Assignment #1: Victorian Literature

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

For this assingment I chose Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and The Murders in the Rue Morgue of Edgar Allan Poe.

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.

As seen in class, main characters of these works are not related to the royalty, they are just regular people, like the crew in the heart of darkness. Also, as the main characters are just regular people, they do not necessarily deal with external manifestations of evil nor they have to put themselves on trials to prove their worth, because good and evil is inside of all man. And it's showed in Kurtz.

In terms of Culture -not too relevant for the development of the plot, but it's mentioned- the importance of property in the very beginning of The Murders in the Rue Morgue stands out when the narrator and C. Auguste Dupin come to an arrangement to live together since Dupin was going through financial problems and so was he.

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

I do feel that Heart of darkness is a very representative example of Victorian Literature. In the way that the darkness coming from the dehumanization seen in the abuse of natives, in contrast with the social problems of the time; such as children labor, prostitution, gambling, upholds the enlightment of progress and economy. On the other hand, I do not feel the same for The Murders in the Rue Morgue. It is contemporary, but it is much of a mistery history. It Doesn't have the fuzziness in terms of good and evil that characterizes Victorian Literature.

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

Definitely. In The Heart of Darkness, Conrad was very descriptive and portrayed very well the duality between the light and the bleakness of the time it was written. I would recommend it, so people can see some aspects that still in our culture today. These books could have been written about 2 hundred years ago, but you can still relate to them as our western culture hasn't change that much, it has just transformed a little.

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.

2. Name 5 dialects of Modern English.
Australian English, British English, Jamaican English, New York Latino English and Spanglish

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?
In 1755, as an effort to establish a standard form of spelling, Samuel Johnson publish his Dictionary of the English Language. And in 1828, the American Noah Webster contributed by publishing a dictionary on his own called An American Dictionary of the English Language.

4. How many countries in the world have given Modern English official status?
Approximately 56 countries have given English an official status .

5. The most recent statistics show that approximately how many people speak Modern English as a:I. First language? II. Second Language?
People speaking english as a First Language: 309 – 380 million. People speaking english as a Second Language: 199 – 600 million aprox.

6. When was Early Modern English spoken?
It was spoken since 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, (like modern French tu and vous and modern German du and ihr). (Thou was already falling out of use in the Early Modern English period, but remained customary for addressing God and certain other solemn occasions and sometimes for addressing inferiors.)
Like other personal pronouns, thou and ye had different forms depending on their grammatical case; specifically, the objective form of thou was thee, its possessive forms were thy and thine, (compare modern German; thou - du, thee - dich, thine - dein); and its reflexive or emphatic form was thyself, while the objective form of ye was you, its possessive forms were your and yours, and its reflexive or emphatic forms were yourself and yourselves.
In other respects, the pronouns were much the same as today. One difference is that my and thy became mine and thine before words beginning with a vowel and letter h; thus, mine eyes, thine hand, and so on.
In modern English, we can see the disuse of the T-V distinction (thou, ye). The use of auxiliary verbs becomes mandatory in interrogative sentences and the rise and fall of prescriptive grammarians.

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

9. Name 4 worldwide uses for modern english.
Basic English, Manually Coded English (British and American Sign Language), E-prime and Policespeak.

10. In your opinion, what was the greatest influence on the spread of modern english around the world? Why?
I believe that with the development of technology and globalization, it's been necessary to have a common language among the countries of the world. Inmigration also has a role on the spreading of english language.

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 3 candidates as the possible authors of Shakespeare’s plays are Francis Bacon,Christopher Marlowe and Edward de Vere.

12. Briefly explain The Oxfordian Theory.
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.
They are Comedies, Histories and Tragedies.

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. To me, it is the dilemma that we've always had in some point of our lives. Wether to do or not to do, Speak or not to speak, Take a chance or watch carefully. Whatever we do or say, or do not do or say changes our lives drastically or just a bit, and that is huge dilemma if you come to think of it.

17. Name 5 post-Shakespearean artists whose work was heavily influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare influenced diverse artists, from novellists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner and Herman Melville to Musicians and painters like Giuseppe Verdi and Herny Fuseli.

18. Which of Shakespeare's plays are included in The Wars of the Roses series?
Shakespeare's plays included in the Wars of the Roses series are the following: 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?

Blank verse was Shakespeare's standard poetic form, and this is composed in iambic pentameter. This meant that his verse was usually unrhymed and consisted of ten syllables to a line, spoken with a stress on every second syllable

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

21. What were the Wars of the Roses (1377-1485)?
The War of The Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England, fought between supporters of two rival branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York (the "red" and the "white" rose, respectively).

22. Why was this war called the Wars of the Roses?
The name has its origins in the badges associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.

22. - Why was this war called the Wars of the Roses?
The Wars of the Roses had got its name because the house of York and the house of Lancaster. Both had a rose in their royal badges. The White rose for the house of York and the red one for the house of Lancaster.

23. - What were the names of the 2 houses which fought in this war?
The house of Lancaster and The house of York (The "red" and the "white" rose)

24. - What prompted this civil war of the houses of rose to begin?
Following the early death of Edward III's heir apparent, there was a series of wars between the descendants of two of Edward III's younger sons: the Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of York because they wanted the throne of England.

25. - How did the war end?
After many battles a period of comparative peace followed, but Edward died unexpectedly in 1483. His surviving brother Richard of Gloucester first moved to prevent the unpopular Woodville family of Edward's widow from participating in government during the minority of Edward's son, Edward V, and then seized the throne for himself, using the suspect legitimacy of Edward IV's marriage as pretext. Henry Tudor, a distant relative of the Lancastrian kings who had inherited their claim, overcame and defeated Richard at Bosworth in 1485. He was crowned Henry VII, and married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, to unite and reconcile the two houses.

26. - Which Kings of England were participants in the wars of the Roses?
House of York: Henry IV (1399 - 1413), House of Lancaster: Edward IV (1461 - 1483)

1. Approximately when was Middle English spoken?

It was spoken between the late 11th century and about 1470.

2. What were the major factors which led to the development and the spread of Middle English?

The major factors which led to the development and the spread of the Middle English was the printing press and the variation of the Northumbrian dialect spoken in the southeast Scotland was developing into the Scots language.

3. Match the following Old English words with their Anglo-Norman equivalent:

A. Pig = Swine
B. Cow = Kine
C. Wood = Wudu/wode
D. Sheep = scēap
E. House = hous
F. Worthy = Honorable
G. Bold = Bald

4. Compare & contrast the structure of nouns, pronouns and verbs, between Middle English & Modern English.

Nouns: The strong (e)s plural form has survived into Modern English.
The weak(e)n form is now rare in the standard language, used only in oxen, children and brethren; and it is slightly less rare in some dialects, used in eyen for eyes, shoon for shoes, hosen for hose(s) and kine for 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) Pronouns: The first and second person.
Pronouns: In Old English survived into the 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 te 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 and his.

5. How is pronunciation different between Middle English and Modern English?

In general, all letters in Middle English words were pronounced. the silent letters in Modern English come from pronunciation shifts, which means that pronunciation is no longer closely reflected by the written form because of fixed apelling constraints imposed by the invention of dictionaries and printing. Therefore KNIGHT was pronounced (kniçt) with a pronounced k as the gh as the ch in German Knecht, not (nait) as in Modern English.

6. What is the Chancery Standard, and how did it come into effect?

Chancery Standard was a written form of English by the government bureaucracy and for other official purposes. it come into effect because of the differing dialects of English spoken an written across the country at the time , the government needed 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?

Geoffrey Chaucer.

8. Describe the medieval pilgrims who journeyed from Canterbury to London.

The pilgrimage was a very prominent feature of medieval society, they believed that each relics had miraculuos powers. Also 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 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?

It is important because the book show us the root of english and its changes.

12. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is:

d. A medieval romance poem, with Arthurian themes.

13. Who is Sir Gawain?

Sir Gawain is a knight of King Arthur's 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 earliest known story to feature a beheading game is the 8th-century Middle Irish tale Bricriu's Feast This story parallels Gawain in that, like the Green Knight, Cú Chulainn'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.

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. The number two also appears repeatedly, as in the two beheading scenes, two confession scenes, and two castles. The five points of the pentangle represent Gawain's virtues, for he is "faithful five ways and five times each". All five of his senses are without fault; his five fingers never fail him, and he always remembers the five wounds of Christ, the five joys of the Virgin Mary. 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?

It was Sean Connery the actor who played in the film as the Green Knight.

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.

I can't compare them, because I haven't seen any. But if there is to be a similarity between this poem and a chilean soup opera, it's to "Manuel Rodríguez". Since the time this soup opera occurs, people were very conservative (Specially the aristocracy). Just like King Arthur and all his Knights.