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ENG 203 Week 6 Presentation.pptx

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Michelle Kassorla
Michelle Kassorla

This document provides summaries of several literary works discussed in a power point for Week 6. It summarizes Marie de France's lais, including "Lanval" which explores gender roles and the dangers of isolation. It also discusses "Laustic," a short tale about an adulterous love triangle. Finally, it summarizes major themes in The Thousand and One Nights, such as gender dynamics and fear of female sexuality, concepts of justice, and how the character Shahrazad restores balance and order through her stories.

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WEEK 6 POWER POINT MARIE DE FRANCES LAIS AND THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The rise of Christianity the new religion answered longings for a mystical faith that would provide a sense of purpose (Norton 1137)
AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The spread of Islam, based upon the revealed book and the life perfectly led (1139). The spread occurred through cultural and religious means but also through military conquest.
AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The invention of the West (synonym for Christian Europe, a more homogenous society than the Islamic world) at this time people defined themselves by religious orientation first, and ethnic orientation second (1143).
MARIE DE FRANCE Her poems stand at the intersection of oral and written forms of literature, as well as at the crossroads of culture (1405). She was the first to bring the King Arthur mythos into the mainstream (1406). In her Prologue (1406- 1407), she looks into the question of why she writes: 1) she feels she has a duty to use the talent God has given her; 2) work and diligence are guards against vice; 3) she wants to preserve the tales and legends that have been told to her. In this sense she can be seen as a precursor to writers like Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, with their zeal to preserve the folktales that have been passed down orally through generations.
LANVAL AND LAUSTIC Lanval tells the story of a knights encounter and love affair with a faery woman. Major themes: 1) gender roles though Lanval is a skilled and honorable knight, his faery mistress is the one with the power in the relationship (see p. 1410). 2) the dangers of isolation twice in the story we see Lanval bereft of friendship and support 3) the forbidden thing if he does the one thing she tells him not to do, hell lose all he has gained and be worse off than before. But as always happens in stories of this kind, he does that one thing. 4) aLaustic very short tale of an adulterous love triangle. Marie writes about the affair with sympathy, yet the two adulterous lovers are made to suffer.
THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS MAJOR THEMES 1) gender dynamics, and how: a) fear of female sexuality while men have harems, a woman who has sex with a man other than her husband deserves to die. b) The story of the demon and the woman in the glass chest (1750-1751) puts this into focus. The woman evades the demons efforts to contain her, literally and figuratively. The two kings sympathize with the demon rather than with his captive. 2) justice the men in power respond out of proportion to a wrong done them: a) Shahrayars bloody marriage campaign creates general chaos (1752); the demon in Shahrazads first story wants to kill a man in revenge for what is clearly an accident (1757) 3) balance/order Shahrazad restores it a) In her stories, women may be destroyers (e.g. the jealous wife in the First Old Mans Tale, the adulterous wife in the Third Old Mans Tale), but they may also be healers and preservers. In all three old mens stories, justice is served and honor is restored by women.

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ENG 203 Week 6 Presentation.pptx

  • 1. WEEK 6 POWER POINT MARIE DE FRANCES LAIS AND THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
  • 2. AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The rise of Christianity the new religion answered longings for a mystical faith that would provide a sense of purpose (Norton 1137)
  • 3. AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The spread of Islam, based upon the revealed book and the life perfectly led (1139). The spread occurred through cultural and religious means but also through military conquest.
  • 4. AFTER THE FALL OF ROME The invention of the West (synonym for Christian Europe, a more homogenous society than the Islamic world) at this time people defined themselves by religious orientation first, and ethnic orientation second (1143).
  • 5. MARIE DE FRANCE Her poems stand at the intersection of oral and written forms of literature, as well as at the crossroads of culture (1405). She was the first to bring the King Arthur mythos into the mainstream (1406). In her Prologue (1406- 1407), she looks into the question of why she writes: 1) she feels she has a duty to use the talent God has given her; 2) work and diligence are guards against vice; 3) she wants to preserve the tales and legends that have been told to her. In this sense she can be seen as a precursor to writers like Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, with their zeal to preserve the folktales that have been passed down orally through generations.
  • 6. LANVAL AND LAUSTIC Lanval tells the story of a knights encounter and love affair with a faery woman. Major themes: 1) gender roles though Lanval is a skilled and honorable knight, his faery mistress is the one with the power in the relationship (see p. 1410). 2) the dangers of isolation twice in the story we see Lanval bereft of friendship and support 3) the forbidden thing if he does the one thing she tells him not to do, hell lose all he has gained and be worse off than before. But as always happens in stories of this kind, he does that one thing. 4) aLaustic very short tale of an adulterous love triangle. Marie writes about the affair with sympathy, yet the two adulterous lovers are made to suffer.
  • 7. THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS MAJOR THEMES 1) gender dynamics, and how: a) fear of female sexuality while men have harems, a woman who has sex with a man other than her husband deserves to die. b) The story of the demon and the woman in the glass chest (1750-1751) puts this into focus. The woman evades the demons efforts to contain her, literally and figuratively. The two kings sympathize with the demon rather than with his captive. 2) justice the men in power respond out of proportion to a wrong done them: a) Shahrayars bloody marriage campaign creates general chaos (1752); the demon in Shahrazads first story wants to kill a man in revenge for what is clearly an accident (1757) 3) balance/order Shahrazad restores it a) In her stories, women may be destroyers (e.g. the jealous wife in the First Old Mans Tale, the adulterous wife in the Third Old Mans Tale), but they may also be healers and preservers. In all three old mens stories, justice is served and honor is restored by women.