3/31 Wroth' s Urania in Yaletown

There will be no formal posting this week. But should you feel the urge to reflect, comment, summarize, pontificate, or otherwise procrastinate, I welcome any Final Thoughts.

Our class will meet chez moi at the following address from the usual time:

198 Aquarius Mews
Buzzer code: 1635#
Come to floor 22, apartment to the left, and then right, 02.

3/24 Don Quixote

It has been argued that Cervantes' parody of romance killed the genre. He is often read as the watershed figure between these older forms of peripatetic narratives and the emerging form of the novel. Considering all we know now about the romance, does this book seem to you to be doing something different? If so, what is it?

They say a picture is worth 1000 words (or, in this case, 250-300)

Redcross Redux

Okay, so there's this knight dressed in red. A princess, nay, his true love, is in grave peril and in need of saving (some 'Duessa' has a mission to separate the lovers). Bearing his 'sword of truth' and guarded by his stout shield emblazoned with a cross he sets out to rescue her. Aided by three 'graces' who instruct and aid him in various ways, he eventually confronts the dragon who is the duessa's slave and who is guarding the princess and keeping her parents' kingdom in thralldom. He slays the dragon with the sword of truth, dispatches the evil duessa and frees the king and queen and all the kingdom from the evil spells that have afflicted them. In gratitude the King allows the lovers to marry and eventually to inherit the kingdom.
. . . yes, I've just been watching Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty on CBC.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

3/17 Pandosto and The Winter's Tale

For easier comparison, I'm including below the change of names that happens between Greene's _Pandosto_ and Shakespeare's _The Winter's Tale_:

Pandosto of Bohemia becomes Leontes of Sicily
Egistus of Sicily by Polixenes of Bohemia
Hermion=Bellaria
Maximillius=Garinter
Florizel=Dorastus
Perdita=Fawnia
Camillo=Franion and Capnio

For the secondary reading from Lori Newcomb, Emily can bring the important points that she wants to highlight from the chapter. The rest of you, please focus specifically on the first few introductory pages 77-88 and the final section, "The Carpenter in the Street," 117-29.

1) Consider how the change in title reflects Shakespeare's different handling of the same raw material as Greene. What changes when we move from _Pandosto the Triumph of Time_ or alternately _Dorastus and Fawnia_ to _The Winter' s Tale_?

2) How does a "dramatic" romance fit in with the genre we have been discussing thus far this semester? Or does it seem like an ill fitting term to describe this late play of Shakespeare?

3/10 Field trip to UBC

There will be no formal posting this week on the blog.

But I welcome you to post questions here about matters from the talk or intersections with our class as you feel inspiration.

Talk Tuesday

Here's the information I found on the Green College Website:

"Working Language: Shakespeare and Publicity in Early Modern England"
Paul Yachnin
Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies and Chair, English Dept, McGill University

Coach House, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC
5-6:30 pm, Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I believe a map of how to get there can be found at this site:
http://www.greencollege.ubc.ca/About/p-about.htm

I will be up at SFU & leave at 3 pm; if anyone is coming from here and wants to travel together, let me know.

Spenser FQ Bk 1: summary of cantos

In light of Kieran's post regarding the cognitive difficulty posed by long and wandering narratives to first time readers, I'm including for your edification a summary of the cantos from Book 1. It is useful to have an eagle's view to keep track of how the book unfolds; it will also keep you from getting lost in those pleasant woods of error.

The summaries are not terribly elegant, but are simple and fairly concise. Credit goes to an anonymous (and obsessive compulsive?) student at http://www.cc.utah.edu/~mp2434/522fq1.html.


Canto One
RCK, Una (on a Donkey) and the Dwarf are riding through a forest on their way to slay the Dragon (Satan) who has enslaved Una's family. Glorianna has given the RCK this task. It starts to rain so they find shelter in a cave where the half-woman/half-dragon Error lives. The Knight engages the Dragon and with advice from Una, defeats her. After leaving the woods they come across a hermit named Archimago. He gives them lodging. As soon as they are asleep Archimago conjures two spirits, one to steal lusty dreams, and the other to represent Una. The false Una slips into bed with the Knight after he dreams the stolen dream. RCK rebuffs her advances and demands she leave. Archimago then turns the other spirit into a squire so when RCK comes into her room he sees the false Una in bed with the false squire. Judging her as unvirtuous, RCK decides to leave with his Dwarf and without the real Una who has no idea what is going on.

Canto Two
RCK comes across Sansfoy and Duessa, a beautiful maiden. Immediately RCK and Sansfoy attack each other, RCK killing the other and becoming the victor. Duessa tells RCK that her name is Fidessa and that she was held prisoner by Sansfoy. RCK takes her into his protection, Fidessa tells RCK that she's daughter to a king. Later they come across two trees. RCK breaks off some branches to make a crown for Duessa when the tree talks and says his name is Fradubio. He tells that his love, Fraelissa was changed into a tree by a witch (Duessa) disguised as a beautiful maiden. When Fradubio saw the witch in her true form, she turned him into a tree also.
Before RCK can make the connection, Duessa pretends to faint and pull RCK's attention away form the tree. RCK then kisses Duessa many times to reawaken her.

Canto Three
Una wander aimlessly after RCK. She comes across a Lion who becomes her protector after seeing her beauty and truth. Una comes across Abessa and the house of Corcesa. After much reluctance they let her (and the lion) into the house to spend the night. During the middle of the night, Kirkrapine comes into the house and is immediately killed by the Lion. Una cries all night long for her loss of Red Cross. The next morning she comes across Archimago disguised as RCK. They begin traveling when Sansloy finds them. Sansloy thinking Archimago to be the real RCK seeks revenge on him for the death of his brother, Sansfoy. After Sansloy knocks the helmet off RCK, he finds out it is Archimago. The Lion attacks Sansloy, and Sansloy kills and defeats the Lion, taking Una off into the woods and leaving Archimago laying on the ground.

Canto Four
This canto deals with the House of Pride, where Duessa takes the RCK. Much of this canto describes the seven sins and the beasts they sit upon. Sansjoy is there and recognizes the shield of his brother, Sansfoy whom RCK defeated. Sansjoy challenges RCK and Lucifera declares a fight between the two the next morning. Duessa pledges her loyalty to Sansjoy in the middle of the night.

Canto Five The next morning. RCK and Sansjoy fight. Red Cross is about to fall when Duessa pledges her devotion to Sansjoy. RCK believes Duessa is calling this to him and overthrows Sansjoy who dissapears in a mysterious cloud before RCK call kill him. RCK and Sansjoy are both terribly wounded. Red Cross is fixed up with salves and balm and leeches. Meanwhile, Duessa takes Sansjoy down into Hades to get healed. The Dwarf wanders into the dungeon of the house of Pride, sees the prisoners of pride and tells RCK. Together the RCK and the Dwarf decide to leave the House of Pride.

Canto Six: Sansjoy tries to rape Una. Una screams and draws the attention of the local satyrs and nymphs. When Sansjoy sees the coming creatures, he is frightened off. The nature dwellers see Una and begin to worship her as a goddess, taking her into their community. They don't want her to leave, but when Satyrane comes along, he understands her situation and helps to guide her from out of the wilderness. They come across a pilgrim (Archimago in disguise) who tells they he saw RCK defeated in battle with a Sarazin knight who is resting up ahead a little. They come across Sansjoy who does battle with Satyrane. During the melee, Una runs off and is followed by Archimago.

Canto Seven: Duessa follows the RCK and finds him resting by a fountain whose water isn't up to health code standards. This water makes him weak and Duessa tries to take advantage of him. All of a sudden, Orgolio bursts into the area and tries to smash RCK with his club. RCK, being unprepared and weak form the fountain is knocked unconsious from the air of the blow. Duessa pleads with Orgolio not to kill RCK, but to make him his prisoner instead and she will become his mistress. Orgolio then takes the RCK and throws him into the dungeon of his castle. The Dwarf witnesses all of this, picks up RCK's possessions and runs to find Una. After he finds Una and relates his story, they run into Arthur and his squire, Timias. They all share a long discourse and then travel to free Red Cross from the dungeon of Orgolio.Sansjoy tries to rape Una. Una screams and draws the attention of the local satyrs and nymphs. When Sansjoy sees the coming creatures, he is frightened off. The nature dwellers see Una and begin to worship her as a goddess, taking her into their community. They don't want her to leave, but when Satyrane comes along, he understands her situation and helps to guide her from out of the wilderness. They comes across a pilgrim (Archimago in disguise) who tells they he saw RCK defeated in battle with a Sarazin knight who is resting up ahead a little. They come across Sansjoy who does battle with Satyrane. During the melee, Una runs off and is followed by Archimago.

Canto Eight:Arthur and Timias go to the castle of Orgolio. Timias blows a bugle that opens the doors of the castle. Orgolio and Duessa rush out and begin a battle. Timias is almost defeated while Arthur cuts off the arms and legs of Orgolio. Orgolio hits Arthur's shield, unveiling the diamonds underneath and temporarily blinds the giant, the monster, and Duessa. Using this temporary distraction, they are able to defeat Orgolio and and the beast while Duessa is taken hold of by Timias. Arthur and Una get the keys from Ignaro and discover across the RCK very weak and close to death. Then they disrobe Duessa (yummy!).

Canto Nine:Arthur tells of his lineage, then he and RCK exchange gifts. Una, the Dwarf and Red Cross resume their journey to slay the much dreaded Dragon. All of a sudden, Treusian bursts out of the forest with a rope around his neck. He warns that a man named Despair has convinced his friend Terwain to kill himself. He says Despair almost got him too, but he came to his senses at the last second. RCK, wanting to reprimand Despair, travels to his cave whose entrance is littered with dead bodies. RCK meets Despair who convinces Red Cross that he has made too many mistakes and he might as well kill himself before he makes any more. Red Cross starts to plunge a dagger into his heart, but Una slaps it away before he can do this. Una decides that Red Cross is too weak, and takes him to the House of Holiness.

Canto Ten: Our heros three travel to the House of Holiness. Three sisters heal him through repentance. He is then administered many ordeals and treatments to cure his faith and his health. They basically beat the crap out of him in a loving way. RCK learns about forgiveness and repentence. At the end of the canto, he is taken to a mountaintop by Contemplation who shows him the new Jerusalem and tells him that his name is St. George and he is from Saxon Kings.

Canto Eleven: Time to fight the Dragon. While RCK rides off to confront the Dragon, Una hides and prays for him. The first day, RCK attacks and gets a good hit underneath the Dragon's wing. Then he is forced down into the Well-of-Life where he is saturated and emerges the next morning totally refreshed. Day Two: RCK chops off the Dragons tail and claw. . . but is forced back into a marsh. Here he rests under an apple tree while the Dragon retreats. Under this tree, a stream flows, and RCK is soaked all of the next night in it. Una still prays. On the third day, the Dragon makes to swallow the Knight, who then plunges his sword up through his mouth and kills the Dragon.

Canto Twelve: They celebrate. Una and Red Cross are to be married. Then Archimago appears with a note saying that RCK is promised to Duessa. Una stands up for RCK and they realize it is Archimago trying to deceive them once again. Archimago is chained in the dungeon and they celebrate further. They are married, but RCK must return to serve another six years for Glorianna. Una is sad, but understands.

3/2 Spenser's Holy Knight in Book 1

1) What kind of book does Spenser seem to think he is writing? Why? Does he write what he thinks he does?

2) We've spent quite a bit of time talking about heroes and whether or not they "develop." Does Redcrosse grow as a hero? If so, what does he learn? What are we to learn from him?

2/24 Richard Johnson's Seven Champions

My apologies for the late posting:

1)

“The Orient is seen as separate, eccentric, backward, silently different, sensual, and passive. It has a tendency towards despotism and away from progress. It displays feminine penetrability and supine malleability. Its progress and value are judged in terms of, and in comparison to, the West, so it is always the Other, the conquerable, and the inferior.” --Edward Said Orientalism

Does Said’s statement seem like an apt description of the racial lines that get drawn in Johnson’s text. Why or why not?

2)

One of the few critics to write on this text, Jennifer Fellows, has argued that the George of the 7 Champions is a nationalist folk hero than a conventional religious figure, and that a deep Protestant suspicion of all the Catholic veneration of saints lies behind his portrayal.

Do you see evidence of this in the treatment of him? Does he appropriate the Catholic connotations of medieval romance while capturing its cultural authority and deploying it for decidedly nationalist, Protestant ends?

Finding Moxon reading on EEBO

Hi all, I'm having trouble finding the Joseph Moxon selection on EEBO and I was wondering if one of our resident experts might be able to help me out. There are plenty of copies of Mechanick Exercises, or, the Doctrine of Handy-works applied to the Arts of Smithing, Joinery, Carpentry and Turning, but I can't seem to find the Whole of the Art of Printing.

2/10 Cheap Print and the Appearance of Text

I am going to lob a broad question at you and invite you to make it specific and relevant to your own investment with print culture as a stream of literary studies.

1) Why, to paraphrase Mark Bland, should the "appearance" of text matter to us as modern critics of Renaissance literature? What can it tell us?


2) Some of you may have seen the fairly recent excellent documentary on Helvetica font. Feel free to speculate on how the history of black letter might be an equal study in the development of the early modern world as Helvetica is to the modern.



3) Why, do you think, Sidney's *Arcadia* was published in pica roman when all the other romances of the late 1580s were in black letter?

2/3 Arcadia: Summary of Book 3

I'm including a somewhat clumsy summary of the plot of Book 3. If anyone feels inspired to write a better . . .

-------

The Arcadia: Book III

(Courtesy of: http://home.utah.edu/~mp2434/522arc3.html)

Book three of Sidney's Arcadia begins with Pamela's anger and rejection of (Musi)Dorus because of his over-amorous advances towards her. Dorus, heartbroken an angry with himself, leaves and wanders about the forest in anguish. In the mean-time, the princesses Philoclea and Pamela, Miso and Zelmane are approached by six maids (later it is discovered that they are lead by Artaxia) who invite the four of them to the forest to watch some shepherds' sport. They agree to go, and on the way are brought to the hiding place of twenty armed men, who take the four captive. They bind and blind-fold Miso and leave her behind, and the other three are taken to the castle of Amphialus and Cecropia. Even though Amphialus is in love with Philoclea, it is his evil mothe that has engineered the captivity. (Amphialus is in bed recuperating from the wound Zelmane inflicted upon him.) Thus in her wickedness does Cecropia begin to work on the princesses to make them fall in love with her son, as she wants Philoclea to marry him (butto her, either will do). Both girls are steadfast in their refusals, and not Cecropia's pleadings or torments will move them. Thus commences the duels that take up half of the book. Sidney describes these with great (and sometimes gory) detail. Basilius, enraged at the captivity of his daughters, gathers his army and advances on the castle. As his attack is unsuccessful, he begins to send knights to challenge Amphialus, who is famous for his strength and bravery. Phalantus is the first, and he is defeated. Then Basilius sends for Argalus, who is at home in blissful happiness with his wife, Parthenia. Despite Parthenia's pleadings, Argalus obeyshe summons and challenges Amphialus. Argalus is mortally wounded, and before Amphialus can bestow the final-death blow, Parthenia interceeds. Argalus'death scene is absolutely heart-rending, as he says farewell to his beloved wife. Parthenia is driven mad with grief, and disguises herself as a knight. She, too, challenges Amphialus, and she is defeated. When mortally wounded, Amphialus discovers
her to be Parthenia, and he is struck with incredible remorse for what he has done. The burial of the lovers is a tragic and heart-breaking scene. Amphialus is becoming more and more torn. He loves Philoclea, but he is unhappy at the way she and her sister are being treated by his mother. Then Musidorus, disguised as the "Forsaken" or "Black" Knight challenges Amphialus. They fight, and are both seriously wounded. As Amphialus attempts to recover from his wounds, his mother decides to take drastic measures with the girls. She threatens to kill Pamela if Philoclea will not give in. Philoclea, believing her sister would do the same for her, refuses and says he would rather die instead. With some trickery, Cecropia makes each girl believe that the other has been executed. (Actually, Artaxia is executed in the guise of Pamela.) Pyrocles, still disguised as Zelmane, watches the supposed execution of Philoclea, and is struck with terrible grief. He bemoans his fate, and Philoclea, who is still alive, hears him and comes to comfort him. Amphialus, when he is able to move around again, discovers his mother's horrible treatment of the princesses, and becomes sad and angry. He follows her upto the top of the fortress, and there, with sword in hand, confronts his mother. He meant to kill himselfin his mother's presence, but Cecropia, fearing that he meant to strike her, and being burdened by her guilty conscience, threw herself over the side and died. Amphialus, watching this and being stricken with his own conscience, attempted to kill himself with Philoclea's knives (which he kept close to him). At this point, Queen Helen comes in search of him, and finding him thus, takes him away to possibly be saved byher surgeons (that earlier had restored Parthenia to full health). With Amphialus gone, his friend Anaxius takes charge of the prisoners, an soon finds himself in love with Pamela, and his brothers court Philoclea and Zelmane. Anaxius propositions Basilius so that they may marry the women, but Basilius refuses, and anotherbattle ensues.

2/3 Arcadia Book 3

A few threads for next week:

1. Who or what is Cecropia?

2. King suggests (p. 79) that Sidney’s revisions allow for the resuscitation of the moral and heroic worth of the princes. Do you agree? Do they seem like heroic knights in the end? What might be Hacket's response to this line of reasoning?

3. Look carefully at the debate between Cecropia and Pamela, pp.483-93. What is at stake here?

Reading 'Arcadia'

Whilst taking a break from reading Book Three or Arcadia (which I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying), I read an article by Andrew Elfenbein entitled "Cognitive Science and the History of Reading" (PMLA, 121.2: 2006). He is concerned with reading cognition and how various memory processes affect our interpretation and understanding of a text. I thought I'd share one paragraph that seemed relevant to Arcadia:

"[W]hen a teacher assigns an epic or novel with complex and dense plots to students who have relatively little background in reading such works, the amount of working memory resources they will need to perform such operations as tracking characters, creating causal links between plot developments, and registering major changes in time and space will inhibit their ability to perform tasks basic to contemporary literary criticism. These include creating connections across wide spans of plot that may not be causally linked, noticing unusual details that may not play a major role in the story, and linking content to generic, historical, or ideological background. Such tasks should be easier for readers with high reading spans and for those who have more background knowledge, skills, motivation, and time to read, but for many students, the newness of the cognitive tasks may result in what, to the teacher, look merely like shallow readings and basic mistakes" (498).

(Disclaimer: I promise not to cite this as an excuse for writing a weak paper)

1/27 Sidney and Vernacular Romance part one

Below please find the particular passages and pages that we will be focusing on for discussion:

Book 1: 61-182 special attention to the following pages: 61-79, 129-40; 148-57; 174-82
Book 2: chapter 3, 227-34; chapter 7, 258-75; 284-95; 311-12; 327-332; 350-51; 365-70; 376-97
Book 3: 441-448; 457-65; 483-93; 531-34; 545-75; 579-95

1. In the revised opening to the Arcadia, Sidney makes much of Urania and the role of memory. Do a little digging on the figure of Urania. Why is she significant and why does memory feature so prominently?

2. How does Sidney’s world and landscape compare to that of his Spanish predecessor as translated by Margaret Tyler?

3. Andrew King argues that Sidney's dialogue with romance engages "an aspiration toward an Edenic condition of perfect constancy, virtuous achievement, and the containment of mutability" (140). Do you buy his argument in your reading of Sidney? How does this reading compare to the critique of polemicists who accuse romance of encouraging error in multiple forms?

1/20 Reformation Debates

Here are some things to kick around for next Tuesday's class:

1. What seems to be the core of the attack against romance by polemicists?

2. Given your brief introduction thus far to the genre, do these attacks seem warranted?

2. What is the particular problem of women as readers of romance?

Heaven and the World (Question #1)

Frye describes the dragon-killing theme in quest-romance as: “the hero arrives, kills the dragon, marries the daughter, and succeeds the kingdom” (189). Sterility and fertility are important - positioning the tale in the world. However, in de Voragine’s “Saint George” the hero arrives and slays the monster, but rather than marrying the daughter, baptizes the townspeople people and leaves after offering the king parting religious advice. The story does not contain any sexuality, eroticism or fertility, focusing on purity and Christ. Saint George calls the princess “child” twice, removing the possibility of the erotic and positioning her in terms of Christ (239). In contrast, in Monmouth’s text, Vorigern’s desire for the Saxon Renwein, leads to the Saxon gains in Britain. While my argument might not be entirely convincing, since Vorigern is villainous, in the account of Uther Pendragon in Malory’s text, Arthur’s conception is the result of his father’s adulterous desire. Although not in this week’s readings, Arthur’s role is figured in terms of his marriage and its lack of fertility, while Galahad is distinguished for his especial purity, in contrast to the other knights. Frye does not seem to see this difference as important, easily equating human marriage with the idea of Christ’s marriage to the church. However, this overlooks the physicality. In “Saint George,” the physical aspects of Saint George’s life are the dragon’s death and, more notably, the descriptions of torture. The world is figured in terms of pain and death. However, Uther’s physical experience includes his illness over and affair with Igraine, and the magic used to this end. Furthermore, Arthur’s actions and goals are not heavenly, but are taken for the immediate benefit of his brother Sir Kay, and then for the (worldly) kingdom of England. The religious is a context for the physical actions.

A romance is a text that . . .

Based upon our first class discussion, I've listed below our working definition for essential traits of a romance. This is an organic list, so please add branches, roots, and leaves as you see fit.

*An interpolated or digressive / woven narrative structure. Also known entrelacement.

* Adherence to a code of conduct and a focus on external progression and movement

*A quest

*Insufficient death of major characters

* the presence of deus ex machina

*excess, both in form and content

1/13 Medieval Romance

Welcome all to our online community.

I've posted below a few discussion prompts to get us started. I encourage you, however, to add to these and formulate your questions and responses. You should post around 250-300 words per week. You can choose to do this all in response to one question, or, if you prefer, respond with briefer answers to more questions. I would also like to see you engage with and respond to other member's posts to make this a conversation and not a series of monologues.

For next Tuesday's class here are some things to get you thinking:

1. Frye talks at length about the ritual quality of romance. He suggests (see esp. 189-94) that rhythms of romance mimic those of Biblical stories. What does Frye seem to believe the relationship is between romance and sacred narratives? Do you see such a relationship between the saint's life and the secular narrative included in this week's reading? In other words, how are Saint George and Arthur similar and different kinds of heroes?

2. What would Jameson have to say about the presence of the marvelous in The Golden Legend and Monmouth's account of the history of Arthur? What kind of cultural work might it perform?

3. Compare and contrast the degrees to which the three primary texts from this week's reading conform to our working definition of romance. Would they qualify as "romances" for Frye? For Jameson? Why or why not?