Medieval literature presents a bit of a problem for the traditional romantic such as me for a few different reasons. When a person with my sentiments envisions medieval England, images of heroic knights and damsels in distress threaten to overpower the striking reality that people living in the 1300's had many of the same problems that we have today. They were tired and cranky, passionate and boastful people with all of the intrigues that make life so messy hundreds of years later. It's hard to discard the shining images of castles and gleaming armor and face the fact that life in the middle ages was a dirty, complicated, and let's face it, an ungodly stinky (London didn't develop an effective waste treatment system until the 1600s) time. Visions of a chaste and innocent era are immediately dashed the moment you open some of the works composed in this time period. Ballsy ballads and stories full of sinful twists in plot provide a surprisingly rich experience for the reader.
Once I got past the lyrical language, I found characters that surprised and taught me. Entertaining and educational, I found the works I read (The Canterbury Tales, The Ballad of Robin Hood and the Three Squires and selected lyrics from medieval songs) touched on many of the same issues that press today’s society and provide a unique and helpful interpretation of human nature. Where better to learn the detrimental effects of greed, intrigue, lust and manipulation than in the pages of Chaucer’s masterpiece? Flawed characters and wretched situations provoke thought and cause the reader to question the most basic aspects of human nature.
The selections of medieval literature I read helped me to come to my own understanding of the world and develop my skills as a student and writer. Understanding the antiquated prose took most of my skill as a reader while the analysis of the work challenged me to connect to text far removed from my own time and culture. My time with this literature has benefited me morally and educationally. These limited selections bestowed me with a deep appreciation for the work of the time and the writers that condescended to allow us to learn from their texts.
Love the post! You touch on how you acquired skills, but I like that you delve into how the lit changed your understanding of the time period and yourself, to an extent. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing---you really illustrated your progress as a learner throughout the unit well. I liked how you described your original perception of the Medieval times, and at that time, I thought you were going to keep writing about the bad aspects of the time period. So it was almost a twist when you added that the texts we covered during class changed that perception.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work!
I really like the contrast that you developed early on between the fairy-tale version of medieval times and how it really was. But despite all this, you managed to successfully shoe that people of the medieval times were not so different from people of today, and that some human traits, like love and greed, are universal to all eras. From your standpoint, we haven't really advanced all that much in terms of human nature.
ReplyDeleteARRRR!
Emilie