CM1 Literature Past Paper (GB)

CM 1 LITTERATURE 7^th^ Century to 17^th^ Century Arrière-plan + grands courants esthétiques + principaux auteurs et œuvres + étude Epreuve terminale de 30 minutes QCM Dernière séance = QCM d'entraînement CHAPTER 1: OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE *Everyone's speaking in alliterative verse, and the Viki...

CM 1 LITTERATURE 7^th^ Century to 17^th^ Century Arrière-plan + grands courants esthétiques + principaux auteurs et œuvres + étude Epreuve terminale de 30 minutes QCM Dernière séance = QCM d'entraînement CHAPTER 1: OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE *Everyone's speaking in alliterative verse, and the Vikings are coming.* From 5^th^ to 11^th^ Century Old English we can't read it End Old English period: 1066 William of Normandy invaded England - After, language of the court is French no more literature in Old English Bede a monk late 7^th^ Century wrote history of English people (in Latin) 55 BC Romans invade England they raise their culture - During the 5^th^ Century, they start leaving the British Isles: The Roman Empire is collapsing they must defend it Fall in 476 - 3 tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes England was Christianised (Roman Empire was Christian) The tribes would adopt the Christian religion progressively. Christianity spreads over the Isles. End of 8^th^ Century: Vikings invasion - Everybody lives in fear - They sail, invade a city, and kill everyone - Progressively, they settle down and become part of the civilisation and become Christianised **3 major features of the period:** - Plenty of tiny kingdoms. Progressively they unite and 7 kingdoms. - 3 largest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: Northumbria; Merica; Wessex - King Alfred (Wessex) is the 1^st^ King of England - People are becoming more and more Christian - Viking threat. People live in a constant state of fear. Features of the Old English Literature: - Texts composed and transmitted orally (especially during banquets) - Written in alliterative verses repetition of the same consonant sound - 2 major trends in Old English literature: Beowulf major work of Old English literature (probably from the 8^th^ Century) Manuscript from 10^th^ Century Events told in the text: between late 5^th^ Century and 7^th^ Century in Sweeden and Denmark Very long epic poem 3182 lines - Deals with war, heroes, kings - The action is of major stake the fate of the country is at stake (if the hero loses, everybody dies) The king of Denmark has a problem. His castle is attacked by a monster (Grendle). For years, people tried to kill it. Beowulf (Swedish) says he's going to fight him with his bear hands. Kills it. Then, he kills his mother, another monster from the sea. 50 years later, Beowulf is now the king of his country. A dragon attacks Beowulf's kingdom (a servant stole something from its treasure). Beowulf kills the dragon by is mortally beaten. He died and end of the story *Zemeckis = 2007 film adaptation of Beowulf (but not accurate)* 3 fights: Beowulf against Grendel / Beowulf against Grendel's mother / Beowulf agains the Dragon - Most common theme in the Old English Literature how you move from chaos to civilisation; how you survive to forces from nature - Every time, it's an alien creature which comes to kill everybody fear of an invasion idea that something outside is dangerous **OTHER TEXTS OF THE PERIOD (religious poems):** - Caedmon (7^th^ Century) 1^st^ **known** English poet - Cynewulf (early 9^th^ Century) poet - "The Seafarer" and "The Wanderer" - "The Dream of the Rood" 5^th^ to 12^th^ Century Old English was spoken (language from the invaders) // Invasion by William of Normandy disappearance of texts written in English only spoken they wrote in French - No text written in English for 200 years Middle English / Poems changed: rhyming metrical verses CM2 literature **MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE** Mostly influenced by religion More difficult to summarize great diversity of styles **4 MAIN TRENDS:** - **Courtly romances** - **Allegorical poetry and drama continuation of what existed during Old English Literature** - **Lyrical poetry** - **Popular and domestic literature** (new: before = no literature dealing with ordinary people) **COURTLY ROMANCES: from *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight* to *Le Morte d'Arthur*** Comes from France French literary culture - Robert de Boron + Chrétien de Troyes Arthurian literature **Important differences with epic** about the adventures of a single man in his own quest much more individualistic **≠ epic (where the whole fate of the nation is at stake)** **Importance of the chivalric code the knight has to respect** With courtly romances, the relationship was in both ways: literature was inspired by society AND society was inspired by literature - Society ruled by its own fiction - Plenty of Lords gave Arthurian names to their children ***Sir Gawain and the Green Knight*** (anonymous) Author probably a member of the church (in the only manuscript, two religious poems follow the story) Alliterative verse (as in Old English Literature) Camelot: New Year's Day a giant (green) knight rides into the hall where everyone was gathered. He makes fun of the people there. He challenges them: cut my head. Gawain takes the challenge and cuts off the head of the Green Knight. He picks it up and it starts talking: he defies Gawain to come back 1 year after and he would cut his head off. Gawain knows he has 1 year left to live. Time flies. He has to go, even if he will die. He leaves Camelot and rides in the forest. Always turns right (left = devil). Enters a castle and talks to the host. The Green Knight lives half a day from the castle. A huge meal. The Lord of the castle proposes a game: he gives everything he gains at the hunt to Gawain and reversed. The Lord's wife flirts with Gawain. He's tempted but has to refuse it (chivalry code). He gives her a kiss. When the Lord gives him what he hunted, Gawain gives him a kiss. Same thing the 2^nd^ day. 3^rd^ day, Gawain kisses the Lord BUT keeps the belt the wife gave him (it makes him immortal). He didn't respect his promise. He is driven to the Green Knight. The Green Knight says he's brave to have come. The axe only scratches his neck. IT WAS ALL A TEST ORGANISED BY MORGAN (the fairy). The Green Knight congratulates Gawain, even if he kept the green belt. Gawain is totally shamed of himself. He decides to wear the belt when he comes back, as a symbol of shame. The King says that's okay, he was great. The world was NOT going to collapse if he failed difference with Old English Literature. Almost a criticism of chivalry code in itself. Nobody can be as good as Gawain, and even Gawain partly failed. Tolkien translated Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ***Le Morte D'Arthur*** Poem from the end of 15^th^ Century One of the 1^st^ books printed by William Caxton (after the Bible) Written in prose End of Arthur's reign **Valedictory work** for Arthurian literature (pour dire Adieu) No more connection between Arthurian literature values and society's values Shape poem (calligramme) The Holy Grail **ALLEGORICAL POETRY AND DRAMA** ***Piers Plowman by William Longland (poetry)*** Religious text Many stories involved 7,300 lines Took about 25 years to write A dream vision that the speaker has when he falls asleep. 8 visions all together. First thing he sees is a field. Plenty of people (all kinds of people) and two towers (house of truth and house of wrong) - Allegorically: Piers Plowman a guide allegorically like Jesus who has to go through vicious people 90% of the world is bad in this poem criticizes society Uses the old form of alliterative verse William Longland is a deeply conservative man - New ways of writing, society changes, but he wants to keep the old values - Rejects all the new things the world is coming from bad to worse. **RELIGIOUS DRAMA / MEDIEVAL DRAMA** No more plays in Europe since a long time Starts to reappear progressively - In the churches - Then, out of the church (not so far away) - Then, on the marketplace - Finally, the Pageants 3 types of plays: - Morality plays - Miracle plays - Cycle / Mystery play Originally, drama was the continuity of religious ceremonies (1200) - Bible was in Latin people didn't understand nothing - Performance to help people understand what was going on, what was happening (written in middle English) - Progressively, it became more and more important, more popular The audience was more and more involved in the play they had a role to play More and more space required left to the marketplace plays with hundreds of actors, which lasted for days. CM3 Littérature On the marketplace, they had a lot of space. A huge stage, and above God looking at them There was a hell-mouth with **smoke and devils coming out** - **Devils would play tricks on the audience** - **People enjoyed a lot** **Cycles plays were developed** each play represented a part of Ancient / New Testaments as episodes of a **TV series** **The stage represented the entire world and all the places in the Bible** - **In Valenciennes** **25 DAYS TO PERFORM THE WHOLE PLAY** It became popular to play cycle plays during the **Easter Period** **Each part of the community would be in charge of each 'episode'** The plays were organized by the **trade-guilds** - **In charge of one specific episode of the cycle** Also called **Mystery plays:** - About the mysteries of God - OR because organized by the MASTERY of trade-guilds Performances for 300 years **THE PAGEANTS** **1264 Pope organized a special event 'Corpus Christi festival'** - Custom to perform the cycle plays for this event - Cycle plays = CORPUS CHRISTI PLAYS = Mystery plays Custom to perform these plays is many stopping places - The play had become mobile through the cities - Began to be performed on **pageants** (carts) We think that for a long time, cycle plays were both performed on pageants and on marketplaces (at the same time) If you stay at the same place, the performances would come to you one after another - The actors had to perform the same play for 12 to 16 times per day! As long as the church was in charge, the plays were used to give church lessons But it was eventually the city itself which organized the plays the mayor and trade-guilds wanted people to entertain (with a religious basis though) **Cycle plays ended in the late 16^th^ Century** - **Protestantism emerged reformation of the Bible (Martin Luther)** - **The reformers didn't like the cycle plays** - **+ cycle plays are a creation of the Catholic Church (different from Protestant)** **MIRACLE PLAYS** About a Saint's life **MORALITY PLAYS** +/- always the same story Psychomachia Vices and virtue fight Most famous Medieval English play (translation from German): ***Everyman*** (name of the main character (represents all of us)) Everyman meets Death in the street. He needs to follow him. He is in panic, he's not ready. He argues with Death 'Please Death, give me some time so I can be prepared to meet God'. Everyman starts to get ready for his journey to meet God. He turns to his friend Fellowship. Fellowship says 'no problem, we're friends'. When he learns what type of journey it will be, Fellowship runs away. He turns to his family. Same thing than Fellowship, they run away. He turns to another friend called Goods. He says no directly. If he went, he would be an obstacle, because material possessions are obstacles when trying to meet God. Everyman doesn't know what to do. He turns to another characters called Good Deeds. He wants but is too weak, everyman has not done enough good deeds. He turns to his sister, Knowledge. Then he needs to see Confession. Everyman confesses and Good Deeds becomes stronger and stronger. They start their journey. They have other companions: Beauty / Knowledge / Five wits. But the more Everyman grows old, the more he loses companions, because of that. The only friend who remains is Good Deeds. **GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND THE CANTERBURY TALES** **One of the most important English figures in literature** Chaucer was a member of the aristocracy. Because of this, he traveled to France and Italy and met the artists of these countries. He knew about the new forms of poetry. (contrast with Longland) He still uses dream visions. His characters are no longer religious allegories. They feel like real human beings. They evolve. Psychological aspect more developed. He worked at the exact same time than William Longland. Most famous work: ***The Canterbury Tales* (1387)** -GOING BACK IN TIME- Henry II Fairly good King but could have a temper Constant problem: came into conflict with the pope regularly - The King considered things as under his authority while the Pope thought the contrary A friend: Thomas Becket managed to name him Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Church) - There would be no more conflict with the Pope - BUT **BECKET CHANGED SUDDENLY BECAME A VERY RELIGIOUS MAN** - **KEPT CONFLICTING** WITH HIS OLD FRIEND HENRY (especially with criminous clerks) **Henry got really mad** **'If only someone could rid me of that Thomas Becket' (didn't really want to)** - 5 knights heard it and rode their horses to Canterbury - Assassinated Becket in the church worst crime - Henry was obliged to be humiliated for Penitence - Canterbury Cathedral was said to heal people **The canterbury Tales** - **Written in Middle English** (even if French was the official language for literary texts) - **Future English writers would write in English and influenced by Chaucer's works** **A group of pilgrims (29) are on their way to Canterbury (Thomas Becket grave). They stop at a hostel (Tabard Inn). They share a meal together. Harry Bailey (boss of Tabard Inn + pilgrim) suggests that each of them should tell 2 stories to pass the time. The one who tells the best would have a free meal. All the classes of society. Very good picture on the way English Society was organized at the end of the 14^th^ Century.** **Frame tale 24 tales within The Canterbury Tales** **We discover who the Pilgrims are, their psychological features.** **They all belong to a specific genre of literature** **All kind of human types / human nature** **Some of the stories are really hilarious** **The tone is comic and tolerant Chaucer does not condemn weak people or vicious people he is a humanist accepts human nature as it is.** **William Blake for him, Chaucer invented characters who represents anyone anyone could identify as one of the pilgrims.** **CM4 Littérature** **ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE** **One of the most important period.** **Everything is organized by a hierarchy.** - **Always something more important, less important an order in everything** **Every living thing has a specific place in the world the chain of being** **God at the top** **Minerals at the bottom** **There is a king of plants rose** **King of animals lion** **King of minerals gold** **Virtues are also classified** **Human in the middle of the chain men are half animals half spiritual-creatures** **4 levels in the cosmos:** - **God and the angels** - **Macrocosm (physical universe)** - **Body politic the way society is organized** - **Microcosm human beings** **What happens on one level influences the other levels** **4 elements (earth, fire, water, air) macrocosm is made with the same elements than microcosm** **They thought each of our organs were connected to a planet macro. linked with micro.** **Microcosm and body politic body ruled by a head as body politic ruled by someone** **\*quotes\* (moodle)** **Link between macrocosm and body politics each planet must obey the Sun as people must obey the King or the world would be a mess** **Wife of Julius Ceasar = bad dream = he is going to die = tells him not to go = analogy between macrocosm (with comets, a mess in the sky) and body politic** - **A mess in the sky because a mess in the body politic** **Theory of humours** **Based on medical science** **Body made of 4 humours yellow bile, black bile, blood, phlegm** **When sick means humours not balanced** **Evolutions:** - **Geographical expansion and discoveries (America)** - **Scientific developments in anatomy, chemistry and biology** **New conception of the cosmos:** - **Humanism** - **Influence of Italian Renaissance (Machiavel)** - **For a long time = the Ptolemaic universe = geocentric = earth in the middle = man in the center of the universe** - **Forced to step back** **The geocentric system reassured people.** **Golden age of drama** **Prose:** - **Trend in England in literature = euphuism inspired from Cicero** - **Thomas More (1478-1535)** **CM5 Littérature** **Elizabethan poetry** **Pastoral poetry = poetry about shepherds (cf. Sidney's Arcadia)** **Allegory = continuation of medieval trend but also imitation of classical epic poems.** **Satire and Epic** **Unrhymed iambic pentameters** **Adaptation of the sonnet becomes popular** - **Petrarch in Italy in England = Thomas Wyatt + Earl of Surrey** - **Originally love poems describes the beauty of the woman they love** - **About 20 books of sonnets published in England at the time** - **Shakespeare also wrote some sonnets** **Original form: Petrarchan sonnet = abba abba cde cde** **Shakespearean sonnet = abab cdcd efef gg** **Edmond Spencer (1552-1599)** **Known as a sizar name given to a poor student at Cambridge** **1580 secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland (who represented the Queen)** **No protestant literature in English** - **Thought that there should be Anglican literature** ***The Shepherd's Calendar* collection of pastoral poems 1 per month** ***Amoretti Specific rhyme scheme = Spencerian sonnet = abab bcbc cdcd ee*** ***Most famous work = The Faerie Queene*** - ***He devised his own stanza for this poem (8 iambic pentameters followed by one iambic hexameter which slow rhythm) influenced poets after*** - ***Half religious allegory, half ?*** - ***The Queen of the fairies is an embodiment of Elizabeth I shown as a perfect Queen*** ***Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)*** ***From a rich family (friend of the Queen)*** ***Soldier, Diplomat, courtier, scholar the perfect gentleman (cf. Castiglione's The Courtier)*** ***Son of the Lord Deputy of Ireland (linked with Spencer)*** ***Educated at Oxford*** ***Died young in war against Spain in the Netherlands a lot of people wanted to see his coffin*** ***Arcadia* not all in verse (5 prose acts, each divided by verse eclogue (dialogue between shepherds))** **Euphuistic** ***Astrophel and Stella = the star lover and the star*** ***108 sonnets*** ***The Defence of Poesy = England has become protestant and more and more radicals*** - ***Radicals hate drama and poetry Stephen Gosson wrote The School of Abuse to criticize*** - ***This novel = answer poesy = way to learn in an entertaining way teach and delight*** ***Turnabout in a sonnet = la volta*** - ***Problem in the quatrains and solution in the tercets*** - ***Shakespearian = problem in 3 quatrains and solution in the last 2 verses*** ***\*Work on a poem\* (sonnet 1 Astrophel and Stella)*** ***He's comparing himself to a pregnant woman*** ***Debate between nature and culture*** ***Is nature superior to art or is art superior to nature?*** ***Is the real-world better than what's created?*** ***The flowers smell better in literature*** - ***Art is a way to improve on nature not a bad imitation*** *PART 2: Elizabethan and Jacobean drama -- around Shakespeare* *Drama is a major form of entertainment at the time* *Main trends and types of plays:* - ***Comedies*** - ***Tragedies*** - ***Dark tragedies and problem plays*** - ***Masques*** ***The Elizabethan stage*** *The Globe (rebuilt)* *Before 1576 no theatres* - *Performed in private homes or in inns* *A pit* *A balcony* *Also involved a close connection btw actors and spectators* - ***Ppl could talk to the actors they could react*** ***If wealthier have a seat on a bench*** ***If even wealthier could have a cushion for their back*** *2 practical problems:* - *How does the audience know where the scene takes place?* - *How do they know what time it is?* - ***Always a character who says where we are, and tells the time*** ***Women were not allowed to perform*** - *When female roles young men (teenagers) boys dressed up as women* - *They loved these plays on disguise, cross-gendering* - *Sometimes, female character had to disguise as a man = young boy dressed as a woman who dresses as a man (= trial scene in The Merchant of Venice)* *Companies of actors: 2 sources of income* - *Fees of the performances* - *Sponsored by Lords* ***Main authors and their plays*** 1. ***Christopher Marlowe*** *One of the first professional playwrights* *Said to be an atheist* *He was weird his attitude violent* *Part of the **group of "the university wits"** **made a living by writings plays*** ***Spy in the Elizabethan secret services*** *Studied at Cambridge* ***Said to deal in black magic*** ***Died during a fight in an inn murdered*** ***He's a mysterious man*** ***Characters:** hubristic overreachers want to much, to go too far **passionate and excessive*** ***Most famous plays:*** - ***The Tragical History of Dr Faustus (1588)*** - ***Tamburlaine the Great (1590)*** - ***The Jew of Malta* (1590)** 2. ***Ben Janson*** *Shakespeare's rival great playwright + poet* *If he had lived at another time would have been the best* - *Unlucky to live at the same time as Shakespeare* *Often criticize Shakespeare about his Greek and Latin* *1616 became the "King's Poet" (same year Shakespeare died)* *Satire* ***Characters:** dominated by one ruling humour as Marlowe* *He didn't want us to be fascinated by his characters* - *Wanted us to see them fail to work on ourselves* ***Most famous works:*** - ***Volpone (1606)** rich Venetian with servant Mosca pretends to be very sick, that he's going to die all his family members who come to visit him, and offer him gifts to obtain his money. (VOIR LA FIN DU RESUME)* - ***The Alchemist (1610)*** ***CM7 Littérature*** 3. *John Webster (1580-1625)* *Growing tendency of drama to be **violent and bloody** under James I.* *He's a true Jacobean playwright* *More and more tensions between the Puritans and the Anglicans* *Growing **fascination for the dark imagination*** ***Precursor of gothic genre** of literature plenty of the elements* *Webster's plays are set in Italy viewed by the English as a place of sophistication BUT ALSO **a place of evil, corruption and wickedness*** - ***That's where the pope was**, Italy is a place of Catholicism + Machiavel corruption* ***Most famous plays:*** - *The Duchess of Malfi (1612)* - *The two brothers object to the marriage of their sister with Antonio (a servant). But a second darker reason: Ferdinand (a brother) would be sexually attracted to his sister incestuous. Extremely bloody. **Voir le reste du résumé*** ***Shakespeare's life and career (or what we (don't) know of it)*** ***Born 23 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon.*** *He came from a well-off family* *His father was a glove maker and a merchant of wool. prosperous* *His mother: Mary Arden from a neighboring village from a family of landowners* *Not so far from London* *In small towns, there were no theatres BUT when there were events, they came to Stratford as it was not so far from London* - *Probably why he decided to become a playwright* ***He didn't attend universities*** ***He was criticized by Janson for his poor Greek and Latin.*** ***He probably attended a local grammar school. It gave a fairly good education.*** ***He married Ann Hathaway** (arranged marriage) 8 years older* - *3 children: Susanna in 1583 and twins (Hamnet and Judith in 1585)* - ***After, he disappeared for 7 years (1585-1592) we don't have anything about it surprisingly, because Elizabeth I had secret services which followed everybody. "The Lost Years"*** *1592 = already a playwright in London* *How did he acquire all his knowledge? He must have worked as a teacher in a rich aristocratic family. OR some ppl said he became a soldier and travelled around the world (but no trace of it though)* *Shakespeare was also an actor* *He was **a shareholder in his company** **10% of the shares of his company*** ***1594 = Shakespeare became a partner in "The Lord Chamberlain's Men"*** ***They were sponsored. They were a very important group of actors (Chamberlain was very rich)*** ***Shakespeare soon became the leader of its company*** ***1599 = The Globe was built*** *1603 = The company became **"The King's Men"*** *1608 = new theatre built, the "Blackfriars" an indoor theatre more luxury theatre (imitating the Italian theatre)* *1611 = Shakespeare retired (very few ppl could retire)* *He bought the largest house in Stratford* *1613 = the Globe burnt* *April 23, 1616, = death (on the same date as Miguel de Cervantes (but not the same calendar (11 days apart actually))* *1623 = 1^st^ Folio = basis for all modern editions by the friends of Shakespeare Shakespeare never supervised it maybe the texts have been changed by his friends* - *Today: you never have the exact same edition than the previous one* *When Shakespeare was alive: cheap editions as quartos none of them was supervised neither printers paid someone to listen to the play, to memorize the whole play, and then recite it pirate editions* *90% of the play would be the same* *But some lines would be different* *Each new edition mix between 1623 folio and other quartos* *Many records about Shakespeare* *Dozens of texts* *We have no idea how Shakespeare was as a private person very mysterious surprising too* *We don't even really know how he looked like* *Plenty of fake portraits (as the Janssen)* *We only have **six signatures** **which never as the same** **never signs his name twice the same way*** ***We can't explain his texts through his private life*** ***Was Shakespeare really the writer of Shakespeare's plays?*** *Debates* *Almost miraculous achievements 37 plays + 154 poems* - *Almost 2 plays a year and some of the best!* *Some people think it's unthinkable* *Stratfordians vs Anti-Stratfordians* *2011: Movie about Shakespeare Anonymous* - *Anti-Stratfordian vision* *Another argument: He wrote several political plays but has never been involved in politics* *All the people who do serious research are Stratfordian* *The debate appeared 200 years after his death.* *Even if you consider Shakespeare as not being the writer, you have to find someone else: but it should be a genius too. Active vocabulary = 25 000 words.* *CM8 Litterature* ***Shakespeare as a poet:*** *During the 1^st^ part of his career* *2 long narrative poems:* - *Venus and Anubis (1593)* - *The Rape of Lucrece (1594)* *But most famous for his collection of **sonnets*** ***Published in 1609 = The Sonnets*** - *He probably started in 1592-93 and finished around 1607* *Sonnets = original = unlike the others* *Convention to write sonnets to the woman you love* - *Here, Shakespeare's sonnets dedicated to a **man: Mr. W.H.*** - *Who is he? **Another mystery** we still don't know* - *We're not sure if the sonnets are really autobiographical but only documents where Shakespeare expresses his feelings* - ***154 sonnets divided in 2 sections:*** *3 other characters than the speaker:* - *Mr. W.H. relationship is surprising: close friend but encourages him to marry but at the same time declares his friendship as love* - *Other poet (friend of Mr. W.H.) the poet rival speaker jealous of him* - *Dark Lady with dark hair* ***Shakespeare violated all the conventions:*** - *Written to a **man*** - *In Petrarchan sonnets: woman = shown as goddess; love is platonic **// Dark Lady is not a goddess and love is physical*** - *Love is mixed with **self-disgust** = speaker with low idea of himself* *Themes:* - *Love and beauty* - *Obsession with passage of time and death* - *Opposition nature vs art* - *Poetry can provide immortality* ***Sonnet 18:*** ***What is the problem?*** *He wants to describe the beauty of Mr. W.H. so compares him to a summer's day. But it is not the right comparison: summer's beauty decreases, and is not perfect.* ***What is the solution?*** *His beauty will be eternal, because Shakespeare writes a poem about it.* ***Which of the themes are in the sonnet?*** *Cult of beauty + obsession with passage of time + art is a defense against time* ***Sonnet 130:*** ***What is the problem?*** *A portrait a blazon. He's depicting a picture of his mistress. He's telling us what she's not like. She seems ugly.* ***What is the solution?*** *He's not making fun of her! Last 2 lines = he says his mistress is real, not an imaginary goddess as beautiful as real women are. He's making fun of Petrarchan poetry. She's a real flesh and blood woman.* ***Which of the themes are in the sonnet?*** ***Shakespeare as a playwright*** *New generation of playwrights* *Professional it's his job he wanted to make money* *3 main periods:* - ***Youth and maturity (1591-1600)** wants to make a name wrote history plays and comedies that's what people like* - ***The so-called "dark period" (1600-1608)** seems to have developed a low opinion of mankind wrote tragedies and "problem plays"* - ***"Peace regained" (1608-1616)** seems to accept the fact that even if men are bad, it's not hopeless wrote the 'romances' which end with possible hope for the future* *4 groups of plays:* 1. ***Chronicle plays or Historical plays*** *2 tetralogies about the rise of Kings before the Tudor Dynasty (from 1377 to 1485)* - *The trilogy of Henry VI (1590-2) (Part I, II, III) + Richard III (1593)* - *Explores the qualities that make a good King, and the witnesses of past Kings* - *The Elizabethan loved History they thought it could give them lessons for the present* - *Respect the authority of the King the worst threat is a civil war* - *Elizabeth I used drama as propaganda. Drama was political.* - *England is at war. Henry VI. Richard III is mischievous. He's very bad, evil, but also fascinating.* - *Shakespeare went farther back in time: Richard II (1596); Henry IV part I and II (1598) and Henry V (1599)* - *Richard II is a weak king = unable to reign forced to abdicate.* - *Henry IV is a reasonably good king. BUT he's not legitimate. His power is unlawful. He has to establish his right to reign. The second part ends with darkness. Henry IV is dying, and prince Henry is not promising: he's always at the tavern, drinking and flirting with women.* - *Henry V is famous. Only king who has defeated French people.* 2. ***Comedies*** - *Light comedies and farces when he was a **young playwright*** - *More complex comedies: romantic comedies* - *Problem comedies: **written during the dark Shakespeare era*** 3. ***Tragedies*** - *Shakespeare's earliest tragedy = **Romeo and Juliet (1595)** **most famous but not his best tragedy*** - *Then he wrote his 4 major tragedies: **Hamlet // Othello // King Lear // Macbeth*** - *The Roman plays = Coriolanus // Antony and Cleopatra // Julius Caesar* 4. ***The Romances*** - *At the end of Shakespear's career* - *4 plays: Pericles // Cymbeline // The Winter's Tale // The Tempest* - *Still dark in these plays, but there is hope at the end* - *Something wrong has been done in the past the plays are about understanding your mistakes, that bad can redeem itself* - *The setting is always pastoral, sometimes in invented countries (never in England)* - *Plots are unrealistic supernatural features* - *Songs, dances,...* - ***At the end of his career, he seems to be more serein*** ***Cross-classification:*** - ***9 historical plays*** - ***4 types of comedies:*** - ***Comedies of youth*** - ***Romantic comedies*** - ***Problem comedies*** - ***Romances*** - ***4 types of tragedies**:* - ***Roman tragedies*** - ***Tragedies of passion*** - ***Tragedies of Revenge*** - ***Tragedies based on historical chronicles*** ***The 4 main tragedies:*** ***Hamlet:** 1600 (video) (originally, Seneque)* *Denmark when Norway is about to attack* *Prince Hamlet* *Kind is dying* *Mother married his brother* *Prince wants to die* *King's ghost murdered by his brother* *Prince agrees to kill brother* ***What is Hamlet's Hamartia? Hamlet cannot make a decision (normally ghosts are not supposed to exist for a Christian + you should not revenge maybe it's a demon disguised as my father)*** ***Othello** (video)* ***What is Othello's Hamartia? He's jealous; he believes Iago, because the jealousy is already there*** ***King Lear*** ***What is King Lear's Hamartia? He's completely blind, he cannot see through people*** ***The Tragedy of Macbeth*** *Scottish general, just won a battle* *Encounters 3 witches he's going to become king of Scotland* *He tells his friends that his children will be king* *He kills the King of Scotland* *More and more nobles turn against him* *A rebellion at the end* *He's killed* *Lady Macbeth pushes him to kill Dunkan* ***What is Macbeth's Hamartia? He's too ambitious he immediately thinks about murder; he has only heard the witches that he wants to kill the King*** ***CM*** ***England in crisis: 1625-1660*** ***1625 = Charles I King** (son of James I)* *Civil war + small time Republic* *James was already King of Scotland* - *Became King of England Still two different kingdoms* *A lot of tensions in England* *Divinely appointed monarchs considered they had absolute power* *The middle-class more and more important the ones making the money of England* - *Only represented by Parliament (not a lot of influence, power)* *On the religious front:* *Majority of the Parliament were Puritans wanted a pure form of church they thought it should be organized as the time of the Christ* ***No bishops in the Bible Why do we need bishops?*** *The King was aware that a way to control the people was to control the Church* - *Though a hierarchy of bishops* *James I "No bishop, no King"* *Puritans didn't like the ornaments of Church* *No priest, no bishop, no special ceremonies should talk directly to God* *Under Charles I:* - *Appoint a man named William Laud archbishop of Canterbury* - *Laud liked the ornaments restore what had been suppressed by Elizabeth I* *Reintroduction of catholic practices hated by the people* *Bible was in Latin Bible in English James accepted to have the Bible translated in English King James Bible* *The conflict became extreme* ***King dissolved Parliament for 11 years*** ***Charles declared war against Parliament*** ***1^st^ English civil war*** ***Cavaliers (supporters of the King) vs Roundheads (they had short hair (different aristocracy))*** ***Naseby Cavaliers defeated Charles imprisoned + executed 30^th^ January 1649*** ***Oliver Cromwell** Lord Protector of the Realm* - *Right to impose moral austerity* - *Theocracy (religious people have the power)* ***Drama:*** *Continuation of what started under Elizabeth I and James I* - *Became more sophisticated more **aristocratic audience*** - *Dark and violent tragedies John Webster, Cyril Tourneur,...* *Age of the masques Charles I loved masques* *Actors more and more associated with the court, the royalists* *Plays aren't liked by the puritans actors disguise themselves they reject theatre and entertainment* *1642 theatres closed no more dramas* ***Prose:*** *John Milton = most important poet of the 17^th^ century* - *A Puritan, a member of Cromwell's government* *"Of education" (1644) same education for men and women* *"The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce" men and women should be able to divorce if they don't love each other Milton criticized a lot his friends turned their back* *1644 = Areopagitica anyone should be allowed to express their ideas no censorship* *Philosophy Thomas Hobbes* *Leviathan (1651)* *Hobbes was a royalist the right system was an absolute monarchy* *"Man is a wolf to man" left to themselves, men would kill each other* ***Poetry:*** *2 trends:* - *Cavalier poets under the influence of Ben Johnson "Sons of Ben"* *Very conventional tradition continuation of was had been done under Elizabeth and James* *Aristocrats, members of the court* *Write for an audience of their peers* *Features: lyrical poems in a classical tradition; courtly subjects; authors courtiers; sophisticated with classical references and sometimes licentious; Carpe Diem* *Richard Lovelace, Thomas Carew, Robert Herrick, Sir John Suckling, Edmund Waller* *Gather the Rosebuds by Robert Herrick* - *Theme of Carpe Diem enjoy life, you're still young, tomorrow you'll die* ***Memento mori*** - *Metaphysical poets under the influence of John Donne* *Shared the same kind of writing BUT **politically speaking, they could be really different*** *Main themes: love, philosophical issues* *Not called metaphysical poets at first Samuel Johnson considered there was not real emotion, and it was really complex* *A metaphysical poem you don't know it is poetry* *They used **conceits** **scientific, modern images*** ***John Bunyan (1628-1688) -- The Pilgrim's Progress (1678)*** *Knew the Bible by heart* *Joined the armies of parliament (was a puritan)* *After dark era convinced he was going to hell* *Became a Baptist* *Illegal to preach outside the Church* - *Imprisoned for 12 years* - *Started again imprisoned again wrote The Pilgrim's Progress* *Dream allegory* *.\.\.\.\.\.\.\ Extremely simple* *Everybody is going to read his work* *It was everywhere* ***John Donne (1572-1631)*** ***Wealthy and Catholic family*** ***Family of Catholic martyrs*** *Couldn't take his degree in Oxford he was Catholic (not Anglican)* *He couldn't expect a career in England* *Got married with a 16-year-old girl secretly* *John Donne was sent to prison but the marriage was legal* *11 children* *Poor* *King James really liked what he wrote* - *Tried to convince him to become an Anglican eventually he renounced his catholic faith and became an Anglican thanks to the help of the King, he finally got a brilliant career* *Insolence* *Situations are very dramatic* *To feel the emotion, you've got to understand what he wrote* *Mixture of spirituality and eroticism* - *Asked to be raped by God* ***A Valediction, Forbidding Mourning*** - ***The speaker comes to say goodbye (goes on a trip)** she must not cry, even if they're going to be separated* - ***Many comparisons developed on several lines:** a comparison over 12 lines: he compares the **2 lovers to the feet of a pair of compasses** **typically metaphysical*** - *Why does the image make sense? **The two feet of the pair of compasses stay attached + if one touched = the other touched** **as she can't move, he will always turn around her + when he comes back, it grows erect** (compasses + lovers)* ***Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)** = a special case* - *Part of his poems are metaphysical, and part of them are cavaliers* *Born in the North of England // Father part of Anglican Church* *Studied at Cambridge converted to Catholicism for a few weeks by Jesuit spies they tried to convert students // His father would have brought him back to Protestantism* *Worked as a tutor for important aristocrats in Europe* *Came back after the end of the Civil wars* *During 1640s -- 1650s seems to be on the side of the cavaliers (against Cromwell)* *End of 1550s becomes a support of Parliament and puritans* ***Becomes a member of Cromwell's government (puritan)*** ***1559 = elected member of Parliament for his native town (name?) until his death*** *Sometimes, very **religious poems,** or sometimes, very **libertine*** ***Essence of his poems: doubt** it's never clear* - *Plus, he never published his poems (published after his death by his "wife")* - *It was a way for him to ask himself questions* ***To His Coy Mistress*** ***Most famous Carpe Diem*** *Wants his mistress to sleep with him, now* *3 parts: 3 stanzas* *If he had plenty of time, he would woo her very slowly (for thousands of years)* ***BUT no sorry, time flies one day you'll be dead when you're in your grave, it's too late === Second part is a memento mori*** *3^rd^ part = conclusion = let's sleep together now* ***Syllogism (but not a true one** no link between the arguments and the conclusion)* *Not really cavalier because he's brutal uses violent images metaphysical* ***John Milton (1608-1674) = neither cavalier nor metaphysical BUT the most important*** *Born in a very wealthy family (parents as rich as members of the aristocracy)* *Strict protestants* *Received an excellent education* *Went to Saint Paul's school in London and Cambridge* *Originally, Milton planned to become an Anglican priest **BUT he found them too corrupted*** ***Spent 5 years at his parents' house without working he kept reading and reading*** - ***One of the most well-read men in England*** ***Travelled around Europe (even visited Galileo)*** *Came back when Civil War arrived* - *He was on the side of Parliament wrote pamphlets for them* - ***1649-1660 = Latin Secretary in Cromwell's government*** - ***1652 = totally blind*** - *When Charles II became king **Milton sent to prison (he defended execution of Charles I)** released after a few weeks* - *Spent the rest of his life in total seclusion* ***Early works:*** - *A masque (short play) = very religious = **Comus (1634)*** - *Two "companion poems" **"l'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso"*** ***An important historical figure*** ***End of his life comes back to reading and writing*** ***During Civil War, Milton abandoned poetry to write pamphlets in prose about the political and religious issues of the time*** ***Paradise Lost (+ sequel Paradise Regained)*** ***Long epic poem in 12 books*** ***Aim of Paradise Lost = "justify the ways of God to Man" = explain to men why God did this or that** God's plan* *Mostly based on the Bible and on the story of Adam and Eve* *1^st^ = tells the story of Satan who wanted to be God* - *Defeated* - *God creates a new world* - *Adam and Eve* - *Satan takes his revenge by tempting this new race convince Eve to take the forbidden fruit Eve to convince Adam excluded from the garden of Eden* - *Foretells the coming of Christ and redemption eventually, men will be saved* ***Central issues =*** - ***question of free will and individual choice*** - ***For Milton, to justify the ways of God to Man means that men have free will*** - ***If men don't have free will, then God is not justified because is men make a wrong choice, then God is responsible*** - ***Didn't agree with protestants for that (they thought there was no free will) because it would mean that God is not all-powerful*** - ***Internal essence of Evil and Good*** - ***It's something you have in yourself doesn't matter where you are, if you have Evil inside of you, you'll be in Hell*** *The poem is a love story between Adam and Eve many descriptions of the love between them* - *He falls because of his love for Eve (he knew that she had already eaten the apple, so he sacrifices* *Many modern readers consider that Satan is a hero in the text he's a very impressive and admirable character* *William Blake wrote "Milton was of the devil's party without knowing it."* *Just like Satan, Milton was a rebel completely untrue In his mind, it was Charles who rebelled against God, not him* ***Samson Agonistes** = play* *Non playable it's bad on stage not dynamic enough* *Samson and Delila* *He's blind in prison and people come by in front of him* *At the end, they release him and take him to a banquet and humiliate him* *Finally, he prays God and destroys the temple* ***RESTORATION LITERATURE FROM 1660 TO 1688*** *End of Oliver Cromwell (dies in 1558 + replaced by son until 1660)* ***Political, religious and cultural background*** *Oliver Cromwell supported by the army son Richard not so popular* - *Richard lost power in England = **replaced by son Charles I (Charles II)*** - ***Monarchy back*** *Restoration accompanied by **austerity of the Puritan regime*** - *During dictatorship it was a theocracy* - *Court of Charles II = libertine Puritan against that type of thing* *Charles II regime until 1685 (dies)* ***Succeeded by brother (no heir) Parliament still dominated by puritans and middle class*** - *Charles never conflicted w/ the parliament (in practical terms = parliamentary monarchy)* - ***BUT Charles had catholic tendences married to a Spanish princess but parliament okay because he didn't have no heir*** - ***His brother James really was a catholic no son as soon as he dies, they would replace him by a protestant BUT 1688 = son obliged to abdicate William and Mary of Orange ("The Glorious Revolution" 1688) Parliament decided who was going to be King*** - ***The torees vs the wigs (conservatives vs progressists)*** *Reaction against the puritan system = the theatres are **reopened in 1660*** ***Opera encouraged by the court*** ***Science =** Royal society (Académie des sciences =)* *Rise of **capitalism** (middle class more and more powerful)* *Major evolution **industrial revolution*** ***Much more powerful country, but not everybody is happy places of poverty*** ***Intellectual climate = reason dominates*** *Main value in society = reason = everything has to go through the channel of reason* *Influence of classical writing (roman authors of the first century (Horace, Virgile))* - *Admired because **sense of balance (pros and cons of everything)*** - ***Reason and moderation*** ***Architecture of the period = Palladian style** (Palladio = architect (dead))* - *Very classical geometrical, straight,... (contrary of gothic)* *In literature = **satire = major literary genre*** - ***Addressed to reason*** - ***Dominates prose, poetry and drama*** - ***Make people think, not make them feel*** - ***Try to become better an intellectual art*** ***Johnathan Swift (gulliver)*** ***Development of science = Newton*** - *Laws of gravitation 1667 (?)* *Development of **philosophy = John Locke*** - ***In political terms considers that society is a result of a contract made by men between one another a contract for peace and stability (just as Hobbes)*** - ***Essai on human understanding how we develop our ideas*** - ***Reason and science*** - ***Disagrees platon (world of ideas)*** ***Restoration theatre = continuation of what was made before more and more sophisticated audience giving morals*** ***3 major types of plays:*** - *Heroic plays celebrating love and honour* - *Restoration tragedies rewrite Shakespeare plays (too passionate) they are moral, without passion of excessiveness (what people liked at the time)* - ***Restoration Comedy** (most important) also known as "comedy of manners" (continuation of city comedies) very satirical* 20 questions 1 point par question 1 ou 2 bonnes reponses, voire 3 si diagrammes 1 bonne réponse = 3 ou 4 choix de bonne réponse Perd 0.5 à chaque mauvaise réponse cochée Si 2 réponse, 0.5 à chaque question Au pire on verra bien Entrainement 1. B et C **Correct** 2. B et C **Correct** 3. A **Correct (Ben Johnson wrote plays about it)** 4. A et B **False B (-0.5)** 5. C **Correct (Thomas Wyat and another)** 6. A et C **False C (-0.5)** 7. B et C **Correct** 8. B et D **Correct** 9. B **False B et C (pastoral = bergers + rural setting) (-0.5)** 10. C **Correct** 8.5 / 10