspects of medieval life and its concerns. It is important to highlight that

the English Middle Ages produced the precursor of the modern novel and strongly

influenced the contemporary popular fiction.

3.2 Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales

The English which was used from about 1100 to about 1500 is called Middle

English, and the most important poet of the time was Geoffrey Chaucer. He

is usually called the father of English poetry, even though, as we have already

seen, there were many other English poets before him. As we should expect, the

language had changed a lot in the 700 years since Beowulf and it is much easier

to read Chaucer in Middle English than anything written in Old English.

Chaucer (1343-1400) was responsible for a great shift6in English Literature.

His Canterbury Tales are not only registers of substantial linguistic changes,

but also a radically different way to perceive and describe, in a sensible and

more realistic way, his society and all its details. He describes all kinds of people,

professions, social classes, individual motivations and emotions, beliefs and

relationships. These themes were never used in the previous literary period.

His masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, written in 1386, approximately, can

be considered a huge mosaic of the Medieval English World.

3.2.1 The Canterbury Tales

A popular literary convention of the 14th century is the collection of tales.

Among these tales Boccaccio's Decameron is the best-known example before

Chaucer's time, but many scholars consider Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales

superior to his precursors. He produces this effect both in the dimension and

intensity of the stories in his collection, from the courtly tone of 'The Knight's

Tale' to the harsh and often profane humor of other tales.

6 Shift: mudana, alterao de rota


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He does so also in the detail and humor of the structure holding the stories

together. His account of the pilgrims as they ride from London to Canterbury,

with their constant quarreling and rivalry, amounts to a comic masterpiece in

its own right.In this compilation of tales, the characters are thirty pilgrims who are going

to Canterbury, to visit Thomas Becket temple, killed inside his own cathedral

in 1170. Because of it, he is considered a martyr and a saint who can produce

miracles. After they go out from Southwark they make a deal: each one of them

has to tell two tales in the pathway to Canterbury and two other tales in their

way back Southwark. The person who tells the best tale will get a prize: a free

dinner in the Tabbard Inn. In each tale, social, moral and religious subjects are

presented and show details of those peoples lives, with7

humor and wit.Of this ambitious total of 120 stories, Chaucer completed only 24 by the

time of his death. Even so the collection amounts to some 17,000 lines - mainly

of rhyming verse, but with some passages of prose.

The pilgrims represent all areas of society from upper class to humble

craftsmen (the only absentees are the laboring poor, unable to afford a

pilgrimage of this kind). There are respectable people from the various classes

- such as the knight, the parson and the yeoman - but the emphasis falls mainly

on characters who are pretentious, mendacious, avaricious or lecherous8.

In Chaucer's Prologue of Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims are strongly

characterized, one by one. The pilgrims for the most part tell tales closely linked

to their station in life or to their personality. Sometimes the anecdotes even

reflect mutual antagonisms. The miller gives a scrupulously comic account of a

carpenter being cuckolded. Everyone laughs heartily except the attendant, who

began his career as a carpenter. The reeve gets his own back with an equally

outrageous tale of the seduction of a miller's wife and daughter.

Concerning its literary aspects, this work has stylistic marks which refer

to Italian and French writers. Nevertheless, the aspect that deserves greater

examination is the way the characters are built and presented. Chaucers

characters differ from the ballads, poems and plays that preceded them because

they are not allegorical figures, legends or myths. They are very similar to real

people, with deep psychological characteristics and individual particularities

such as mood, desires, qualities and faults, like every common person.

7 Wit: sagacidade8 Lecherous: devassos


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The majority of the tales of this work put together many elements of that

times culture and society, like humor, legends, jokes, morals, religion,

economy, relationships, all blended with poetic techniques such as alliteration,

rhyme, quotations from other literary works and the bible. Most of the tales hasa prologue in verse, followed by the narrative.

Read below the prologue of Canterbury Tales

When April's gentle rains have pierced the drought

Of March right to the root, and bathed each sprout

Through every vein with liquid of such power

It brings forth the engendering of the flower;

When Zephyrus too with his sweet breath has blown

Through every field and forest, urging on

The tender shoots, and there's a youthful sun,

His second half course through the Ram now run,

And little birds are making melody

And sleep all night, eyes open as can be

(So Nature pricks them in each little heart),

On pilgrimage then folks desire to start.

The palmers long to travel foreign strands

To distant shrines renowned in sundry lands;

And specially, from every shire's end

In England, folks to Canterbury wend:

To seek the blissful martyr is their will,

The one who gave such help when they were ill.

Now in that season it befell one day

In Southwark at the Tabard where I lay,As I was all prepared for setting out

To Canterbury with a heart devout,

That there had come into that hostelry

At night some twenty-nine, a company

Of sundry folk whom chance had brought to fall

In fellowship, for pilgrims were they all


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CONNECTION

Acesse o link http://www.historiadomundo.com.br/inglesa/lingua-inglesa.htm

para conhecer mais sobre o Ingls Mdio e as outras fases do ingls.

3.2.2 Chivalric Code

All the knights were expected, above all, to fight with bravery and to demonstrate

military professionalism and courtesy. When knights were taken as prisoners

of war, they were customarily held for ransom in somewhat comfortableneighborhoods. This same standard of conduct did not apply to non-knights

(archers, peasants, foot-soldiers, etc.) who were often mutilated after capture,

and who were viewed during battle as mere barrier to knights' getting to other

knights to fight them.

Chivalry developed as an early pattern of professional ethics for knights, who

were relatively prosperous horse owners and were expected to provide military

services in exchange for property. Early notions of chivalry entailed loyalty to

one's lord and courage in battle, similar to the values of the Heroic Era. During

the Middle Ages, this grew from simple military professionalism into a social

code including the values of gentility, nobility and treating others judiciously.

In The Song of Roland( 1100), Roland is described as the ideal knight, showing

resolute loyalty, military expertise and social affability. In Wolfram von

Eschenbach's Parzival(c. 1205), chivalry had become a mix of religious duties,

love and military service. Ramon Llull's Book of the Order of Chivalry (1275)

shows that by the end of the 13th century, chivalry entailed a recitation of very

specific duties, including riding warhorses, attending games, holding Round

Tables and hunting, as well as endeavoring to the more aethereal virtues of

"faith, moderation, charity, justice, hope, strength, and loyalty.

Knights of the late medieval era were expected by society to keep all these

skills and many more, as highlighted in The Book of the Courtier, a work of

Baldassare Castiglione. According to the protagonist, Count Ludovico, the

first and true profession of the ideal courtier "must be that of arms." Chivalry,

derived from the French word chevalier ('cavalier'), at the same time showed

skilled horsemanship and military service, and these remained the primary

occupations of knighthood throughout the Middle Ages.


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Sacred goals were what Christian armies started to devote themselves

to. With the time, the Church required that knights protect the weak and

defenseless with their weapons and any other means they had available.

Women, orphans, and churches were the top priority in terms of protection.During the period of the Crusades, then, there was a mutual influence between

the Church and Chivalry. As a consequence, the first Crusades clarifiedthe

procedures and moral code of the knights.

With the progress of Renaissance humanism and moral relativism, the

knightand chivalry along with himlost much of his importance to society,

and the ideal of chivalric romance was fundamentally rejected in Niccol

Machiavelli's Il Principe (1532) and more directly disdain in Miguel de

Cervantes's Don Quixote(16051615). The medieval literary genre of chivalricromance had been the apogee of idealism and romanticism in literature,

but in the 16th century Machiavelli instructed aspiring political rulers to be

ferociously pragmatic and to apply the principle that the ends justify the means,

directly counter to the high-flown idealism of late medieval chivalry. Later, the

grandiloquent values of chivalric romance were heavily satirized in Cervantes's

Don Quixote, which portrayed the charmingly idealistic protagonist as a lovable

but hopelessly delusional imbecile.

3.3 Chaucer's Knight

Truth, honor, "freedom and courtesy is what archetypal medieval knight

should have. There's no irony here. The Knight is ever honored for his courage.

He's truly been through the wars; his tunic is still discolored by his chain-mail

armor because he's going on his pilgrimage direct from his latest Crusade.

Chaucer uses all the traditional descriptions because the Knight represents

what every knight should be, but usually isn't.

We usually hear about the Knight's fatal fights than about how he looked

like, because his actions are more important to his public (who, like us, are

excited by news of foreign wars and travel) than his appearance and also to his

own code of knightly behavior. Pay attention in those aspects during Chaucer's

Knight Tale, which deals with two other worthy knights whose behavior dictates

who will win or lose the lady they both love.


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3.3.1 Chaucer's Knight's Tale

Duke Theseus of Athens wins the country of the Amazons and marries Queen

Hippolyta, taking her and her beautiful sister Emelye back to Athens. To hisperplexity, he sees sad women, but not because of his return. These women

have lost their husbands during the siege of Thebes, and Thebes' cruel tyrant

Creon refuses to allow the burial of the bodies. Theseus promises vengeance

and goes to Thebes, where he beats Creon and comes back bringing back the

remains of those women's husbands.

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In a mass of bodies, pillagers find the young royal Theban knights Palamon

and Arcite, who are cousins. They are still alive. Theseus sends them to Athens

to be imprisoned for life, and returns home.

One morning, locked in a tower Palamon looks at Emelye walking in thegarden, and falls immediately and crazily in love with her. As he explains his

love to Arcite, his cousin also spies Emelye and he is also imprisoned by her

beauty. Instantaneously the cousins, who have been as close as brothers since

birth, become enemies over the love of Emelye.

Perotheus, a duke who also knows Arcite comes to Athens to see Duke

Theseus. When Perotheus knows the knight is Theseus' prisoner, he asks

for Arcite's release. Theseus agrees but decides that Arcite never appears

in any Theseus' lands, under risk of death. So Arcite comes back to Thebes,heartbroken because he can never again see Emelye. At least Palamon, closed

in the tower, can look at her, he sighs. Meanwhile Palamon moans that he is

miserable, but lucky Arcite can gather an army in Thebes and return to conquer

Athens to win the lady.

Arcite can't handle with this situation and decides to come back to Athens

to see Emelye once more. He is unrecognizable because of his pallor and

thinness from lovesickness so he is able to become a page at Theseus' court,

still venerating Emelye. One morning Arcite is walking in a grove, claiming that

it is not far that he can't even reveal his real identity. What he doesn't know

is that Palamon has escaped from prison and is overhearing every word from

behind a bush. He goes out and vows to kill Arcite for loving Emelye.

The two agree to meet the next day and fight to death, but when they do, Theseus,

Queen Hippolyta, and Emelye arrive and see the fight. So Palamon tells Theseus

that he and Arcite love Emelye and admits they did not obey him and because of it

they deserve to die. Theseus does not want this end and decides that a tourney will

be better. Who wins this tournament, which consists in a battle where each knight

may enlist other knights and the winner shall have Emelye as a prize.

Palamon prays to Venus, goddess and planet of love. Arcite prays to Mars,

god of war. In the heavens, Saturn promises Venus that her favorite, Palamon,

shall win. Palamon is arrested, and Arcite wins the tournament.But as Arcite

comes in order to accept Emelye, the ground is shaken by Saturn. Because of

that, Arcite is killed when his horse falls. Years pass, and when mourning for

Arcite is over, Theseus states that life must continue and orders the marriage of

Palamon and Emelye, once Palamon hadto stand so long for her love. With this

happy event, the tale ends.


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A literatura medieval nos fornece inmeros exemplos de duas vises opostas: a

literatura de cavalaria, que nos mostra o cavaleiro errante com qualidades mpares e

extremamente idealizado; e a literatura dos peregrinos, uma alegoria dos peregrinos

representando o povo. Nenhuma dessas duas imagens realmente se ajusta literaturade Chaucer. Nos contos de cavalaria de Chaucer ele combina elementos literrios

aparentemente inconciliveis, inclusive as duas abordagens acima, mas insiste no

merecimento dos cavaleiros.

3.3.2 Characters Analysis

Theseus: We can see Theseus, the wise duke, as firm but fair, as the strong

conqueror, but also as the figure who, like God, dispenses justice along with

mercy. Because of that, some researchers have seen Theseus as the major

character in the Knight's Tale. He personifies the ideal of equitable and feasible

leadership. That is why he rules Athens, the venerable center of learning and

reason. He conquers the Amazon nation because it is clear that a man should

be the higher power over women. (This is according to the values of knighthood,

not exactly Chaucer's own view. Chaucer mocks at some of the aristocrat

conventions even though he greatly admires the Narrator-Knight's behavior.)

In the whole tale Theseus represents order, making a spectacle of

tournaments and ceremoniessuch as the hunting of the hart--that are played by

well established rules.

Arcite: He does believe that Theseus is not really his "mortal enemy," nor is

his cousin Palamon. But Arcite is the dearest of Mars, the god of war, so he does

not listen to reason. On the contrary, he follows his own willingness, which first

leads him to go against his cousin, then against his own good luck. He had his

life saved in two different moments but cursed his luck because he is set free

instead being put to death. We are meant to see Arcite as a man crazy in his

willfulness. He is blind to his good luck: he even complains about men who

deplore fortune's twists, but it is exactly what he's doing.

Because of Mars he wins the tournment, but he does not realize that fortune

is changeable. Only at his death he begins to see reason and ends the hate he's

been holding for so long against Palamon.


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Palamon: Whether Palamon got

the lady Emelye because he's the

best and more courageous knight

is a good question. He certainlyis valiant in the tourney --it takes

twenty men to arrest him--and he

tells the real facts to Theseus about

the real identity of Arcite and their

shared love for Emelye. But he

suffers in jail, believing that "man is

committed" to "God's observance."

Readers have different viewsabout this battle: some think that

both men are ideal knights from a

romance, others think that indeed

neither one of them is worthy of

the lady. Some might think that

both are equally worthy, since each has his faults and blind spots yet sincerely

upholds what he thinks is right.

Emelye: Emelye is the object of affection of the two cousins. Is it possible to

see her like that? For it's hard to see her as much more than an object. Part of

the humor of the Knight's Tale comes from the fact that these two knights are

languishing over beautiful Emelye for years, while she doesn't even know they

exist. They are ready to kill each other because of her, yet we discover that she

would rather stay a virgin than marry either one of them.

The readers may not be so sure how to view her because we can see her only

through with the eyes of the two knights, who see her in different views. A clue

may be in the way she accepts the dictates of Diana, the goddess of chastity, that

she must marry; and so she casts a friendly eye on Arcite when he wins her hand.

REFLECTION

In this unit we studied the evolution of English Language and Literature from its very beginning

until the Middle Ages, time during which English began to achieve a relative linguistic stability.

Geoffrey Chaucer was the most important poet of this time. His works reflect realistically the

language and the society of his contemporaries.

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You can have a deeper comprehension of the topics and works mentioned in this chapter

reading some texts, watching movies and visiting some websites. It is really important and

enjoyable to read, at least, some of the Canterbury Tales. P. Vizziolis translation is an excellent

one, if you prefer to read it in Portuguese.

ACTIVITIES

Como maior autor desse primeiro perodo da Idade Mdia, vamos refletir sobre algumas

questes sobre a obra Canterbury Tales, de Chaucer. Retorne aos textos dados nessa

unidade e responda a pergunta abaixo:

01. De qual pas (ou paises) Chaucer obteve inspirao e ideias para escrever The Canter-

bury Tales?

EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Para uma melhor compreenso sobre Chaucer e Os Contos da Canturia, leia a obra abaixo:

CHAUCER, G. Os Contos de Canturia (trad. De Paulo Vizzioli).So Paulo: T.A.QueirosEditor, 1990.

REFERENCES

BURGESS, A. English Literature.Essex: Longman, 1989.

CEVASCO, M.E. & LELIS, V. Rumos da Literatura Inglesa. So Paulo: Ed. tica. Srie Princpios, 1990.

SANDERS,A. The Short Oxford History of English Literature.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.

UNIVERSITY OF YORK. English and related literature. Disponvel em:

. Acesso em: 15 fev. 2015.

WARD, A.C. Histria da Literatura Inglesa.Lisboa: Editorial Estdios Limitada, 1959.


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Rei Arthur

Histria e Lenda.

4


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Se o Rei Arthur uma lenda ou um fato histrico so questes que povoam a

literatura h sculos. O que se sabe que que ele foi um heri no tempo em que foi

criado. Vrias so as teorias e vrios so os contos escritos por diversos autores,

em diferentes pocas, sobre esse personagem nobre, heroico e corajoso. Nestecaptulo, daremos uma viso geral sobre esse personagem lendrio, bem como

dos autores medievais que se encantaram com esse personagem, que hipnotiza

os leitores ao redor do mundo at hoje!

OBJECTIVES

Compreender a simbologia do lendrio Rei Arthur, bem como as fontes histricas que trazem

registros sobre ele so fatores importantes para que possamos entender como as influnciasculturais, religiosas e histricas exercem um papel preponderante na literatura medieval, com

foco no Rei Arthur de Mallory. Essas e outras questes sero tratadas ao longo desse livro

e esperamos que voc possa formar sua opinio sobre o assunto. Lenda ou Histria?


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4.1 King Arthur- Historical aspects

The big question is: Was Arthur a true, historical character or only a hero offiction? We have to decide for ourselves. Arthur represents a man who was

the essence of good against evil, light against darkness, and that eternal,

neverending fight between what is right or wrong.

A very important characteristic of Arthur's life is his skills as a general and

knight but the character of King Arthur is most known as a leader, a fair ruler,

despite his rigid judgment of Guinevere and Lancelot.

There are two theories about the name Arthur. One of them says that it may

be a form of Artorius, a Roman name. The other, corroborated by J. D. Bruce,says that probably it is the Celtic the name Artos Viros, which means bear man.

Arthur is showed as a military leader in the early Latin chronicles and as a king

and emperor in later romance.

King Arthur defeated the barbarians in a dozen battles. Later, he got power

and eventually went to battle with the Romans. He came back home thinking

that his nephew Mordred had enhanced the pattern of rebellion and taken

Guinevere, the Queen. The old stories tell that after the death of King Uther

there was no king ruling1all of England. Tradition relates that Merlin had put a

sword in a stone, saying that whoever took it out would be king. Merlin crowned

Arthur the King of Britain after Arthur took the sword from the stone. This led

to a rebellion which Arthur was the winner. Then he received the round table as

a dowry from Guineveres father after he married her.

The episode in which a Knight throws Excalibur into the lake happened

after Arthur fought his last battle against his nephew, Mordred, who was killed

by Arthur, but during the fight he was also mortally injured. The correct date of

Arthur's death is uncertain. Geoffrey of Monmouth gives it as AD 542. Malory

establish his life in the fifth century. Geoffrey Ashe uses the argument that

Arthur is to be identified with the historical Celtic king Riothamus, at least in

some aspects.

1 Ruling (to rule):


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4.1.1 The Enthroned Arthur

The noble Arthur, from Lancelot du Lac (French, early fourteenth century)

raged

2

since the Renaissance when Arthur's history was passionately defended,partly because the Tudor monarchs traced their lineage to Arthur and used that

connection as a justification for their reign. In general, modern schooling has

generally supposed that there was some true person at the center of the legends,

not exactly a king with a bunch of knights in brilliant armor.

Historically speaking, maybe we can find a historical basis to the character;

it is clear that he would have achieved great popularity as a warrior battling the

Germanic invaders of the late fifth and early sixth centuries. But the debate

will continue because there is no conclusive evidence for or against Arthur'shistoricity.However, one thing cannot be denied: the influence of the character

of Arthur on music, art, and literature from the Middle Ages until our present

time. Although there have been various historical novels that try to allocate

Arthur in a century different from his, it is the legendary character of the Middle

Ages.

It is such a strong figure, the creator of an order of the best knights in the

wor

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