The French influence

p. 23 Millennium 1

STUDY QUESTIONS1. What changes did the Norman conquest bring about in English language

and literature? The Normans brought a refined civilization and the French language , which became

the language of the upper classes, while Latin remained the language of the Church, of culture, government and law. The previous literary forms in Old English, especially the epic, gradually died out.

2. When did a new literature in English appear?• At the end of the 12th century a new literature in English began to reappear in

new forms and genres. It was written in Middle English and it clearly showed the influence of French and Italian literary traditions

The lyric• Definition: a short poem that expresses the

poet’s thought and feelings.A Middle English Lyric

Sumer is Icumen InSummer has just come in,Sing aloud cuckoo!The seed grows, the mead blows,The wood blossoms now.Sing cuckoo!

For her calf lows the cow,For her lamb bleats the ewe,The bullock starts, the buck browses.Merrily sing, cuckoo!

Cuckoo, cuckoo, O sing you well, cuckoo;Nor let your song be through!Sing cuckoo, now, sing cuckoo!Sing cuckoo, sing cuckoo, now!

the repetition of consonant sounds especially at the beginning of several words or syllables that are close together.

the repetition of vowel sounds in several words or parts of a word.

1. Alliteration and assonance havebeen highlighted for you in the first stanza of the poem. Now do the same for the second and third stanzas;

2. Using words and phrases from this section give a definition of: alliteration, assonance and stanza,

Alliteration:

Assonance:

Stanza:

any group of lines, or recurrent unit

DO IT YOURSELF

The ballad• Sir Patrick SpensThe Kíng síts in Dumférline tόwn Drinking the blood red wine:“O where will I get a good sailor To sail this ship of mine?

wine/dine; sailor/taylor; mine/shrine; knight/sight; knee/ tree; letter/better.

Í beat rhyme

RHYME SCHEME: a b c b__________________________________________________________

____________________________ quatrain_____________________________

1. Highlight the rhyming words in the second , and third stanzas.

2. Give other words that rhyme with those of the ballad: for example, town/down

ABCB

DECE

FGHG

DO IT YOURSELF

3. Now choose any three words (preferably one-syllable words) and give at least two rhymes to each of them.

pull /bull /full; grow/ low/ row; feet/ meat/eat.

4. Complete the rhyme scheme of the quatrains

Up and spoke an ancient knight,Sat at the king’s right knee:“Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailorThat sails upon the sea”

The king has written a broad letter And signed it with his hand,And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,Was walking on the sand.

Medieval romance

p. 30 Millennium 1

STUDY QUESTIONS1. What were the subjects of the medieval romance?

The subjects of medieval romance were the adventures of knights and their extraordinary deeds.

2. What did the deeds of the knights include? They included much fighting, romantic love, fantastic journeys in exotic places and

supernatural events.

3. What was the medieval romance a portrayal of? It was a portrayal of both the exterior and ethical aspects of feudal knighthood. As far as the

exterior aspects are concerned, clothing, hunting, feasting and tournaments were described; ethically, the knight was totally bound to his God, his king and his lady. It was for them that the knight faced dangers, supernatural events defending the weak against evil forces.

4. What did the “matters” which make up the corpus of medieval romance include?

They can be divided into three groups: the matter of France dealing with the stories of Charlemagne, Roland and Roncevalles; the matter of Britain (i.e. Brittany in the north of France) dealing with the stories of the Arthurian legend, and the matter of Rome which includes the story of Troy, the story of Thebes and the stories of Alexander the Great .

5. Who were King Arthur’s best knights? The best knights of the Round Table were Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan and Perceval.