Reflective Essay #1

Reflective Essay #1

           
Reading.  It seems that lately that’s all I’ve been doing and yet I have not kept up entirely with the reading.    I have to go back and play catch up with the readings though.  I did not finish The Art of Courtly Love, though I got about two-thirds of the way through.  I only read one of the three Arthurian Romances assigned.  I remember the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, but I have not read it again.  The main reason that I got behind in the reading and missed some classes as well was because I tried to work about thirty-five hours a week and take fifteen credits.  In hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking to try and take it on.  Now I only work about twenty-five hours a week and find that I have the time to do my reading. 

            I don’t think there is anything that you can do to help me read more effectively.  For me reading is something that I enjoy and although I find some of the language difficult I tend to understand the text. 

            In order to be a better student I can make sure that I finish my readings by classes on Wednesday, which of late has not been happening.  Making sure I don’t miss any classes except in cases of emergency is another thing I can do to be a better student.  

            The most interesting thing I have learned about medieval literature this semester is how interconnected it is, especially in terms of other courses I have taken or are currently taking.  Being able to understand what you mean when you reference Romance of the Rose or certain mythological tales that are in the Metamorphoses greatly increases my interest in the topic and personalizes it somehow.  I feel more connected to the material I am discussing or reading when I have a broader understanding of other works during the time period.  I’ve been able to associate my summer courses with this course closely and find I know things that are helpful to me.  For instance, I already know about the vernacular and why it is so important. This means I already understand that implications of writing in the vernacular and thus I can focus on what is being said about the text instead of concerning myself with writing in the vernacular.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I enjoy the class as a whole and the most interesting thing that I’ve learned so far has to be the ability to draw from previous courses to enhance my reading experience.  I have been able to relate previous courses to other courses I’ve taken before; however, this time I feel that it makes more sense to me.  It seems like more of light bulb going off in my head than anything else.  A kind of click occurs which seems to say, “Hey, I get this, A relates to B, thus C.” 

            What has surprised me so far about the texts is that fact that extra-marital relations are approved of in this period of time as long as it is for true love.  I guess I thought that society had a narrower view than the one that is presented in the literature we are reading.

            I am not working on my research portfolio, though I have thought about going to the library to start looking for articles.  Unfortunately thinking about it doesn’t count.  Now that I have Wednesdays and Fridays off, I plan to start working on it.  The fact that midterms are coming up is an additional incentive. 

Practical Criticism Essay 1

Stefanie Johnson

ENG 310

September 22, 2006

 

Practical Criticism Essay on Marie de France’s Chevrefoil

 

            Marie de France took the popular tale of Tristram and Iseut and created her own version of it, elaborating on the love of the two characters.  She called is Chevrefoil which is the common name for honeysuckle in French.  The popular version of the story contains magic, but Marie chooses to leave this out of her tale, instead focusing on the power of love alone.  Again, as in some of her other lais she shows that even when one is married true love can overcome that barrier, in this case by ignoring the marriage.  Marie also is accurate in her tale, correlating the names and places which provides a more detailed frame of  reference for the reader.  However, in this particular lais, Marie represents the Queen as the less vulnerable of the two lovers through her diction, and symbolism. 

            In this lai the reader knows the name of the man, Tristram, but the actual name of the woman is not given, she is only known as the Queen.  This alone gives a higher status to her in relation to her lover.  It creates this figure of an unattainable love which can be put on a pedestal by the character of Tristram.  She is no specific person, the reader can imagine the Queen as any woman that he is familiar with, adding or subtracting qualities as he wishes.  On the other hand, Tristram is named, he cannot be just anyone.  From his name alone the author hints at one aspect of his character; Tristram is Welsh and means sad, in this case accurately describing the character.  The meaning of Tristram gives the Queen the upper hand because of the fact that the only meaning for Queen is the female head of a royal family, it gives no hint of her character.

            Another reason the Queen has the upper hand in this lai is on account of the fact that the in the lai it is clearly stated that Tristram was exiled “because of his love for the queen” and also that “he could not possibly live without her.”  However, for the Queen no such declaration exists.  Instead the reader hears about “their love so pure” and about “her beloved.”  Since there is no direct statement of the Queen’s love for Tristram she is the less vulnerable of the two characters as her feelings are not directly revealed to the reader, rather they are implied. 

            Whether Marie de France knew about English geography is debatable, but this lai shows that she was indeed aware of its implications.  Maire gives her male character a Welsh name, which is appropriate considering the fact that his character spends a year in
South Wales.  The fact that Marie places the Queen in
Cornwall is important because then Tristram and the Queen are separated by a language barrier, as both places have their own language.  This again emphasizes the difference between the two characters.  Also the fact that Marie sends the Queen to Tintagel which is associated with the King Aruthur legends raises the Queen’s status even more.  Now she is not only a Queen, but Marie hints that she might have some of the same characteristics as King Arthur’s Guinevere.   Even the names are chosen to reveal the status difference between this two characters, raising the Queen above Tristram. 

            The symbolic meaning of the hazel and honeysuckle metaphor is readily apparent in the lai as it is explained within the work.  On the surface it seems that both the honeysuckle and hazel are equal, and once joined they would both die if separated.  Honeysuckle symbolizes happiness, which is ironic since neither of the main characters is happy for the majority of the story.  Hazel symbolizes wisdom and creativity the latter is appropriate for Tristram is indeed creative in using a branch with his name carved in it to signal the Queen.  However is one character must be the honeysuckle and one the hazel it would be more appropriate to assign the Queen to the hazel than to the honeysuckle.  For her feelings are never as intense as Tristram’s and as hazel is more durable than honeysuckle so she is pictured as bearing the separation better than Tristram.  The Queen also is the one who has the wisdom to come up with a plan on how to end the rift between Tristram and his uncle. Tristram bests represents the honeysuckle for his feelings are revealed to be intense, making him vulnerable, which is appropriate considering the fact that honeysuckle is more delicate than hazel.  Marie’s use of the hazel and honeysuckle reveals not only the depth of the love shared, but also the Queen’s stronger character. 

            Careful diction, appropriate place names, and revealing symbolism all work together to display the strength implied in the Queen’s character in this lai.  It would be interesting to explore why the author, after using the honeysuckle and hazel symbol implies a reconciliation and triumph of love between the two lovers.  This would be of interest because both this lai holds with the original story which indicates that the two lovers died on the same day.  That begs the question as to what separated them after the supposed reconciliation between nephew and uncle.