Assignment: Modernist Literature

01. Which 2 readings did you choose?
- Leonard, E. 3:10 to Yuma
- Greene, G. The Third Man

02. Compare (3) and contrast (3) the reading you completed with the ppts. on Modernist culture and literature.
In the third man one important thing was the recovery of the second world war, while in 3:10 to Yuma one important point was the civil war. In both reading , there are tragedy and a lot of frustration, also both characters Martins and Dan Evans feel a neccesity for breaking down the social norms. Both characters are connected with death and a strong feeling to triumph.

In the third man the writer gives importance to the places where the story happens, for example Viena city, a square, a library, a train station and some other places. Meanwhile in the 3:10 to Yuma the scenery is almost all of pampas with cows and horses, and the typical western scenery.

03. In your opinion, do you feel the readings you completed are very good or excellent examples of Modernist literature?
I think that both are very good examples to represent Modernist literature, because the war left consequences, and also in both there is sense of frustation, disillusionment, tragedy and neccesity of breaking down the social rules, specially the third man is a good representation of Modernist literature, because the places that are described in the story can be seen reflected in modernity.

04. Would you recommend these readings to your friends and/or family? Why/why not?
Yes, I would recommend them because both make the reader feel and keep interested to know what happened at the end of the story.

Assignment: Victorian Literature

01. Which 2 readings did you select from the list?

- The Way of All Flesh
(Butler, S.)
- A Horseman in the Sky
(Bierce, A.)

02. Using these readings, compare (3 examples) and contrast (3 examples) the works with the ppt presentations on Victorian Literature and Culture given in class.

Comparing the books with the ppt presentation we can see that the contexts of the books take place the same context that people lived in the Victorian era, in this case when the United States was divided by a Civil war (A Horseman in the Sky) and how the church worked in that time focusing on poverty (The Way of All Flesh). But as contrast we can see that sometimes the story gives too much descriptions of what a person felt in a specific moment or the addition of some details that are not very important in order to understand the plot of the story and don't have to do with the Victorian era. An example of this kind of description is "The rider sat straight in his saddle. His hair streamed back, waving in the wind. His left hand held his horses reins while his right hand was hidden in the cloud of the horses mane. The horse looked as if it were galloping across the earth. Its body was proud and noble."

03. Do you feel that the readings you completed are very good or excellent examples of Victorian Literature? Why/Why not?

I think that the books are very good examples of the Victorian Literature because they closely reflect what happened in that time, and it's important to think that the books were written in that period. So it's to say that we can read something like the scoops of the Victorian era with a bit of entertainment.

04. Would you recommend these readings to your friends and family? Why/Why not?

Yes. I would recommend them, because they are a good way to learn and understand the Victorian era. Also, the stories are interesting and not so difficult to read.

Shakespeare and Early Modern English

1. Define and explain, The Great Vowel Shift.
The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in the south of England between 1450 and 1750. The Great Vowel Shift is one of the historical events marking the separation of Middle and Modern English, mainly in the pronunciation.

2. Name 5 dialects of Modern English.
British English, Philippine English, American English, Australian English, Indo-Pakistani English.

3. One of the problems with Early Modern English was a lack of uniformity in spelling. Which 2 people (1-English, 1-American) helped establish standardized spelling?
Samuel Johnson (English) and Noah Webster (American).

4. How many countries in the world have given Modern English official status?
53 countries.

5. The most recent statistics show that approximately how many people speak Modern English as a:
I. First language? - 309–400 million
II. Second Language? - 199–1,400 million

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?
From about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 15th century) to 1650.

7. How are the use of Pronouns different between Early Modern & Modern English?
In Early Modern English, there were two second-person personal pronouns: thou, the informal singular pronoun, and ye, which was both the plural pronoun and the formal singular pronoun.
In Modern English the pronouns were much the same as today. One difference is that, much as a becomes an before a vowel, my and thy became mine and thine before vowels as well; hence, mine eyes, thine uncle, and so on.

8. Which language families does Modern English belong in?
Anglo–Frisian, Anglic, Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic.

9. Name 4 worldwide uses for Modern English.
There are diverse uses as controlling airplanes, developing software, conducting international diplomacy, and business relations.

10. In your opinion, what was the greatest influence on the spread of Modern English around the world? Why?
I think that literature was a great influence, because it helped people to know different stories, share and enjoy with other seeing plays and after obviously an important thing was the music.

11. There has been a lot of controversy over the true authorship of Shakespeare's writings. Which 3 people are also candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare's plays?
The possible authors are Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere.

12. Briefly explain The Oxfordian Theory.
The Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship holds that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (1550-1604), wrote the plays and poems attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. The case for Oxford's authorship is based on perceived similarities between Oxford's biography and events in Shakespeare's plays and sonnets; parallels of language, idiom, and thought between Oxford's letters and the Shakespearean canon; and underlined passages in Oxford's Bible that may correspond to quotations in Shakespeare's plays.

13. Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, which according to the Folio Classification, fall into 3 categories. Name the 3 categories.
Tragedies, Comedies and Histories.

14. In which town was Shakespeare born?
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.

15. Which famous London theatre (built by actors, for actors) is connected with Shakespeare's plays?
The Globe Theatre.

16. Even though Richard III is the most performed play, Hamlet is Shakespeare's most famous play. In your opinion, what does this portion of Hamlet's famous soliloquy mean:
To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub,...

17. Name 5 post-Shakespearean artists whose work was heavily influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare.
Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner and Henry Fuseli.

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays are included in The Wars of the Roses series?
Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V; Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; and Richard III.

19. Shakespeare wrote most of his works in blank verse composed in iambic pentameter. What is blank verse & iambic pentameter?
It means that his verses were usually unrhymed and consisted of ten syllables to a line, spoken with a stress on every second syllable. Its sentences tend to start, pause, and finish at the end of lines, with the risk of monotony.

20. Name 4 actors from Shakepeare's original company.
William Kempe, Henry Condell, Richard Burbage and John Heminges.

21. What were the Wars of the Roses (1377-1485)?
The Wars of the Roses were a series of bloody dynastic civil wars between supporters of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, for the throne of England.

22. Why was this war called the Wars of the Roses?
The Wars of the Roses has its origins in the badges associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Res Rose of Lancaster. Although the roses were occasionally used as symbols during the wars, most of the participants wore badges associated with their immediate feudal lords or protectors.

23. What were the names of the 2 houses which fought in this war?
The White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.

24. What prompted this civil war to begin?
The overthrow of King Richard II by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, in 1399. Richard II's government had been highly unpopular and Bolingbroke returned from exile, initially to reclaim his rights as Duke of Lancaster.

25. How did the war end?
The war ended with the victory of the Lancastrian Henry Tudor, who founded the House of Tudor which subsequently ruled England and Wales for 116 years.

26. Which Kings of England were participants in the Wars of the Roses?
The Lancastrians: King Henry VI, Duke Somerset, Henry VII, Margaret of Anjou, Duke of Buckingham, and Thomas Percy.
The Yorkists: King Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and Duke of York.

Assignment: Middle English

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?
Middle English was spoken after the Norman invasion in 1066 (11th century) and about 1470.

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?
The variant of the Northumbrian dialect (prevalent in Northern England) spoken in southeast Scotland was developing into the Scots Language. The language of England as used after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:
A. Pig - Pork
B. Cow - Beef
C. Wood - Forest
D. Sheep - Mutton
E. House - Mansion
F. Worthy - Honourable
G. Bold - Courageous

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.
With its simplified case-ending system, the grammar of Middle English is much closer to that of modern English than that of Old English. Compared to other Germanic languages, it is probably most similar to that of modern Dutch.
Nouns: Middle English retains only two separate noun-ending patterns from the more complex system of inflection in Old English.The strong -s plural form has survived into Modern English, while the weak -n form is rare (oxen, children, brethren ; and in some dialects eyen [instead of eyes], shoon [instead of shoes], hosen [instead of hose(s)] and kine [instead of cows]).

Verbs: the first person singular of verbs in the present tense ends in -e ("ich here" - "I hear"), the second person in -(e)st ("þou spekest" - "thou speakest"), and the third person in -eþ ("he comeþ" - "he cometh/he comes"). (þ is pronounced like the unvoiced th in "think").

In the past tense, weak verbs are formed by adding an -ed(e), -d(e) or -t(e) ending. These, without their personal endings, also form past participles, together with past-participle prefixes derived from Old English: i-, y- and sometimes bi-. Strong verbs, by contrast, form their past tense by changing their stem vowel (e.g. binden -> bound), as in Modern English.

Pronouns: Post-Conquest English inherits its pronouns from Old English, with the exception of the third person plural, a borrowing from Old Norse (the original Old English form clashed with the third person singular and was eventually dropped). The first and second person pronouns in Old English survived into Middle English largely unchanged, with only minor spelling variations. In the third person, the masculine accusative singular became 'him'. The feminine form was replaced by a form of the demonstrative that developed into 'she', but unsteadily—'ho' remained in some areas for a long time. The lack of a strong standard written form between the eleventh and the fifteenth century makes these changes hard to map.

The overall trend was the gradual reduction in the number of different case endings: the dative case disappeared, but the three other cases were partly retained in personal pronouns, as in he, him, his.

5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?
All letters in Middle English words were pronounced, therefore 'knight' was pronounced /knɪçt/ (with a pronounced and the as the in German 'Knecht'), not /naɪt/ as in Modern English. In earlier Middle English all written vowels were pronounced.

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?
It was a written form of English used by government bureaucracy and for other official purposes from the late 14th century. It is believed to have contributed in a significant way to the development of the English language as spoken and written today. Because of the differing dialects of English spoken and written across the country at the time, the government required a clear and unambiguous form for use in its official documents. Chancery Standard was developed to meet this need.

7. Who wrote the Canterbury Tales?
The stories were written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century.

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.
The pilgrimage was a very prominent feature of medieval society. Pilgrims would frequently journey to cathedrals that preserved relics of saints. They believed that such relics had miraculous powers. Pilgrimages also represented the mortal journey to heaven through the struggles of mortal life.

9. Why did the pilgrims take this journey?
Canterbury was a popular destination within England. Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, had been killed in the Canterbury cathedral by knights who had misunderstood Henry II's order during a disagreement between him and Becket. Miracle stories connected to his remains began to spring up soon after his death, and the area became a popular pilgrimage destination. For that reason they wanted to find the holy blessed martyr.

10. It is thought that some of the stories in The Canterbury Tales originated in Italy. What was the name of the Italian book and who wrote it?
The name of the italian book is The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

11. The Canterbury Tales is considered an extremely important book, both in terms of English Literature & in the history of English writing. In your opinion, why is this book so important?
The book is important because is an important piece of English literature that give us a sample of the history and the society in the Middle ages and we can compare and realize that there is not so much difference about nowadays just the technology. Also it’s a record of the roots of English and how this has evolved.

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is: "D"
a. A collection of German folk tales, similar to Grimm's Fairy Tales.
b. A collection of Japanese ghost stories, similar to Kwaidan.
c. A detailed explanation of the proper etiquette & behaviour for all knights in Medieval Europe. d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.
e. None of the above.
f. All of the above.

13. Who is Sir Gawain?
He is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table.

14. What is the challenge that The Green Knight proposes to the Knights of the Round Table?
The Green Knight offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day.

15. What is the similarity between Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the Irish tale of Cúchulainn?
The similitary between the tales is that Cuchulainn's antagonist feints three blows with the axe before letting his target depart without injury.

16. What is the importance of the pentagram/pentangle in the poem?
The pentangle on Gawain's shield is seen by many critics as signifying Gawain's perfection and power over evil. The poem describes the pentangle as a symbol of faithfulness and an "endless knot". In line 625, it is described as "a sign by Solomon". Solomon, the third king of Israel, in 10th century B.C. was said to have the mark of the pentagram on his ring, which he received from the archangel Michael. The pentagram seal on this ring was said to give Solomon power over demons.

17. How are numbers used to symbolize events in the poem?
The poet highlights number symbolism to add symmetry and meaning to the poem. For example: three kisses are exchanged between Gawain and Bertilak's wife; Gawain is tempted by her on three separate days; Bertilak goes hunting three times, and the Green Knight swings at Gawain three times with his axe, or the fifth five is Gawain himself, who embodies the five moral virtues of the code of chivalry: "friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy, and piety". All of these virtues reside, as the poet says, in the "Endless Knot" of the pentangle, which forever interlinks and is never broken

18. What is the significance of Sir Gawain's neck wound?
During the medieval period, the body and the soul were believed to be so intimately connected that wounds were considered an outward sign of inward sin. The neck, specifically, was believed to correlate with the part of the soul related to will, connecting the reasoning part (the head) and the courageous part (the heart).

19. Which actor played The Green Knight in the film adaptation, Sword of the Valiant?
The actor was Sean Connery.

20. In many ways this poem is, in the modern sense, a soap opera. Compare Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with a modern Chilean teleseries.

Old English / Beowulf

1. When was Old English spoken?

Old English was spoken between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

2. Name 4 language groups which influenced the development of Old English.

Old English was influenced by Latin, Germanic, Norse and Celtic.

3. In the Phonology section, name 5 phonetical differences between Old English & Modern English.
- There were only 6 diphthongs in Old English while in Modern English there are 8.

- There were 14 vowels in Old English while in Modern English there are 12.

- The consonant /ʒ/ wasn’t used in Old English but in Modern English is palatal and fricative.

- The front mid rounded vowels /ø(ː)/ occur in some dialects of Old English.

- In Old English the consonant /w/ was Velar and Aproximant while in Moder English is Bilabial and Aproximant.

4. Are there any similarites between Old English and Modern English? Name them.
The word order in sentences and questions from Old English are the same word order that we use in Modern English.

5. In the Orthography section, enlarge the picture of the runic alphabet. How many letters (runes) are there in this alphabet?

There are 34 letters (runes) in the alphabet.

6. Which epic poem was originally written in Old English?

The epic poem was Beowulf.

7. In the See Also section, click on: Beowulf. Appoximately when was Beowulf written?

Beowulf was written appoximately between the 8th and the early 11th century.

8. Even though Beowulf was written in England, the story takes place in which countries?

The story takes place in Denmark and Sweden.

9. In the poem, which 3 antagonists does Beowulf battle or fight against?
Grendel / Grendel's mother / An unnamed Dragon

10. What happens to Beowulf at the end of the story?

He is fatally wounded after the final battle against the dragon and dies.

11. Who was the author of Beowulf?

The author is unknown, an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet.

12. What were the titles and the dates of the two film versions of Beowulf?

Beowulf (1999) and Beowulf (2007).