Surely you will have much to say about this Arthurian story. You might comment on the forms of behavior, narrative mode or style, particular scenes or passages, or anything else of interest.
(Please note: this post is for the British Literature course, not the Malory course.)
Announcement: our next test is listed for next week on the syllabus. However, we have fallen a bit behind schedule, so we will delay this until after the break. We will try for 21 March, which is the Wednesday after the break.
Our narrative mode here is chronicle, but chronicle, as you will have noted, of a peculiar kind. Why write such a strange history? Or, more to the point, why would such a history have fired the medieval imagination to such an extent? Other topics for discussion welcome as well. Any particular sections or passages that you want to discuss?
Please note: I have not received all of this week’s annotations. I cannot distribute them to our editors until I have a complete set. So if you haven’t sent yours, please do so as soon as possible.
I quote my own post on The Pardoner’s Tale from last semester:
Donald Howard claims that The Pardoner’s Tale leads the reader to a response that is diametrically opposed to St. Augustine’s admonition that we should “hate the sin but love the sinner,” and that the conciliatory kiss at the end shows up the reader’s error and awakens Christian charity (491-92, see Works Cited). I am curious to know how you respond to this dark and frightening figure. To what extent are your responses manipulated by the text, and how so?
Other topics for discussion?
Again, there is a dramatic change with this section of the book. This change is partly due to the source that Malory is using, but he seems to use the latter parts of the Tristram as transitional material. Perhaps the most surprising change is that Lancelot is no longer the greatest knight, but there is also a general change in tone and in the allegorical resonance of the narrative. Feel free to comment on any of these issues or anything else that you find interesting here (up through, say, the “Of Sir Lancelot” section that ends on page 350).
Here is your space for comments on the Lancelot/Elaine story. Does the tone seem to change here? How so? Examples?
By the way, our box o’ journals has arrived. More details tomorrow.
Please post your discussion topics here. This time, try to find particular passages in the text that you would like to discuss. Be sure to indicate specifically why you find them interesting.
Reminder: Wednesay 7 February is our first test.
