Riassunti letteratura inglese

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the idea of chivalry, a set of values which the perfect knight to respect. Edward III also founded the order of the garter: a group of 24 knights the same namber the legendary Artur and chosen. The 100 year-war was interrupted by a plague. When Edward III died Riciard II who was 10 years old became king. THE PEASANTS' REVOLT The king's uncle introduced in 1381 the "poll tax". It was a tax imposed on every adult without reference to their income (stipendio). It was the beginning of the peasants' revolt. A huge crowd of people marched on London and the young king met the rebels and listened to their dimends. Eventually (alla fine) the king did nothing and executed the leaders of the revolt JOHN WYCLIFFE AND A LINGUISTIC REVOLUTION John Wycliffe was a theologian. He was an open critic of corruption in the church and its great wealth. His ideas were radical, he attacked papal authority and transubstantiation. He was denounced as he the 1st major English heretic. Wyvliffe's writings were condemned by the pope but he had protection from his patrons. Wyvliffe fought for the translation of the bible into the common language. He finished his translation in 1382, his followers were nicknamed "lollards". They hoped that the bible's translation would encourage ordinary people to have a more active and autonomous religious life. In 1501 heresy was made a capital offence in England and the translation of the bible was forbidden without a specific permission. Geoffrey Chaucer was an admirer of Wycliffe idea's. He showed concern for some of the corruption and unchristian habits of some of the clergy in england. THE WARS OF THE ROSES In 1399 Richard II surrendered the throne to his cousin, Henry IV. His son Henry V succeded him and become one of the most popular kings in english history. He continued the war against France and he won. When he died his son Henry VI was too young and then he suffered from mental illness. Richard, Duke of York ruled as reagent (reggente). At this point the rivalry between the families of york and Lancaster become a civil war, known as the war of the roses: the symbols of the two families were two roses. The house of Lancaster had a red rose, the York's had a white rose. There were other factors: • Both of the families had equal claim to the throne • The nobles advising (che consigliavano) the king were unpopolar . It was a time of unrest and discontent • There were lots of lords with their own private armies • Henry VI was considered mentally unstable The civil war ended when the Lancastrian Henry Tudor defeated the last Yorkist king. He then married Elisabetth of York, uniting the two families and he became king as Henry the VII THE MEDIEVAL BALLAD The ballad has no moral aim, it tells a drammatic story as a series of rapid flashes. the language is very simple, with a mixture of dialogue and narration. Ballad narrators don't speak on first person and don't comment on the story. There is a 4 line stanza, rhyming ABCB and it has a refrain (ritornello). The medieval ballad also has supernatural creatures like faires, witches and ghosts. Ballads are divided by themes: . Ballads of magic • border ballads about the rivarly beetwen english and scottish people • ballads of love and domestic dragedy • ballads of outlaws (fuori legge) for example Robin Hood THE MEDIEVAL NARRATIVE POEM A narrative poem tells a story in verse, it conteins narrative elements like settings in time and place, the description of charaters and the use of a narrator. the medieval narrative poem introduced a narration linked with the moral views of the time. The most important example of a narrative poen in medieval literature is the cantebury tales by Geoffrey Chaucers. LORD RANDAL THE BALLAD THROUGH TIME Ballads were popular in europe and in english ballad also borrowed (prendere in prestito) from other countries and cultures. The 16th centuries saw the gradual disappearence of the old style romances. The ballad form was popuolar also in the 17th 18th centuries especially the magic and super natural ballads. In the later 19th centuries the oral ballad tradition survived (sopravvivere) in england and in united states. in the 20th centuries the term ballad was used for a short song with a slow rhythm and romantical content. Bob Dylan used the form of ballad in his songs to protest against the vietnam war in the 1960s THE CANTERBURY TALES Plot The canterbury tales is set in springtime is about 30 people who are going to canterbury, to see the shrine of thomas becket. they are doing a pilgrimage. they meet at the tabard inn in London, where the host (quello che li ospita) suggest (suggerisce) that every pillgrim shold tell two stories going to canterbury and two comming back. There will be a prise for the best story and a penalty for the worst. Structure and style The canterbury tales is a long narrative poem. Cucer used rhyming couplets (distici robe rime). it is composed by a general prologue where the pilgrims are indroduced and 24 tales. the tales are narrated by different pilgrims but the reporting pilgrim is choser. he tells us directly and sometimes ironicaly what he things about it. Setting There is no logical order of events. London, where they start the pillgrimage is very human and linked to pleasures (piaceri), while the destination, canterbury, is holy (sacro) Canterbury is the symbol of the end of life, and the journey (viaggio) of the pillgrims is an allegory of the course of human life. the work is unfinished, canterbury is not reached (raggiunta) by the pillgrims. Characters Choucer wanted to rapresent english society, including rapresentatives of feudal society, members of the clergy and middle classes. he did not included aristocrasy or peasents, because lower-calss people could not afford a jorney. the description of the pillgrims vary in lenght point of view and tone. Themes the main themes is the journey in the form of pilgrimage. spring time is defined as rebirht (rinascita). The pilgrimage is viewed in the prologue as an event in the calendar of nature when human energy and desire are revived by spring. It is a spiritual jorney to the shrine of thomas becket, the power of the saint is presented as healing (guaritoe) of the sick. MAGNA CARTA AND THE FIGHT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Magna carta was signed by king John at runnymede, near Windosn, on 15 June 1215. It is described as the greatest constitution document of all time: the fondation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot. Magna Carta can be seen in two ways: 1. as a document of historical ad legal significance 2. as a principle underlying how we live, throught equality under the rule of law The most important principles are that: 1. there should be no imprisonment without a fair trial 2. it estabilished the concept of judgment by 12 good man in a jury Later documents about human rights mostly derived from magna carta, even in more moden times like universal declaration of human right (UDHR) and the european convention of human rights. A very modern example is Nelson Mandela when he quoted in his trial both magna carta and UDHR. Geoffrey chaucer Geoffrey chaucer was born in 1343, in London. He was part of the middle class, but he grew up very close to the royal family. He travelled to England, Frace, Italy. He was trusted (fidato) by the crown and he supported the religious view of john Wycliffe. In 1386 he began to work on the Canterbury tales. He died in 1400 andb he was the first poet to be buried (seppelore) in the poets corner. The father of english letterature Chaucer is viewd as the father of english letterature and the first major secular poet. He is one of the first poets to be known by name and his language gradually became standard englis. in the Canterbury tales he gave a potrait (ritratto) of the english society of his times. His works are divided by periods: • French period • Italian period • English perio when he wrote the canterbury tales the prioress The prioress is a elegant lady, named Egalntyne. She has perfect nose, blue-grey eyes and small mouth. She is conformed to the ideal of beauty of the time. she can sing and speak french. She has not forgotten her aristocratic past. She has very good manners. She loves animals very much and has a tender (tenero) heart. Chaucer criticises the prioress by praising (lodandola) her ironically. he wants to show the gap (lacuna) between the behaviour (comportamento) expected (aspettato) from a nun and the Prioress' behaviour. he shares the anti clerical atitiude of his time. The wife of bath She travelled the world as a prilgrim and now is going to canterbury. She is wealthy (ricca) and she has got married 5 times. She has large hips, bold face and a gap-teeth. She is good at making clothes. She wears soft shoes, kerchief (scialli) and hose (calze). She confident and she gets angry easily and bold (audace)