Chaucer is in many ways emblematic of the newly acquired ability of the middle class to rise from commoner to nobility.
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In Paradise Lost, Adam:
In Paradise Lost, Adam:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains classic hunting mot…
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight contains classic hunting motifs, including detailed directions on field dressing both pigs and deer.
Gawain keeps kisses, a ring, and a girdle.
Gawain keeps kisses, a ring, and a girdle.
“The Dream of the Rood” is mostly told in third person, by t…
“The Dream of the Rood” is mostly told in third person, by the pope, through the dreamer.
In “The Imperfect Enjoyment”, the speaker curses his genital…
In “The Imperfect Enjoyment”, the speaker curses his genitalia, wishing that it will never be capable of urination and that it be stricken with venereal disease.
Grendel might have been a descendant of Cain.
Grendel might have been a descendant of Cain.
The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes are peaceful farming tribes.
The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes are peaceful farming tribes.
Lanval’s one wish–to see his fairy love one more time–is g…
Lanval’s one wish–to see his fairy love one more time–is granted at the end of the lay.
Beowulf is a Geat.
Beowulf is a Geat.