Assignments

Choose one of the following questions:

• Using at least two of the following poems--Cleanness, Pearl, and/or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--as your frame of reference, discuss how does the poet depicts courtly culture to facilitate the understanding of moral, spiritual, or philosophical values?
• Does the poet provide a unified picture of the nature of God in Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness?
• To what extent can we argue on thematic and stylistic grounds that the four poems in the manuscript are the work of the same poet?

Essays should be 8-12 pages in length and should reflect reading of secondary material (cited as appropriate where necessary). For advice on writing essays about medieval literature (and in general), please consult my essay advice web site (including the section on fonts). Due date: 8 December.

Choose one of the following questions:

• In Patience or Cleanness, how does the poet manipulate linguistic ambiguities in order to alter our understanding of his chosen topics?
• In Patience or Cleanness, how does the poet manipulate tensions in biblical stories in order to alter our understanding of his chosen topics?

Essays should be 4-5 pages in length and should reflect reading of secondary material (cited as appropriate where necessary). For advice on writing essays about medieval literature (and in general), please consult my essay advice web site (including the section on fonts). Due date: 13 October.

Note: There is now a link to the Wilton Diptych on the Resources page.