Lecture_2_The_Anglo-Norman___Period

1、 Lecture 2 The Anglo-Norman PeriodSir Gawain and the Green Knight I. Introduction In comparison with Old English literature, Medieval English literature: deals with a wider range of subjects. uttered by more voices. presented in a greater diversity of styles, tones and genres. lacks originality beca

2、use of the Christian teaching1. Medieval Romance 1). Motifs: of the quest, the test, the meeting with the evil giant, and the encounter with the beautiful beloved.2). The Romance Cyclesa. matters of Britain“ (adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table) b. the matters of France(Empe

3、ror Charlemagne and his peers)c. the matters of Rome(Alexander the Great and so forth)3). The Class Nature of the Romance: had nothing to do with the common people Romances were composed for the noble, of the Nobel, and in most cases by the poets patronized by the noble. loyalty: as loyalty was the

4、corner-stone of feudal morality, without which the whole structure of feudalism would collapse 4). Element of Romance a. Set in a remote place and time b. Incorporates the marvelous and miracles c. Hero is superior to other men and his environment d. May involve “Testing Plot5). Artistic features of

5、 Romance a. standardized characterization: Heroes, heroines and wicked stewards can be easily moved from one romance to another. b loose and episodic structure c. simple and straightforward language 5). Representative writers and their works a. Geoffrey of Monmouth: The History of the Kings of Brita

6、in b. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight c. William Langlang: Piers the Plowman d. John Gower: Mirror of Thought Voice of Complaint The Lovers Complaint II. Selected Reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight1. About the overall textArthurian tale of chivalry and courtly loveInner moral testing rather tha

7、n physical teststhree narrative motifsBeheading gametemptationExchange of giftsPowerful imagery of Gawains clothes/dressing2. The Green KnightHe challenges King Arthurs knights to a New Years game.The Green Knight wants to exchange “one blow for another.The stranger will stand for the first blow if

8、the other knight will agree to have his turn in a year and a day.3. Sir Gawain Sir Gawain accepts the Green Knights challenge.He honors his word and searches for the knights Green Chapel.Gawain finds a lord and his lady on his quest who offer him shelter on Christmas day.The lord has the lady tempt

9、Sir Gawain three times on the rules of courtly love.Gawain resists-all but one advance.The Green Knight reveals himself to be the lord and spares Gawain for his honesty.4. Testing PlotTester is unrealistic and remoteTest is extremeHero follows the higher of conflicting virtuesTester relents and allo

10、ws hero to fulfill lower virtue5. Main CharactersArthur: King of CamelotSir Gawain: Representative, not electGreen Knight: Ambiguous natureGreen body-supernaturalGreen and gold equipment-courtly youthHolly bob-life and peaceAxe-war6. The GameGoverned by rulesTests important knightly virtuesInvolves

11、seemingly inevitable death7. Code of ChivalryPosses faith in GodLoyal to people, principles, and promisesWithout deceitUpright and Virtuous8. The Five VirtuesGenerosityCompanionablenessCourtesyPure mindCompassion9. ConfessionShame and mortification (遺恨 )Statement of Sin: Gawain admits cowardice, cov

12、etousness, and untruthRequest for penance (懺悔, 悔過 )10. CondemnationGawain did sinSin was from love of life, not maliceProblem of shifting blame to women11. Major Themes1). Nature vs. Human Society This is the central conflict which Gawain must deal with in his quest. He is forced to confront the for

13、ces of Nature both external and internal - in the form of the Green Knight, the winter landscape, his own sexual desire, and ultimately, his own fear of death. Throughout, Gawain counters this with his own faith in God and in chivalric values. But in the end his natural fear of death overcomes his s

14、ense of human morality, causing him to accept the green girdle. And when Gawain returns to human society at the end of the poem, it is with a sense of unease, having realized the power of Nature in comparison to his human beliefs. Throughout the poem, we see natural settings and impulses constantly

15、opposed to those of human society and civility. And while humans shy away from their inevitable death, it is Nature which can continue to restore and regenerate itself, as seen in the indestructible Green Knight and the passing and resurrection of the year. 2). The viability (可行性) of chivalric value

16、s Perhaps the most significant of the human constructions is chivalric code which forms such an essential part of medieval literature and of Gawains belief system. Gawain is the very embodiment of chivalric values, yet his encounter with the seductive Lady Bertilak forms a crisis in the chivalric va

17、lue system: should he honor the requests of the noble lady or remain faithful to his lord? Upon his return to Camelot, King Arthur does not even detect the moral crisis within Gawain. And most unexpectedly, the “test of Gawains chivalric values has been in fact a game engineered by Morgan le Fay for

18、 a less-than-noble purpose. Disillusioned, the once-idealistic Gawain finds that the code of chivalry, which once formed his moral core, has now been shaken. 3). Faith in GodIn contrast to the questionable nature of the chivalric code, the poet upholds Christian faith as the ultimate, saving grace f

19、or humanity. Ever pious, Gawain continuously finds guidance in God: from the image of the Virgin Mary on the inside of his shield to his prayers while journeying alone, to his narrow escape from the adulterous temptations of Lady Bertilak. It is, in a sense, faith in God which enables mankind to neg

20、otiate between the dangers of human society and the dangers of the natural world. To affirm this, the poem concludes with a supplication to Jesus Christ, the Savior. 4). Celtic Pagan Sources and Christian overlayDespite its Christian message, the poem has strong roots in Celtic pagan myth. There are

21、 many elements common to pre-Christian Celtic mythology, such as the waiting period of twelve months and a day, the Beheading Game, and the Temptation Game. The Green Knight himself is a strongly pagan character, similar to the Green Man or Wild Man of the Woods who symbolizes fertility in folklore.

22、 Gawains journey can even be seen as the heros archetypical encounter with the Otherworld, an essential theme in pagan belief. The Pentangle is often a pagan symbol; thus Gawains shield, with the Pentangle on one side and the Virgin Mary on the other, comes to represent the dual pagan/Christian natu

23、re of the poem. 5). The Fall of Man and Loss of InnocenceBiblical parallels can be found in the appearance of Bertilaks castle (Paradise) and the role of his wife as temptress (Eve). Accordingly, Gawain loses his moral innocence when his value system is shattered by the end of the poem. Such an alle

24、gory emphasizes once more the poets Christian message, and the relationship between mankind and the divine. 12. Major symbols 1). Green knight a. personifies the renewable, indestructible forces of nature b. a mixture of the familiar (the civil) and the foreign (the raw). He is opulently dressed and

25、 clearly noble, yet his green color and sheer size indicate he is not entirely of this world. Thus, he functions as a liminal figure, mediating between the civilized world of chivalry and the unknown world of nature. He not only signifies the ritual renewal of the natural cycle, but also call into q

26、uestion the civilized structure of chivalric and Christian values that confront Gawain. Several specific traits of the Green Knight should be noted in this light. First, he bears in one of his hands a branch of holly and in another a cruel battle-axe. This clearly symbolizes his dual function. On on

27、e level it indicates his civilized wish for peace, offset by his potential for destruction. On another level, it symbolizes his understanding of the rules of society, despite his innate link with the natural world. c. the recurring color of green and gold in the description of the Green Knight The g

28、reen obviously indicates his raw, natural character, yet the gold implies sth. different. Gold is, after all, often associated with wealth, royalty, and the ultimate level of society. In medieval times, it was seen as the desired end product of the meticulous process of alchemy, the final possible a

29、ttainment for human beings. Thus, the gold here brings a note of civility and social greatness to the figure of the Green Knight, in addition to his Otherworldly nature. As the poem progresses, green and gold will continue to take on a greater significance, esp. in relation to the character of Gawai

30、n himself. 2). Gawains attire a. Gawains attire before his journey. He is dressed in armor with birds and other symbols of nature embroidered on it. The armor is also dressed in diamonds and made of gold. The fact that the armor is crafted of such weak materials would seem to depict how Gawain must

31、be fearless and unconcerned with the danger that he is about to walk into; although this may appear to be the case, it is far from reality. Gawain is actually worried and scared about what may become of him when he finds the Green Knight. This also represents what is expected of knights. They must c

32、onceal their fears and be courageous in all situations. The color yellow and gold can also symbolize cowardice, which again is not reality. Although Gawain may be afraid, he is still not backing out of the deal he made with the Green Knight even though he is most likely going to be killed either by

33、the weather or by the Knight and therefore he is displaying great bravery. Shield: on one level it functions as both his form of physical protection and as his symbol of moral protection. Gawain as character derives his strength from his belief in Christian and chivalric values, and the shield is th

34、e perfect representation of this, protecting him from physical dangers while serving as a reminder of his spiritual and moral beliefs. The pentangle on the outside: a symbol of chivalric values, indeed the five virtues of Franchise, Fellowship, Cleanness, Courtesy, and Charity quickly summarizes the

35、 chivalric code. The pentangle is an “endless knot; it has no beginning and no end, and wherever you start, the beginning ultimately becomes the end, resembling the yearly cycle. It may also allude to the eternality of Nature and the need to balance this with a strong faith in religion. The image of

36、 the Virgin Mary, on the one hand, obviously symbolizes Christian faith. Thus Gawain displays his chivalric beliefs and behavior outwardly to the rest of society, but Christian faith is his inner strength. The two sided shield, with a pagan symbol on one side and a Christian symbol on the other, can

37、 also represent the dual pagan-Christian nature of the story. b. Another situation where clothes embody the recurring theme of appearance vs. reality is when Sir Gawain is undressed at Bertilaks castle. Although the clothes themselves may not be direct symbols as they were in the above example, the

38、fact that clothes are used to represent a deceiving situation still remains true. As they are undressing Gawain, they are trying to make him feel as comfortable and secure as possible. By analyzing the way the servants act when tending to him we can see that there may be an ulterior (隱秘的 )motive. “W

39、ith light talk and laughter they loosed his armor from him then. The servants find humor in what they are doing, as though they are preparing a prisoner to be sent to death. The appearance of genuine hospitality turns out, in reality, to be a mask. We discover later in the poem that the lord of the

40、castle is actually the Green Knight himself. The extreme warmth and kindness where partly to get Gawain to let his guard down, right at the time he was about to be unknowingly put to the ultimate test.c. The green girdle is supposed to protect Gawain from any harm It was a test along with the contin

41、ual original game and the gift exchange game. By accepting it and not exchanging it with the Lord at the end of the day, Gawain failed this part of the test, and was punished with a small lashing on the back of the neck by the Green Knights axe. Arthur and the other knights of the Round Table offer

42、to wear green girdle at all times when Gawain tells them his story, as reminders of the possibility of imperfection.13. Detailed information about Sir Gawain, Part I1459: Historical nexus / connection from siege of TroyFrom Rome to legendary founder of BritainFelix BrutusCultural transition in Brita

43、in1460: Many marvels have happened in BritainArthur the most marvelousClaims to have heard this story in hall1460: Merlin as legendary builder of Round TableCamelot at Christmas timeCelebration of feasting and tournamentsChristian kingdomNew Year nearTime to celebrate glad tidings1461: gift-exchangi

44、ngGuinevere decked out in costly silksArthur wont eat until everyone servedArthur wants to hear tale of chivalric adventure before he eats1462: Great food servedUnknown rider enters half a giant1462: Great wonder in the hallGreen appearance1463: Ornate decorations of green knightHorses fancy wearGreen knight seems happygreat beardGreen knight clearly impressive to courtNo armorhas axe and holly1464: Axe of green steelGreen knight asks for leaderGreen knight stuns o