my discussion about the literary perspective during the middle ages for my MA 211 class (Highlights on Oriental and Continental Drama)

1. Literary Perspective
‘Middle Ages’
Prepared and Presented by:
JANUARY B. MERILLES
MAEngEd Student – BU Graduate School
for MALit 222: Highlights of Oriental and Continental Drama
PROF. LUISITO P. SAGARBARRIA
Subject Professor
04/16/2016

2. Lesson Objectives:
 After actively participating in a 60-120 min. discussion, my
fellow MA Learners will exhibit the following behaviors:
a. Identify various literary perspectives and themes during the
middle ages;
b. Determine the significant events during the middle ages in
different areas that contributed in the creation of various
literary works;
c. Appropriately assess the relevance of various medieval
concepts and literary perspectives to modern literature
specifically in terms of theater/drama;
d. Application of knowledge, skills and values learned from this
topic to real life experiences and actual teaching situations.

3. Literary Perspective
 Perspective pǝr-’spǝk-tiv n.
~ a view of things in their true
relationship or relative importance
~scene as viewed through the
eyes/mind of the chosen character

4. The Middle Ages

5. Knights!

6. Castles!

7. Feudal Warfare!!!!

8. Chivalry- code of honor

9. Vikings!

11. Jousting Tournaments

12. The Middle Ages
 Early Middle Ages 500-1000 AD
 High Middle Ages 1000–1300 AD
 Late Middle Ages 1300–1500 AD

13. Map of Medieval Europe

14. Commercial Networks

15. The Early Middle Ages (550 – 1000)

16. The Barbarians takeover

17. Invaders and Raiders

18. Charlemagne
the Warrior
(b742-d814)

19. Charlemagne the Great

20. The High Middle Ages (1000-1300)

21. Medieval England

23. The Battle of Hastings

27. The White Tower in London…
part of William’s legacyChartres Cathedral

28. The Feudal System

31. Bound by law and custom…
 It is the custom in England, as with other
countries, for the nobility to have great power
over the common people, who are serfs. This
means that they are bound by law and custom
to plough the field of their masters, harvest
the corn, gather it into barns, and thresh and
winnow the grain; they must also mow and
carry home the hay, cut and collect wood, and
perform all manner of tasks of this kind.
-- Jean Froissart, 1395

33. The Lord of the Manor

34. The Three Estates

35. The Church

36. Women in the Middle Ages

38. The Crusades (1096 – 1272)

39. THE CRUSADES
Causes
• 1. Pope wanted
to increase his
power
• 2. Many serfs
wanted to gain
freedom
• 3. Some thought
it would clear
themselves from
sin.
GOAL
• CHRISTIANS
WANTED TO
REGAIN THE
HOLY LAND
FROM THE
MUSLIMS
RESULTS
• 1. Legacy of hatred
between Christians
and Jews.
• 2. Increased trade
between the East
and Western Europe
• 3. Decreased power
of the church
• 4. Italy became the
center of trade

40. The Magna Carta

41. Education and The Rise of
Universities

42. Areas of Study & Teaching Style

43. Medieval Architecture

44. Medieval Homes

45. Clothing and Medicine

46. Town Life

47. Arts & Entertainment

48. Musical Instruments

49. Peddlers, Businessmen and
Tradesmen

50. Boroughs and Town
Governments

51. Guilds and The Masterpiece

52. The Merchant Class, Masons and
Apprentices

53. The Printing Press and The First
Companies

54. The Late Middle Ages (1300-1500)

55. Climate Change and Famine

56.  The Spread
of the Black
Death

57. TheBlack Death (1348-1350)

58. Black Death (1348-1350)

59. Black death - impacts

60. The Hundred Years’ War

61. The End of Middle Ages

62. Changes in the Middle Ages
 France: Created
legislative branch—the
Estates General. Fought
100 Year War with
England.
 England:
 Moves towards a limited
monarchy—Signing of the
Magna Carta and creation
of Parliament
 English Common Law—
decisions by royal courts
became law
 SPAIN
 1479 united under
Ferdinand and Isabella
 Spanish Inquisition—
forced conversion of Jews
and Muslims along with
torture.
 GERMANY
 Known as the Holy Roman
Empire
 Hapsburgs became most
powerful family in Europe

63. Literature
During the
Medieval
Period

64. Languages and Writings

65. Authorship & Types of
Literature

66. Troubadours

67. Chanson de Geste

68. Characteristics of Medieval
Literature
 Romance
 Christian Message
 Heroism
 Presentations of Idealized Behavior
 Use of Kennings
 Use of Allegory

69. Medieval Romance

70. Chivalric Code and Courtly
Love

71. Knighthood and Chivalry

72. Flowering of Poetry about
Courtly Love

73. The Ideal of Courtly Love

76. Love Conquers All

77. The Quest

78. The Song of Roland
(La Chanson de Roland)

80. Pilgrimages: The Canterbury
Tales

81. WRITERS & POETS
during the Medieval Period

82. Cædmon
Earliest-Known English Poet
Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes
uard
metudæs maecti end his
modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra
gihuaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe haleg scepen.
tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectigprimo
cantauit Cædmon istud carmen.

83. Cædmon
Earliest-Known English Poet
Now let me praise the keeper of
Heaven's kingdom,
The might of the Creator, and his
thought,
The work of the Father of glory, how
each of wonders
The Eternal Lord established in the
beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
Then Middle-earth the keeper of
mankind,
The Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
The earth for men, the Almighty
Lord.

84. Geoffrey Chaucer
The Father of English Literature
(1343 – October 25, 1400)

85. Geoffrey Chaucer

86. St. Julian of
Norwich

87. Medieval Drama

88. The Medieval Drama
 General features
 Themes
 Structure
 Language
 Audience
 Authors and works

89. General features
 Medieval drama flourished in the 15th century; it developed
out of liturgical ceremonies: the origin of medieval plays
can be found in the Church and in its rituals
 At first the church had control of drama even outside of the
church- they would give the approval
 But secular groups like trade guilds took over. They were
called, “Confraternities”.
 It was common that certain guild would retain control over
certain play/stories, all of which were based on the Bible or
religious teachings.

90. Theme
 Morality
 Mystery and
Miracle
 Farce

91. Structure
 The Miracles grew in
popularity, so the plays left the
Church to be performed first in
the Church yard, then in other
open spaces of the town

92.  Common people didn’t understand
Latin, nor read it. So, to ignite an
interest in a faith losing to paganism
the church began incorporating it’s
liturgy into plays.
Language

93. Audience
 The cycles of
Mistery plays
appealed to all social
classes, from royalty
to peasants: they all
came in to watch the
plays. Cycles
instilled a love of
drama in the people

94. Medieval Stages
There were two main areas
for performances to take
place:
 Mansions
 Platea

95. Medieval Pageant Wagon

96. Staging Devices

98. Author and Works
Most authors of Medieval plays were
anonymous. Some important ones are:
 Hrosvitha- A Benedictine Nun
 John Bale- English Churchman
 Adam de la Halle – A French composer

99. Hrotsvit of Gandersheim
935-1000

100. Earlier Medieval Drama

101. Liturgical Drama

102. Quem Quaeritis Quem quaeritis in
sepulchro, o
Christicolae?
Jesum Nazarenum
crucifixum, o caelicolae.
Non est hic; surrexit, sicut
praedixerat. Ite,
nuntiate quia surrexit
de sepulchro
Translation:
The Angels: Whom do ye
seek in the sepulcher, O
followers of Christ?
The Marys: Jesus of Nazareth,
the Crucified, O heavenly
ones.
The Angels: He is not here;
he is risen, just as he
foretold. Go, announce that
he is risen from the
sepulcher.
—John Glassner, editor,
Medieval and Tudor Drama.

103. Troupe

104. The 5 M’s
 Mummings
 Mystery Play
 Morality Play
 Miracle Play
 Manners

105. Medieval Comedy

106. Passion Play
 Late middle ages, the passion
play developed.

107. Secular Plays

108. Impact of Medieval Drama
 Main Impact: Because the actors got much
closer to their audience, acting became more
important than dialogue.
 Also…Mixed comedy and seriousness, which
transitioned into Italian and Elizabethan
drama.

109. Medieval rebirth of the theatre
gives us a lesson:
“Whenever a society is
sufficiently developed to allow its
members freedoms of time and
expression, the celebration of
theatre will be an important way to
explore and expand those
freedoms.”

110. Oscar Wilde said it best:
“I regard the theatre as
the greatest of all art
forms, the most immediate
way in which a human being
can share with another the
sense of what it is to be a
human being”.

111. Literary Perspectives
 The Psychological Perspective
 The Social Power Perspective
 The Formalist Perspective
 The Historical Perspective
 The Biographical Perspective
 Reader-Response Perspective
 The Archetypal Perspective
 The Gender Perspective
 Deconstruction

112. Point of View in Literature -
Perspectives
 Single Major Character Viewpoint
 Minor Character Viewpoint
 Omniscient Viewpoint
 Multiple Viewpoints

113. References
 Deborah Appleman, Critical Encounters in High School
English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, Second
Edition, New York: Teachers College Press. Copyright © 2009
by Teachers College, Columbia University.
 Retrieved from the companion website for Uncommon Core:
Where the Authors of the Standards Go Wrong About
Instruction—and How You Can Get It Right by Michael W.
Smith, Deborah Appleman, and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages
 http://histclo.com/chron/med/medieval.html
 http://www.claymoreslinger.com/medieval_king.asp
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article2192.html
 www.middle-ages.org.uk

114. References
Askelan, Erin. The History of Medieval Theater.
Retrieved from:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5381978_history-
medieval-theater.html
Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_theatre
Pfontaine. 2010. Drama 1301 project-Medieval
Theater. Retrieved from:
http://www.slideshare.net/pfontaine42/medieval-
drama-fnl

115. Future Readings
Anthology of Middle English Literature
Art History Resources on the Web
Australian Catholic University
Castles of Britain.com
College at Oneonta
Department of Astrology at University of
Maryland
End of Europe’s Middle Ages University
Calgary
Gregorian Chant
History Link 101
Labyrinth at Georgetown University
National Archives and Records
Administration
New York Carver.com
Timelines.Info

116. © JANUARY B. MERILLES
04/16/16
“ Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and
consider the great love of the LORD.”
Psalm 107:43 (NIV)