Come to the English Lounge! 2-3 Wednesday, Friday, Monday

cupcakes

You’ll remember my appeal in class Tuesday for you to help the English Department hire a new Composition/Rhetoric specialist. So please, if you can, head over to the Student & Faculty Lounge (back of 26 Glebe Street, corner of Glebe and George Streets) on Wednesday, Friday and/or Monday between 2 and 3, to give our candidates a sense of what our students are like. We’ll have treats to make it even more worth your while!

Feb. 2: Sir Orfeo

In Sir Orfeo, the Fairy King first does an evil deed by stealing away King Orfeo’s wife. Then, at the end, he does a good deed by following through with his promise (though reluctantly) and awarding Orfeo his wife. After reading this Lay, do you think the Fairy King to be good, evil, or neither?

Jan 28: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Question

Animals play an important role in Middle English symbolism and culture. When Sir Gawain arrives at the castle, Bercilak and Gawain agree that Bercilak will go hunting while Gawain stays at the castle. At the end of each day, they will share what they received. Over the course of three days Bercilak hunts deer, boar, and finally fox. Discuss the significance of each of these animals. How do they contribute to the larger narrative?

Jan. 26: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain bravely asks to take on the Green Knight’s quest in place of King Arthur as seen in lines 343-361. He understands that he is given a year and a day to complete his challenge when he repeats the quest “in exact terms” (line 392) to the Knight. He also has no idea where the Green Chapel, home the the Green Knight, actually is. Why do you think Sir Gawain delays his departure until November first, giving him a little over two months to find the unknown whereabouts of the Green Chapel? And furthermore, why do you think he wastes more time at the castle when the deadline for his challenge, which he so bravely accepted, grows ever nearer?

1/21 Question

Although Bisclavret’s wife betrayed him and leaves him as a werewolf in the woods, she keeps the clothes capable of turning him back. Why do you think this is? Is there underlying guilt or hope that one day she can turn him back? Or she did not want to risk him finding them? Since Bisclavret probably would’ve been able to find the clothes on his own if he would’ve looked, why do you think he accepted his fate in the woods so submissively?