The Lais of Marie de France Throughout the 12th century in England, multilingualism played a large role in shaping the writings of the people. One of these writers, Marie de France, writes about Celtic characters in the French dialect of English. Stories such as these represented how multilingualism was capable of shaping the culture of the country. One story, Les Deus Amanz, shows these characteristics through the context of the story. In her writings, Marie de France mentions several symbols in order to relate the stories to their native country. In this story, she starts off by mentioning where this story originated from, “There once took place in Normandy a now celebrated adventure of two young people who loved each other and who both met their end because of love. …show more content…
Stein shows why this would have been necessary through an excerpt from his book, “…born in England to descendants of conquerors who had settled, intermarried with native elites and – although still French speaking – had developed a sense of themselves as English….” (Stein) By re-establishing this point to her readers, they are able to reestablish their roots in France while also putting their own Celtic perspective into the story. This story also defines these ideas by including mythical qualities in her writing. In this story, the elements are seen through the potion the princess makes for her lover. “She fortified him with medicines and gave him a potion such that, however weary, afflicted, or burdened he might be, it would refresh all his strength to him as soon as he had drunk it.” (The Lais of Marie de France 84) By including a fantasy aspect in her stories, Marie de France enforces how Celtic images have been placed into common French stories. “…Celtic speakers were a twice-conquered minority.” (Stein) This implies that while the Celtic peoples were considered a civilized people, they had several different cultures within their society. By mentioning the potion, the author introduces
Both “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” by E. Pauline Johnson and “Qu’Appelle” by David Bouchard retell the same First Nation’s legend but develop different voices throughout the use of stylized English, syntax and figurative language. The narratives follow similar timelines in which events occur, characters and theme of how the Qu'Appelle valley came to be. Writing in Shakespearean English rather than modern English is a stylized choice by Johnson which gives the overall story an academic voice and romanticizes the legend. For example, Johnson says, “I heard a voice speak tenderly my name… I answered; no reply” (Johnson, 5). In contrast, Bouchard employs an informal voice with the use of third and second person. This
Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it’s implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is isolation. The theme of isolation plays a large role in the stories of Guigemar and Lanval. In each of these lais we see isolation as a factor in determining the fates of the central figures. Within each lai isolation is represented on several different occasions, each time having a direct impact on the outcome. These instances of isolation may be seen at times to be similar in nature and consequence, and different at other times. By sifting through both works these instances may be extrapolated and analyzed.
As the Queen of France, I think the author was able to convey the type of person that Marie was to her country. She was deeply devoted to her country but had a very soft spot for her home country of Austria. This would rub a lot of French people off and would, in the end, be her demise. She was caught in a few scandals that rocked her reputation and she was never able to recover from. There were rumors that two of her children were not the King’s biological children because Marie was in the presence of a man that people assumed she was in love with
...tion of both methods can be used to show France’s idea of what love is. Patrick John Ireland argued that France’s idea of love “is a human force controlled by man with great difficulty; it is a spontaneous, natural, and all-consuming power, the experience of which leads to an almost blind passion at times” (133). To be in love, one must be entirely devoted and passionate to one another to the point of blind passion. This is so for Yonec (the Princess jumps out of the tower) and Lanval (Lanval’s complete rejection of the human world until he is brought into the world of his lover). Not only does France portray love as natural and all-consuming, but also shows the private and unearthly nature of love that cannot be contained to the realm of the human world. Rather, love transcends the boundaries of the human world and enters into a world where love reigns supreme.
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne de Habsbourg-Lorraine was born in the mid-eighteenth century as an archduchess and princess, to Maria Teresa, the Austrian Empress, at the very apex of the European hierarchal pyramid. She was an essential part to the oldest royal European house, as it became known that her sole duty in life was to unite the two great powers and long-term enemies of Austria-Hungary and France by marriage. She was brutally overthrown by her own starving people and portrayed to the world as a villain and abuser of power, whereas sympathy for the young queen should be shown.
L’Engle, L'Engle. “Focus On The Story, Not Readers…” Writer Apr 2010: p. 24-25. MAS Ultra-School Edition. EBSCOhost. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
... of language and education is the most important in this story and society. The make use of two different languages in a narrative, provides a reader a perplexing yet fascinating image of characterization and customs. Multilingual story telling pushes the reader to decelerate and acquire supplemental focus on the expressions which are in the small fragments, however as soon as the reader has figured out the foreign words, he or she acquires a priceless picture of the theme of this story. The panorama of native words and phrases, cultural perceptions, and class dispute taken from the incorporation of two different languages are helpful for the reader to obtain significance that he or she couldn't gain if exclusively one language was employed in the story. Just as the power of language is applied to unveil a society, a better comprehension is provided to the reader.
The theme of love is prevalent throughout Marie de France’s stories in The Lais of Marie de France. De France’s portrayal of love spans many realms—romantic love, friendship, love between a parent and a child, love between lord and vassal, forbidden love. These different types of love also portray life and the overall social structure of medieval Europe. Most notable in The Lais of Marie de France is the theme that spiritual love transcends physicality and worldly material desires. In contrast to The Lais, Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks presents an exhaustive and valuable look into society at the beginning of the Middle Ages. Coming out of the collapse of the Roman Empire, people of
Among the most pervasive themes in the Lais of Marie de France is that of dishonesty and deception, with almost every character in the Lais deceiving others to some extent for personal gain. Much like in her translations of Aesop’s fables, de France uses her Lais as a means of conveying a moral message onto the reader, drawing a clear line between moral and immoral deception, somewhat at odds with the established moral code of her era.
In Yönec and Bisclavret by Marie De France, the element of the supernatural is used to emphasize virtue. Those who embrace the supernatural are portrayed as worthy and morally upright, while those who are repulsed by the supernatural are portrayed as evil and immoral. In Bisclavret, the lord's supernatural situation draws attention to the virtues of love and loyalty. In Yönec, Muldumarec's shape-shifting abilities are used to emphasize the virtues of courtly love. Muldumarec's prophecy before his death establishes him as a character who is so virtuous that he is blessed with prescience. In both tales, those who stand between a supernatural being and their pursuit of virtue are severely punished.
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
Dawson, Ema, and Pierre Larrivee. “Attitudes to Language in Literary Sources: Beyond post-colonialism In Migration Literature.: English Studies 91.8(2010): 920-932. Literary Reference Center. Web. 30 Jan. 2014
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were the leaders of France during the French Revolution in the years 1774-1792. However, they were definitely not known for their great leadership skills. Their Majesties Louis and Marie were best known for having the most scandals among any couple in royal history, which was mostly on Marie's behalf. Whether it was the Queen's exquisite wardrobe that she never wore twice, her wild and extravagant parties that went on all night and three times a week, or Marie's not-so-secret affairs with different lovers, the Queen of France made sure that her and her country were always getting the attention. They are known as the most scandalous and disliked monarchs in history because of their lavish spending and little interest in their people and improving their country.
...an see, when reading a work such as The Canterbury Tales, there are many advantages and disadvantages to the work being in both middle and modern English. Before reading such a work, one must realize his or her own purpose for reading the work and then decide on which version to read. It is the opinion of many that it is beneficial to read both versions in order to educate one self about both languages as well as to experience the evolution of the English language. The English language has changed greatly over the many centuries since the time this work was written. However, this work helps create a bridge between the languages of the middle and modern English worlds. This was a work that transcended any work previously written and one that will continue to have an important place in the history of English literature and the English language as a whole.
Roy’s divided nature creates wearisome and challenging “bonds between identity and home” (Boyd), story and situation. Even when Roy was a pupil at the English run school in Manitoba, she found that there was no opportunity for Francophone students to experience “blossoming of the self” (Roy 63). “[She’s] been brought up to be French, but what would [she] find here to nourish and sustain [her]?” (Roy 109). Roy was dissatisfied, thus she decided to set out on a quest for cultural and intellectual stimulation. At this point in the autobiography, Roy admits to feeling trapped in a “walled enclosure” (Roy 109). Nevertheless, her travels in pursuit of her roots did not bring her that personal satisfaction that she had hoped for. On the contrary,