BLOCK 1 : INTRODUCTION
Division into sub-blocks
~ The first two units may be placed in the first and the remaining five in the
second sub-block.
~ The first two units are meant to introduce the student to the objectives of the
course.
The first unit comments upon the two illustrations on the covers. The
orientation for the study of art begins with an examination of the two portraits.
In the second unit prosody and scansion have been discussed apart from other
technical aspects of the study of poetry.
~ From the third through the seventh units the study will revolve around
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400).
Chaucer was a Medieval or Middle English poet.
Rise of English in the British Isles
The Romans had ruled over the British Isles from the first until the fifth century
A.D. when they withdrew because Rome was being attacked by the Germanic
tribes. When the Romans withdrew, Britannia also came under the attack of the
seafaring Germanic invaders who belonged to three related tribes – the Angles,
the Saxons and the Jutes. The name “English” derives from the Angles and the
Saxons gave the names to the counties Wessex, Essex and Sussex where the
West, East and Souuth Saxons settled respectively.
Poems of the Old English Period
~ ‘Widsith’ (i.e. ‘the far traveller’) – considered to be the oldest poem in the
English language.
, ~ ‘The Battle of Brunanburh’ and ‘The Battle of Maldon’ have the invasion of
Britain in the tenth century by the seafaring Danes as the backdrop.
~ ‘The Wanderer’ and ‘The Seafarer’ have some of the personal emotion and
melancholy associated with the lyric.
~ ‘The Dream of the Rood’ – the finest of the Old English religious poems.
~ ‘Beowulf’ – the first epic poem written on the British Isles.
The Norman Conquest
In the year 1066 William of Normandy attacked and defeated Harold II at the
Battle of Hastings thereby inaugurating the Anglo-Norman period in British history
and setting the stage for a profound change in the English language.
The Medieval Culture
The medieval period is characterized by the dual power of the church and the
petty landlord. Illiteracy was common and the priest was the sole interpreter of
the Latin Bible. The third unit presents the knowledge of the society and the
major social events of the medieval period.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer represents the slow leavening of English mind under the influence of an
early Renaissance onslaught. He garbs his social criticism in subtle humour and
satire and thus offers unforgettable images of human folly and frailty which is
humanistic in inspiration. The difficulty of Chaucer’s language can be easily
overcome unlike the rest of his contemporaries such as Sir Thomas Malory and
William Langland.
Wide Reading
~ The student may read first either the units on the poems or the unit on the age
of Chaucer as per plan. The student will discover these units supplementing each
other later.
Division into sub-blocks
~ The first two units may be placed in the first and the remaining five in the
second sub-block.
~ The first two units are meant to introduce the student to the objectives of the
course.
The first unit comments upon the two illustrations on the covers. The
orientation for the study of art begins with an examination of the two portraits.
In the second unit prosody and scansion have been discussed apart from other
technical aspects of the study of poetry.
~ From the third through the seventh units the study will revolve around
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400).
Chaucer was a Medieval or Middle English poet.
Rise of English in the British Isles
The Romans had ruled over the British Isles from the first until the fifth century
A.D. when they withdrew because Rome was being attacked by the Germanic
tribes. When the Romans withdrew, Britannia also came under the attack of the
seafaring Germanic invaders who belonged to three related tribes – the Angles,
the Saxons and the Jutes. The name “English” derives from the Angles and the
Saxons gave the names to the counties Wessex, Essex and Sussex where the
West, East and Souuth Saxons settled respectively.
Poems of the Old English Period
~ ‘Widsith’ (i.e. ‘the far traveller’) – considered to be the oldest poem in the
English language.
, ~ ‘The Battle of Brunanburh’ and ‘The Battle of Maldon’ have the invasion of
Britain in the tenth century by the seafaring Danes as the backdrop.
~ ‘The Wanderer’ and ‘The Seafarer’ have some of the personal emotion and
melancholy associated with the lyric.
~ ‘The Dream of the Rood’ – the finest of the Old English religious poems.
~ ‘Beowulf’ – the first epic poem written on the British Isles.
The Norman Conquest
In the year 1066 William of Normandy attacked and defeated Harold II at the
Battle of Hastings thereby inaugurating the Anglo-Norman period in British history
and setting the stage for a profound change in the English language.
The Medieval Culture
The medieval period is characterized by the dual power of the church and the
petty landlord. Illiteracy was common and the priest was the sole interpreter of
the Latin Bible. The third unit presents the knowledge of the society and the
major social events of the medieval period.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer represents the slow leavening of English mind under the influence of an
early Renaissance onslaught. He garbs his social criticism in subtle humour and
satire and thus offers unforgettable images of human folly and frailty which is
humanistic in inspiration. The difficulty of Chaucer’s language can be easily
overcome unlike the rest of his contemporaries such as Sir Thomas Malory and
William Langland.
Wide Reading
~ The student may read first either the units on the poems or the unit on the age
of Chaucer as per plan. The student will discover these units supplementing each
other later.
