Module 4 Research
Module 4: Research:
Post a link to a video or article that teaches you something new about Unit 4. You can research Marie de France, "Lanval," Read "Lanval" and "Laustic," by Marie de France; selections from the Decameron, "The Story of Ying Ying," Courtly Love, Dante, or the Inferno or Popul Vuh. Explain why you chose your link. Interact with at least two class members responding to their posts. Be specific when responding to others' links.
Task 3. Courtly Love Activities
TASK 3. Read through all the Courtly Love Activities below. Then, select one of these questions to answer for Activity 8, and post it to the Unit 4, Forum, Task 3: Activity 8: Courtly Love Forum. These Activity entries must be thoughtful; each one should be the equivalent of at least a full typed page or more in length (e.g. not less than 250 words). They may be longer if you need to say more on your topic. You will not be able to do these Activity entries properly unless you have carefully read the assigned literature.
WORLD LITERATURE I
Task 3, Unit 4: Activities for Love, Courtly and Otherwise
Please read through all of these Activities before making your selection. Make a copy of the Activity question to begin your response. Post your response there, Task 3, Unit 4, Activity 8: Courtly Love Forum. These Activity entries must be thoughtful; each one should be the equivalent of at least a full typed page or more in length (e.g. not less than 250 words). They may be longer if you need to say more on your topic. You will not be able to do these Activity entries properly unless you have carefully read the assigned literature.
1) “Lanval” is one of the more “courtly” stories. Lanval starts out as a noble, but impoverished knight, and his love for a superior, magical lady greatly improves him. Go through some of the “rules” at the The Art of Courtly Love and show how they apply to Lanval.
2) Read the Courtly Love Study Guide and the selections from The Art of Courtly Love. Medieval Sourcebook Andreas Capellanus The Art of Courtly Love Rules.pdf
Focus on the "rules" at the end. Do you think people actually lived by these rules or do you think they were part of an elaborate court game? Can you find any similar rules nowadays? Write your own list of modern rules of love. How are your rules similar to those in The Art of Courtly Love? How are they different? What does that tell you about how people have or have not changed in the past 800 years?
3) Read Andrew the Chaplain's list of the rules of courtly love in The Art of Courtly Love.
Then, write your own "modern" rules for the game of love. After you have done so, compare them to Andrews's list and comment on how they are the same, and how different, and why. Be thoughtful here–we are living in a very different world. Be sure to support your comments with specific examples.
4) Consider the roles of the woman in Marie de France’s “Laustic” and Boccaccio’s “Tenth Story of the Tenth Day,” otherwise known as “Patient Griselda.” Can you reconcile these subjugated women with the “myth” of courtly love? How? Give specific examples from both stories and from the “rules” in The Art of Courtly Love.
5) Select two or three medieval lyrics that deal with the pains and desires of love for an unattainable lover. Cite the lyrics by author and title. Then, discuss themes they have in common and support your ideas using specific examples from the lyrics. Do you think there are any significant differences between these lyric views of unattainable love and modern attitudes? Be specific in your response and develop your ideas.
6) Look closely at the mixture of religious and earthly love imagery in Petrarch's poems (You can search the Internet if you want to find Petrarch's poems online). Compare this to the descriptions of love you have read in one or more other texts during this course, such as the love of Odysseus for Penelope, or the love of Enkidu for the prostitute, or the love of Dido for Aeneas, or the love of Medea for Jason. Can you find any similarities? What, exactly, are the big differences? Support your answer with specific examples from both texts.
7) The Queen in “Lanval” falsely accuses Lanval of having made improper advances to her, because she is angry that he refused her improper advances. He is put on trial and is only saved by the arrival of his lady. This story has an ancient analog in the story of Joseph in the Hebrew Bible. When Joseph is in Egypt, Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph and he rejects her. She then falsely accuses him of making improper advances to her and he is actually thrown in prison. Compare these two stories and see if you can find any interesting similarities and/or differences. Be sure to support your ideas with specific examples from both stories.
8) Go to the database of Medieval Movies. HYPERLINK
See if you can locate a film that deals with the matter of Courtly Love. Watch the film and write a critical review, indicating what you think was genuinely "medieval" about it and what you think was simply film fakery.
9) First read the introduction to The Story of Ying Ying, which suggests that both lovers are unpleasant, deceitful people. After reading The Story of Ying Ying, decide whether or not you agree. Why or why not? Support your ideas with plenty of specific examples from the text.
10) Compare attitudes towards sex outside of marriage in the story of Brother Alberto in the Decameron and The Story of Ying Ying. Do you see any interesting similarities? Any interesting differences? And so what? Support your ideas with plenty of specific examples from both stories.
11) Select two or three medieval lyrics that deal with the pains and desires of love for an unattainable lover. Cite the lyrics by author and title. Then, discuss themes they have in common and support your ideas using specific examples from the lyrics. Do you think there are any significant differences between these lyric views of unattainable love and modern attitudes? Be specific in your response and develop your ideas.
12) A common theme of courtly love is the ennobling of the lover by love. Select two or three lyrics that deal with the relationship between love and a noble or gentle heart. Cite these lyrics by author and title, and then discuss the way they present the ideal lover and the impact of love on him/her. Can you think of any modern parallels? Be specific in your response and develop your ideas.
13) Write a poem about a hopeless love for a superior and unresponsive beloved. Use Petrarch's basic ideas and images and adapt them to modern circumstances. If you do this one, put some real work and thought into it; otherwise stick with a more objective question.
14) Some of the lyrics are clearly about sexual love, not marriage. Select two or three of these, cite the lyrics by author and title, and then discuss the way they present the pursuit and satisfactions of love, using specific examples from the lyrics. Do you think there are any significant differences between these lyric views of love and modern ones? Be specific in your response and develop your ideas.
14) Compare the representation of women in Marie de France’s stories, “Lanval” and “Laustic,” to that of women in any one or two tales from the Nights. What are the interesting similarities? What are the significant differences? Support your answer with specific examples from all three texts.
Module 4 Task 6
TASK 6. Read through all the Dante's Inferno Activities below. Then select one of these questions to answer for Activity 9, and upload it here. These Activity entries must be thoughtful; each one should be the equivalent of at least a full typed page or more in length (e.g. not less than 250 words). They may be longer if you need to say more on your topic. You will not be able to do these Activity entries properly unless you have carefully read the assigned literature.
WORLD LITERATURE I
Task Six: Activities for Dante's Inferno
Select an Activity that interests you; make a copy of the Activity question to begin your response. Upload your Activity here. These Activity entries must be thoughtful; each one should be the equivalent of at least a full typed page or more in length (e.g. not less than 250 words). They may be longer if you need to say more on your topic. You will not be able to do these Activity entries properly unless you have carefully read the assigned literature.
1) In Canto 5 of the Inferno, Paolo and Francesca personify the ethical dilemmas of courtly love, and they are punished in hell for their love. Who or what, exactly, was to blame for their going to hell? Explain this in detail, using the text to support your comments.
2) All the women in the Inferno seem to be there for misconduct connected to sexuality. Identify some of the women in the Inferno and specify exactly what their sins were and how their punishments are suited to their crimes. Now, can you identify any men who are in hell for sexual crimes? Are these cases similar to the women's, or different? Explain and support your responses with examples from the text.
3) The Inferno presents a thoroughly medieval Christian vision of hell, although it draws heavily on the classical past, especially Virgil's Aeneid. Identify some elements in the Inferno that you think are specifically Christian, and some that you suspect are leftovers from pagan antiquity. Explain how both work together in the text to create Dante's special medieval vision of hell.
4) A subtitle for the Inferno could be "the punishment fits the crime." Give some examples of this from the text and discuss whether or not you agree with Dante that these are appropriate punishments for the crimes committed. Explain why you think this concept of the punishment fitting the crime was important to Dante. Support your comments with specific examples from the text.
5) Canto 26 tells about Ulysses (the Latin name for Odysseus), who is in one of the lower circles of hell, because he was an evil counselor. How do you think the Greek hero Odysseus degenerated into the Christian villain Ulysses? Support your ideas with examples from the materials you have read during this course as well as a close reading of Canto 26.
6) Compare Tennyson's poem Ulysses with Dante's representation of him in Canto 26. Why does Dante disapprove of Ulysses? Why does Tennyson approve of him? Can you think of any interesting ideas about the changed times which could account for at least some of this change?
7) Popul Vuh, part 3, has its own underworld, Xibalba, ruled by the terrible Lords of Death. Compare/contrast this vision of the underworld with Dante's Inferno; especially note interesting similarities/differences between Satan and the Lords of Death.
8) Read Popul Vuh. Then review the creation story in Genesis in the Hebrew Bible and think about any interesting/relevant parallels and significant differences between the two.
9) In part 3 of Popul Vuh, two heroes enter Xibalba and conquer the Lords of Death, killing them. Is there anything at all in Dante's Inferno that remind you of this conquest? If so, explain, supporting your ideas with specific examples from both texts.
10) In Canto 28, Dante represents Mahomet as a demonic monster. This is not unlike the representation of the Muslim Saracens in the Song of Roland. Compare the representations of Muslim beliefs in the two poems and see if you have any ideas why there was such intense hatred of Muslims in the Catholic Middle Ages as you can see in these poems. Do you think it was a response to the Crusades? To the developing competition that Europe was beginning to offer the Muslim world? To what? You might want to look in a good history book or encyclopedia to get some more concrete information on this disturbing issue. Support your ideas with specific examples from Dante's Inferno and Roland. Be sure to document your sources.
11) If you were Dante (or more appropriately, Minos, who assigns sinners their punishment in Hell) where would you place some of today's infamous newsmakers in the Divine Comedy's structure of hell and why?
12) On the other hand, this essay: "The Uncanonical Dante: The Divine Comedy And Islamic Philosophy: by Paul A. Cantor, examines elements in Dante that derive from Islamic philosophers, especially "Averroës, or Abu al-Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd, to give him his full Arabic name." After reading the essay carefully, look for elements in Dante that are NOT anti-Islamic, but actually stem from Islamic culture or an awareness of its importance. Be sure to document your sources.
13) Dante was the medieval master of political correctness in his Divine Comedy, even though he got into plenty of trouble for siding with the wrong (e.g. losing) side politically in the real world. Look through a few of the cantos and see who you can find in hell because Dante did not like his principles and/or politics. Are there many? Do you agree with Dante that they belong in hell? Use specific examples from the Inferno to support your ideas.
14) Examine the role of Virgil in the Inferno. Why do you think Dante chose him as his guide? What kind of help could Virgil offer to Dante? What could Virgil not do for Dante? What does this have to do with Virgil being a pre-Christian poet? Support your ideas with examples from the text.
15) Do a survey of your favorite monsters in the Inferno. What traits do they share? Are they like other monsters you've read about, or do they have special qualities unique to the Inferno? Support your main points with specific examples of monsters from the Inferno and elsewhere.
16) Why is Satan locked in ice at the bottom of hell? Do you think this is an appropriate place for him? Explain in some detail just what this Satan is and what his role is in the Inferno.
17) First, list the sins of the nine circles in descending order. Then, make a list of what you consider to be modern sins in descending order, from least to most awful. Compare/contrast your list to Dante's in some detail. How are the two lists similar; how are they different? And so what?
18) A fairly recent film, What Dreams May Come (starring Robin Williams), presents a view of the afterlife that uses some ideas and images from Dante's Inferno. It also is a thoughtful, visually wonderful, representation of less punitive concepts of life after death. Watch the film, paying close attention to the explanations given about why suicides go to hell. Then, compare this to Dante's vision of suicides and others in hell. What interesting similarities and/or differences do you find? So what? Be sure to use specific examples from both the film and the poem to support your ideas.
19) Make up an interesting question of your own that relates to Dante's Inferno and answer it in full detail. Check with me first to get approval for the topic.
Module 4: Reading Quiz 1
Module 4: Reading Quiz 1:
Read by Marie de France. Then, read the Biblical story of .
Compare the stories. What similarities do you notice? What are the differences? What is the moral of each story? Which story do you find more powerful, and why?
– Good answers should be at least 250 words.
– Try to address at least 3 similarities and 3 differences.
– Be as specific as you can. Refer to details in the text. Prove that you did the reading!
Plagiarism Reminder
Compose the entirety of your answer yourself. Do not copy answers from online sources. If you quote from the assigned texts, remember to use quotation marks (Ex: "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.")
Module 4: Reading Quiz 2
Module 4: Reading Quiz 2.
Read the by Andreas Capellanus. This text dates to 1184.
Write your own list of modern rules of love. Include at least 10.
Reflect How are your rules similar to those in The Art of Courtly Love? How are they different? Write at least four sentences.
Module 4: Reading Quiz 3
Module 4: Reading Quiz 3:
Study the GEOGRAPHY OF HELL: NINE CIRCLES OF INFERNO. In Dante Alighieri's medieval epic Inferno, these nine circles are organized around sins that, if not repented of, result in a soul being damned to that circle of hell eternally. The least serious sins are in circle 1 and the most serious are in circle 9. If you were to list the nine worst sins from least to most serious, what would your list look like? How similar/different is it from Dante's scheme?
Week 11 Discussion Question 1
What similarities and differences did you see in Lanval" and "Laustic," by Marie de France; selections from the Decameron, and "The Story of Ying Ying."? What stood out the most as you read these selections?
Week 12 Discussion Question 1
The selections we have read focus a lot on the idea of the epic hero, good and bad rulers, the conduct of individuals, the idea of predestination, and destiny. Do you feel the literature being published today still focused on those aspects (or a version of them) or is the literature published today gone off in a different direction? What direction is literature going?
Week 13 Discussion Question
If you were asked which of the selections from this semester you would like to see made into a film in 2021, which piece would you request? Who would you want to play the lead roles?
Week 14 Discussion
Based on all the readings you did this semester which one stands out the most in your mind. What makes that selection so memorable to you? Which reading selection did you dislike and why was that?