Assignments

Essay Assignment 1

Choose one of the following topics:

1. How does the depiction of King Arthur’s role in history by historiographers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (such as Geoffrey Monmouth, Wace, and La3amon) serve as a commentary on issues of cultural importance in their own day?
2. Discuss the types of social upheaval and cultural diversity created by the Norman Conquest. How did these create problems for the development of a unifying vision of the English nation, and how did writers of literature respond these problems through the media of history and/or romance?
3. It has been argued that King Horn reflects the values of a baronial audience. What are these values, and how does the romance portray them?
4. How does the style of King Horn help to convey the poem’s theme or themes?

Essays should be double spaced and approximately eight to ten pages (approx. 3000-4000 words). You need not keep exactly to this length, but the essay must contain an amount of argumentation and exemplification typical of this length.

Essays must be typed and proofread for spelling, grammar, and format. Essays deficient in these areas will be penalised substantially in proportion to how distracting and/or time-consuming I find the errors. You should include a bibliography if outside material is used. Cite poems by line number and prose (including translations of poetry into prose) by page number. For further tips on formatting see my advice about Essay Formatting.

Due date: 26 March 2003.

Essay Assignment 2

How were the historical and cultural changes from Anglo-Norman and Angevin England to later medieval England reflected in (or a reflection of) changes in the literary representation of social identities and ideals?

This is a very open-ended question to allow you to be creative in your approach. To get you started, here are some topics which you may want to focus on:

• What types of cultural pluralities died, persisted, or were transformed?
• How was English identity reconceived?
• How was source material reworked and for what end?
• What function did linguistic and stylistic developments have in the historical process?

You may deal with any of the texts we have studied in this course or outside materials; however, remember that, if you organise your essay around too many texts, you risk giving a superficial discussion of them. It is better to use a few texts and refer to other relevant texts in passing, using footnotes to secondary materials (rather than your own discussion) to point out the interpretations you find useful for your argument.

Note also that, although the term “Angevin England” generally refers to the period from 1154-1272 (the beginning of the reign of Henry II to the end of the reign of Henry III), you may find other points of division useful (e.g. the loss of Normandy in 1204, the arrival of the Black Death in 1348), depending upon your interpretation. This is fine. Just say what year (or approximate year) you are using to divide the earlier and later periods and why or how it is useful for your interpretation of the literature.

Essays should be double spaced and approximately ten to twelve pages (approx. 4000-4500 words). You need not keep exactly to this length, but the essay must contain an amount of argumentation and exemplification typical of this length.

Essays must be typed and proofread for spelling, grammar, and format. Essays deficient in these areas will be penalised substantially in proportion to how distracting and/or time-consuming I find the errors. You should include a bibliography if outside material is used. Cite poems by line number and prose (including translations of poetry into prose) by page number. For further tips on formatting see my advice about Essay Formatting, which has been updated over Spring Break.

Due date: 21 May 2003.