WE ARE GOING TO PRESENT YOU THE MALE FIGURES IN THE LITERARY TEXTS WE HAVE STUDIED SO FAR
THE TEXTS WE HAVE CHOSEN “BEOWULF”, an epic poemBEOWULF “LORD RANDAL”, a balladLORD RANDAL “THE KNIGHT”, from a narrative poemTHE KNIGHT “SONNET XVIII”, a sonnetSONNET XVIII
BEOWULF Figure describeda WARRIOR an IDEALISTIC man conveyed in a REALISTIC way He’s CREDIBLE
CHARACTERIZATION moral valuescourage, honour, loyalty, solidarity, mighty, strenght social classvassal high-born point of view well-considered good reputation of the society Authority, leader, navigator rule in the society
AUTHOR’S OPINION it agrees with PEOPLE’s opinion Beowulf = a perfect warrior = a HERO Name : BeowulfPositive qualities and superlatives Verbs expressing he was authoritative
USE OF LANGUAGE Positive semantic field Beowulf is EXALTED simple- common language (Anglo-Saxon) To be FIXED in listener’s mind Nouns belonging to the semantic field of the war REALISM
Old English period military society warrior=central figure Beowulf was a warrior HISTORICAL CONTEXT He belonged to the Old English society He assured his population’s survival Beowulf and all warriors were EXALTED
LORD RANDAL Figure described: A LORD HIS FREE TIME HIS RICHNESS REALISTIC DESCRIPTION
CHARACTERIZATION SOCIAL CLASS FAMILY HOBBIES a lord aristocracy a son he needs his mother’s help hunting
USE OF LANGUAGE SIMPLE LANGUAGE A LOT OF REPETITIONS addressed to common people to impress the ballad in listener’s minds HISTORICAL CONTEXT ballads from 12th century lords feudal system from the XI century Lord Randal = society of ballads centuries
CONCLUSION LORD MAN SOCIALLY POWERFUL POISONED BY HIS TRUE LOVE MEN SHOULD KEEP AWAY FROM WOMEN
THE KNIGHT Figure describeda KNIGHT REALISTIC description : knights really existed IDEALISTIC descritpion : knights never had neither only positive qualities nor all ones
CHARACTERIZATION social class a knight battles he fougth in crusades places he visited pilgrimages all three continents the way he dressed simple clothes the way he appeared not conceited embodiment of the chivalric code well-considered good reputation Deep Christian beliefs Umility moral values truth, honour, freedom, courtesy courage, dignity, wisdom, clemency
AUTHOR’S OPINION EXALTATION of the knight A lot of positive adjectives “Truth, honour, freedom and all courtesy “ “Though so strong and brave, he was very wise “ Superlatives “No christened man so oft of his degree. “ “And therein had he ridden, no man more “ A long list of all his battles “In Latvia raided he, and..in far Granada at the siege was heOf Algeciras, and in Belmarie.At Ayas was he and at Satalye…”
USE OF LANGUAGE refined language Readers = intellectual men Exaltation /elevation of the knight idealization knights Norman period (XI- XV centuries) Age of Chaucer (XIV century) The knight belonged to the society of the Age of Chaucer HISTORICAL CONTEXT
CONCLUSION knights fought against enemies of the Church Main code : RELIGIOUS CODE They obeyed religious code Knights were WELL-CONSIDERED by Christian population Chaucer exalts the knight
SONNET XVIII Figure described: A YOUNG FAIR MAN IDEALIZED description
CHARACTERIZATION PHYSICAL ASPECT MORAL ASPECT ELEMENTS OF A SUMMER DAY COMPARISION
AUTHOR’ S OPINION Shakespeare dedicated the sonnet to a young man ALL THE SONNET IS AN AUTHOR’S OPINION POSITIVE ADJECTIVES Shakespeare ADMIRES the young man’s beauty
USE OF LANGUAGE A RHYME SCHEME REPETITION OF THE WORD “FAIR” TO IMPRESS SOME WORDS IN PEOPLE’ S MIND TO EXPLAIN and to EXALT the young man’s beuty
CONCLUSION FAIR YOUTH HE COULDN’T BE COMPARED WITH NATURE AN IDEALIZED FIGURE He is BETTER than THE REAL WORLD
CONCLUSION Texts from different centuries Characterizations of different kinds of man the warriorthe lord the knight the loved man military societyRenaissance society Norman- French society feudal society different kind of mandifferent kind of society