Padlet Final Project - Emilie Olarte by Emilie Olarte

Summary of Work: King Hrothgar is terrorized by a terrible monster named Grendel. Grendel periodically attacks and eats his men until the hero Beowulf shows up and assists King Hrothgar.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 05:58:13 UTC

After the murder of Grendel, his mother comes back to seek revenge. She kills one of Hrothgar’s advisors, and Beowulf similarly seeks revenge against her. He decapitates her and presents her head to the King of Hrothgar. After saving the land from monsters, he returns to his kingdom.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 05:58:39 UTC

The king of Beowulf’s home country, Hygelac, perishes in a battle. His son also dies, leaving Beowulf to take his spot on the throne. In the end, he sacrifices himself to save his kingdom from a dragon, as he is aware of his oncoming death.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 05:58:51 UTC

Main Theme: Beowulf is an “epic” poem. As a result, the themes are rather straightforward: good triumphing over evil, courage, loyalty, and chivalry. There is also religious imagery, specifically pertaining to Christianity.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 05:59:39 UTC

Summary of Work: Sir Launfal is a knight underneath King Arthur. Despite this, he is rather mistreated/neglected by the King and the Queen. One day, when lying in a meadow, he is approached by two women who lead him through the forest; he meets a Maiden there, and falls in love with her.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:11:38 UTC

The Queen Guinevere attempts to have an affair with Sir Launfal, but after being rejected becomes wrathful. She attempts to punish him, but at the very end his Maiden arrives to save him. He is never seen by outside society after this point.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:15:23 UTC

Main Theme: Chivalry is also a major theme within this book, as well as love triumphing over all. There is also a theme of good being rewarded. Similarly, Sir Launfal has a connection to royalty just like Beowulf.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:16:21 UTC

Note: Both Beowulf and Launfal are rewarded within their narratives.

Summary of Work: The Doleful Lay of Clorinda has a woman taking the center stage. She is grieving the loss of someone she loved dearly. There is a constant usage of nature imagery, as the work technically resides within the “pastoral romance” genre.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:19:19 UTC

Note: Nature is a very important aspect of the pastoral romance genre, and is prominent throughout much of the prose in this Lay.

Main Theme: Mary Sidney Herbert subverts the traditional ideas of chivalry and romance throughout her work. One way she subverts these traditional expectations of romance is that the bereaved is actually sister to the one who died.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:24:32 UTC

Note: The above image is from the following link, which goes further in depth on the chivalric code. You'll notice how it is written from a male perspective. https://allaboutmedievalknights.weebly.com/code-of-chivalry.html

"allaboutmedievalknights.weebly.com" is a website which gives useful background information on the duty of knights, and their role in society at the time. All three works to this point have carried these ideals, which would eventually be turned on their heads.

Summary of Work: The work of Oroonoko follows a “royal slave”, and works to paint Africans in a better light than was typical for the time. Oroonoko fell in love with Imoinda; in response to this happening, the King sells her into slavery. This impacts Oroonoko greatly.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:28:43 UTC

Oroonoko then receives a Captain who betrays him and sells him and his counsel into slavery. He is then renamed “Caesar”, and is reunited with Imoinda. After being taken onto a plantation, he stages an uprising against Byam. He kills Imoinda and their child to save them from the suffering of slavery, but is unable to fully go through with his revenge.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:30:02 UTC

In the end he is killed.

Main Theme: There is an overall theme of religious criticism throughout the work, specifically directed towards Christianity. There are also many criticisms of slavery, one of these being through the murder of Imoinda. The story largely focuses around injustice.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:32:41 UTC

Note: as time has progressed, Christianity has become less of the "moral standard" within literature and more of the subject of critique.

Compare: Beowulf and Oroonoko's depiction of Christianity and Christians.

Summary of Work: The Rape of the Lock is a mock epic. The main focus is Belinda, who is warned that she will soon face a tragedy by her guardian sylph. Baron is the source of this tragedy, as he has decided to steal a lock of her hair. He is shown making sacrifices and praying for his own success, and enters a “heroic” card battle.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:36:42 UTC

He eventually successfully steals a lock of her hair, and Belinda is furious. Despite the attempts of Clarissa to calm her down, who had helped the Baron in his crime, Belinda initiates a “scuffle”. The lock of hair is then lost, and poetically described as having become a constellation after ascending to the heavens.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:36:57 UTC

Note: a rather wordy title..

Main Theme: Satire and irony is a major component of this story, given that it is a mock epic. The main theme of this story appears to revolve around vanity, and a great concern with one’s physical appearance.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:37:21 UTC

Note: We've come full circle - Beowulf, a sincere epic, has spawned the creation of The Rape of the Lock; what was initially an espousal of traditional beliefs and chivalry has turned into a vehicle for critique.

The following link is a breakdown of "The Rape of Lock", as well as an analysis of the "mock-epic" in general:

https://www.researchpublish.com/upload/book/A%20Look%20into%20Mock%20Epic%20Poetry-4468.pdf

It is a research paper dedicated to understanding the intention and execution of Alexander Pope's work "The Rape of The Lock". It covers a great deal of topics, and is a comprehensive analysis.

Summary of Work: "The Hunting of the Hare" is as the title describes - the narrative follows Wat, a hare being pursued by hunters. Through a series of events which build tension within the prose, Wat is eventually killed by the hunters and their dogs.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 06:58:14 UTC

Main theme: the theme surrounding this work of Margaret Cavendish's is one of humanity's ugly side. In many ways, the antagonists (being the hunters) represent the sin of Pride and maybe Gluttony (in this case, for the thrill of the hunt).

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 07:04:19 UTC

Note: as time goes on, literary works have become more and more critical rather than noble depictions of royalty and saint-like figures.

Summary of Work: Gulliver's Travels is a parody of the "travel log" format. Gulliver, the main character, details his life up until he gets shipwrecked while on the Antelope.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 07:27:44 UTC

He is then taken hostage by a league of miniature people who give him food and wine. They are fascinated by him, and eventually attempt to use him against their enemies in something akin to a religious dispute.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 07:29:27 UTC

Main Theme: Gulliver's Travels is a satire of the British Government. As a result, there's clear allegories towards real-world tensions and government processes. There is also religious symbolism.

emilieolarte21_ — 2023-12-09 07:39:01 UTC

Note: literature was initially meant to revolve around religion, and as it has developed it now critiques it and people's response to it.