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آبان ۱۳۸۴
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A Survey to the History of English Literature (I)
The Middle Ages (The 5th – 15th Century)
Celts
The very first people and the primitive residents of England are Celts. Around 55 B.C. a powerful Roman Emperor named Julius Caesar came to this rainy, rocky island but he left it, not interested. 100 years later in 43 A.D. Emperor Claudius came to this island. The Romans were attracted toward it and invaded it; they were sophisticated and highly civilized and after they became the owners of England they influenced both Celts and the island. They started building military camps that later on changed into cities; "-ester " and "-chester", the suffixes in the names of English cities mean "camp" in Roman. Gradually, they built roads; they were supreme road builders; and little by little, people became civilized.
Romans were pagan at first, but gradually they became Christian and it took about 300 years that Christianity became dominant over people's lives. Then the land started a process of prosperity.
Anglo Saxons (The 5th Century A.D)
In the 5th century, A.D. another invasion took place by a group of pagans and savages; the Germanic tribes called Anglo Saxons. The Roman's power declined and these Germanic tribes became powerful. Anglo Saxons contained 3 main tribes: Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They were all pagans, savages, warlike, tough and greedy people and they were just interested in war and lived on loots they gained in wars. They did not have any laws. The only law they obeyed was the law of the tribe. They were completely obedient and loyal to the leader who possessed the only power and they supported him. The leader was superior and his obligation was to be generous to share loots among them.
The warriors were regarded great people and they were highly respected. They destroyed churches when they captured the island but gradually Christianity penetrated them. The first trace of this penetration was the coming to England of a missionary from Ireland who was sent by Pope Gregory, named Saint Augustine in the 6th century, to advocate Christianity. Pope Gregory was the first archbishop of Canterbury. This Christian missioner from Ireland started to advocate Christianity in Kent and gradually the road for Christianity was paved. In that time Ireland was impenetrable and its people remained Christians.
After the invasion, Anglo Saxons divided the country into 7 kingdoms which were called Heptarchies: Saxons ruled the kingdom of Wessex (west), Essex (east), and Sussex (south). Angles possessed the kingdoms of Northumberia, East Anglea and Mercia and Jutes ruled the kingdom of Kent.
Anglo Saxon's Cultural Values
Since the leader of these German tribes was the superior power, his role was considered so important by the members of the tribes and since Anglo Saxons were warlike people, heroic ideas were ideal to them. They were pagans; so naturally, there was no belief in after life and immortality of soul among them. A name, which could live after one's death was a close substitute for immortality. Gradually, names became immortal through the works of poets, especially the names of heroes.
Old English Literature (The 9th and 10th Centuries A.D.)
During this period, the language was Old English and the first verbal literature was poetry, Epic: a long narrative poem on a great and serious subject, with an elevated style, and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions the fate of a tribe, a nation or the human race was dependent.
Most of the works of this era were anonymous because what mattered were the names of the heroes not the poets.
Old English Literature includes two categories:
1. Pagan Literature
A. Beowulf
This is the most famous literary work of this period. It is an anonymous epic. The story is that of a life of a hero named Beowulf. The story contains two main incidents of the hero's life. In the first one he is young and fights against a monster which attacks a Danish king's court hall. He kills this monster and its mother which was after avenging her son the next night. In the second part, Beowulf becomes the king. A dragon attacks his people and he fights it, and both get mortally wounded.
2. Christianized Literature
Anglo Saxons infused Bible with heroic ideas, as a result, there can be seen no fundamental change; again heroic pictures are dominant. Two poets known in this period are:
A. Caedmon (Late 7th Century A.D.)
He was an illiterate man and at old age he became a clergy. Venerable Bede, a historian, had a story about him as follows: Caedman used to be an unlearned shepherd and suddenly in a vision the power of poetry came to him. Caedman's short piece of poetry is titled "Hymn to Creation".
B. Cynewulf (The 8th and 9th Centuries)
He was a Christian poet; 4 pieces of poetry are attributed to him.
C. Venerable Bede (673 – 735)
An important literary figure of this period was Venerable Bede. He was a very learned man, a scholar of Latin, Greek and Philosophy. He was also s historian and a linguist and wrote about 40 books. His most famous book is the history of Anglo Saxons period titled: "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum" i.e. "Ecclesiastical History of the English People".
The term "ecclesiastic" refers to whatever related to churches and clergies. The Old Testament was written by Ecclesiastes i.e. clergymen. Generally speaking, this period was the period of verbal literature not written one.
King Alfred (871 - 899)
Another great figure of this period was a king; King Alfred. He was very interested in literature and is said to be the father of the English prose. For many years during his time, different parts of England were invaded by Danish groups, who were enemies of culture and ruined libraries, churches and even some of the kingdoms. England was through a chaotic state. King Alfred was defeated by Danish invaders for about 15 years of his reign but eventually he succeeded. At peace, he resumed to enrich the culture and nourished the country. He was a learned man and wanted his people to learn and love English language; therefore, he advocated public education. His contributions to English literature and language are as following:
1. He was the pioneer of public education.
2. He commissioned writing the history to scholars and historians.
3. He supervised the translation of Latin Books into English.
He wanted Old English Prose to flourish. Thus, he sent for translators and commenced translating Latin prose into English – Latin was the language of learning.
He superintended the translation of Bede's book: "Ecclesiastical History of English Nation, and also another Latin book titled "Anglo Saxon Chronicle" into English. He translated two fragments of Latin prose himself: "Cura Pastoralis" i.e. "Pastoral Care" by Pope Gregory and also "De Consolation Philosophiea" i.e. "Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius, the 5th century Spanish monk.
The Norman Conquest (1066)
Normans were a group of Scandinavian Vikings. They settled in the northern part of France called Normandy, 50 years before their invasion. Their ruler was a Duke and subject to a French Duke. Normandy was a province of France but it acted independently in wars and so on. William, Duke of Normandy was the one who attacked England. Originally, they were not French; they were warlike savages and when they conquered the new land, William announced that every inch of the land belonged to him. His major influences are as following:
1. He established a feudal system.
William was both the Duke of Normandy and the King of England. He possessed nothing to pay to his warriors and officers, so he divided the land into different parts and gave each part to a baron i.e. his followers. Barons were just the tenants of the lands as long as they were loyal to the king and they were free to do whatever they wanted to their properties. They started to exploit the lands and oppressed people.
2. He made a change in the language.
Old English was the language of ordinary people and Latin was the language of scholars and churches. After Normans' invasion a new language was brought into the island which was a northern dialect of French and it was the language of law, aristocracy and government and in general, polite society. Old English remained in remote villages in conquered parts to speak and for 200 years there was no trace of Old English Literature.
3. William ordered to establish great castles in each part of the land.
Each Baron had his own castle. Each castle had rounded arches and heavy pillars as its main features.
4. Duke William expelled English churchmen.
He replaced each English churchman with a French one and started to build churches and great cathedrals.
Barons were subject to the kings. They divided their lands among people; this division became so narrowed that it finally reached peasants who were the actual workers on lands; yet, they possessed nothing. Besides, they had to pay:
1. Due or the villein's share
2. Tithe i.e. one- tenth of the annual product of a farm that was paid to support clergies and churches.
3. Tax; that was paid to the government and sometimes it was taken by force, to support mostly military expenses, etc.
At first, Dukes were interested in Normandy and thought of England as a colony, but gradually, they accepted it and became real English kings, as a result, they did not consider themselves Frenchmen anymore and became quite intermingled with English culture and nation.
The changes in Old English language and literature after the Norman Conquest:
1. Old English with Germanic syntax dominance was replaced by a Norman Anglo
Saxon language with French dominance, in The Middle Ages.
2. Normans brought French habits, way of thinking and writing into England. The dominant genre i.e. literary form of French literature entered English is Romance.
Romance
Romance came into existence in the late 11th and early 12th century. It is a long narrative poem whose fundamental theme is love; especially Platonic love. The world of romance is a marvelous one; full of fair ladies, chivalry, knighthood, supernatural beings, etc. Romance is a story of a hero, usually a night, who serves a prince or a king. He is very brave, generous, and loyal to his king, pious, religious and madly in love with a beautiful girl; but his love is never fulfilled. Mostly, marriage is impossible and eventually the hero dies. The trace of romance is evident in many ages and it was the dominant genre of the time for so long. Ideals of chivalry were advocated through these stories. While no trace of feminism can be found in Old English Literature, in romance (Middle English), women are the core of literary works.
The knight in romantic story is either after a fair lady or in a quest for the Holy Grail i.e. a cup or container used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, in which one of his followers is said to have received drops of his blood at the Crucifixion; these two were the hero's mission. A romance hero is very faithful and in love with two ladies: The Holy Mother, and an earthly lady. The trace of romance can also be seen in the literature of later periods for instance in Shakespeare's works.
The stories of French and later on of English literature can be categorized into three distinct groups:
1. Matter of Rome
All the stories are about legendaries of the myths of the past:
A. The Story of Troy
B. The Adventures of Alexander
2. Matter of France
The hero of these stories is an emperor named Charlemagne; a powerful emperor, living about 800 and ruling over the whole Europe for a couple of years. The central figure is a night serving Charlemagne named Roland. This category is the most influential one with a great impact on Europe.
3. Matter of Britain
This category was the most important for the English. The central figure is King Arthur; he has different figures:
A. Historical Figure
He was a Celtic king who lived before Anglo Saxons.
B. Mythological Figure
He was a semi-legendary figure, a brave one with followers, fighting for him to death. He is semi-godly figure who is protected by supernatural powers.
C. Romantic Figure
He is a sample of chivalry and knighthood.
All these qualities combined in a person would make him an interesting figure. The French interested in Charlemagne were gradually attracted toward The Matter of Britain and King Arthur. These stories were in French at the beginning; but after a short time they came into English.
Geoffrey of Monmouth (1100 - 1155)
He was a perfect story teller who dealt with The Matter of Britain. He wrote a pure literary book but he believed it to be a history book. His book was titled: "Historiae Regum Britanniae" in which he introduced King Arthur. Through it he could make Normans interested in this figure.
Major Historical Events during Norman Invasion
1. As mentioned before, the emperors were both kings of England and Dukes of Normandy; therefore, they were interested both in Normandy and England. This very fact brought about involvements outside England.
2. There were the problems of the feudal system.
A. King William did not want powerful barons; therefore, he did not give them large pieces of land; i.e. one baron had a piece of land in north, another piece in south, etc. This way a baron was unable to have a large united powerful state, thus he could not claim kingdom.
B. William devoted lands to barons and in return, he claimed their service; especially military service. Each baron had to set up his own army and in case of summon from the king, he was obliged to obey.
3. Problems with churches.
Norman churchmen were intelligent. Although they were selected and appointed by the king, they maintained their own rights. The outcome of this was certain conflicts between English kings and the church, the most famous of which was during the reign of King Henry II. Archbishop of Canterbury was at great odds with Henry II. So he was dismissed and replaced by king's intimate friend Thomas a Becket (1118 -1170). But Becket also started disagreeing Henry later on; they were both pig-headed.
When someone committed a crime, he was sent to court. Becket declared that a clergy must be judged by an ecclesiastical court in Rome. However, Henry II believed a clergy had to be sent to an ordinary court and be judged by the government. A spiritual man as Becket, realizing the great materialistic part of the king, had no way except escaping from the country.
During his absence, Henry II resumed his opposition to the church. He founded England's first university, Oxford University in 1167. Many English students and scholars in France were summoned to establish it. Cambridge was the second one founded in 1209.
Becket returned to England 6 years later. This time he was more powerful than before; he had permission from Pope to excommunicate Henry II and his chief councilors - i.e. exclude someone as a punishment from the rights and privileges of membership of the Christian church – Beckett also threatened that he would put a ban to all churches of England later on. This made Henry II quite raged, consequently, on Christmas, he sent 4 men to the cathedral in Canterbury to kill Becket; and they did so during his service.
But martyred Becket was a greater threat as people believed his blood would cure the sick and they visited his holy shrine. Gradually, he became St. Thomas a Becket,
and the law he had designed for the clergy and the court was established. Clergy in that time was anyone who had the ability to read.
"Murder in Cathedral" by T.S. Eliot, concerns the same event.
Becket's law is called the law for the Criminous Clericks with a special court allocated to them. Even in the 16th century, a poet, Ben Johnson killed somebody and he had to be executed but due to his ability to read, he was granted a pardon. This law was advantageous for the clergy. When a clergy was judged in a Christian court especially in Rome, where the judge was also a clergy, he would be sympathized and saved.
Many years later, Henry's grandson, Edward, decided to apologize the church for the sin his grandfather had done. He had to go around the yard of Canterbury while clergies made a symbolic act of whipping him. All the above mentioned events happened during the 12th century.
The 14th Century
During this period, King Edward III, who was a warrior and had a great love for fighting, claimed the kingdom of France and this decision resulted in a war that lasted for more than 100 years.
This war was interrupted once in 1348 by a horrible and dreadful monster The Black Death. Plague pervaded the Western Europe and hordes of helpless people died.
There were no means of preventing the disaster and about one third of the population of Western Europe were destroyed i.e. about 25 millions.
On the other hand, the illness had certain social results:
1. The population and the barons' power decreased and as a result, the wages of the working class increased. But the lords tried to keep the wages down by force and menace.
2. Villeins or farm laborers were from the low class of the society and slaves of their lords. They started demanding more wages and a great number of them escaped from the farms and headed for the towns. Consequently, the second result of the plague was the growth of towns; London grew into a city.
3. Villeins' rush toward the city made a change in the language; a new language i.e. English with German and French dominance was produced.
Wycliffe (1328 – 1384)
An important character who brought about an important movement was Wycliffe (1328 - 1384). He was an Oxford theologian and a very learned man. He campaigned against various abuses common in the churches of his time. The points to which he proposed his objections are as following:
1. There was a strong belief in Roman Catholic Church that there is no direct connection between God and man. Such a connection is achieved by the aim of a priest. Wycliffe denied the idea and stated that there is no need for any intermediary element between God and man., or for hierarchy. (He lived 1050 years before Martin Luther.)
2. Wycliffe was also at odds with the luxurious life style of bishops and cardinals who were actually princes of churches.
3. He disapproved transubstantiation i.e. through a ceremony called Mass in Catholic church people are given a piece of bread and a sip of wine by a bishop. It is said that through a miracle the bread would change into the flesh and the wine into the blood of Christ.
4. He also asserted that church is not the source of guidance, knowledge, and salvation of Christians. The authentic source is Bible. Consequently; Wycliffe and two of his followers translated Bible from Latin into English so that it would be intelligible for common people.
Wycliffe's power had two major reasons:
1. At first he was backed by the court men who were against Church, but gradually he
lost his support.
2. It was a critical time for Catholic Church of Rome; because at the same time two Popes, one in Rome and one in France claimed the papacy; thus they did not care for Wycliffe's assertions.
Wycliffe's theories were the bases of a great revolt. After his theories were popularized among the poor, his followers increased in number. Lollards i.e. God Praisers, went to villages and read Bible to people and talked about Wycliffe's assertions. Besides, 100 year war demanded money and people who were not interested in France, were forced to pay for it. They had to work hard on fields; that was a drastic and horrible task; consequently, farmers grew old before time and died soon. They were ill, hungry and barefooted and lived in huts and despite such a horrible condition, they had to pay tithe; while bishops lived luxuriously. Moreover, Black Death had taught people that they were important and essential for their lords. In general, Wycliffe's teaching, the poor condition of life and the knowledge gained by the Black Death stirred the poor to revolt; Peasants Revolt took place in 1381 whose leaders were John Ball and Watt Tyler.
The leaders believed that social classes should be abolished. They gathered a great crowd of people outside London at Thames River and marched into the city; but it was a loose revolt, for people were uneducated and disorganized and brought about panic; and as a result, they even killed the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Peasants' demands were:
1. The abolishment of all social classes
2. Community of property
At that time the king was a 14 year old child, Richard; but he was very wise. He promised the peasants that they would be granted what they demanded. Simultaneously, he killed Watt Tyler, the leader, as a result, people scattered because there were no thoughts and organization behind their revolt. John Ball also managed to escape but he was arrested and executed later. The king realized that he had to put an end to the poor condition of life; so, he abolished the feudal system. The feudal lords had to lease their fields to people. The result of the revolt was the emergence of a new class i.e. Yeomen, the first Middle Class of England.
Major Literary Works of the 14th Century
1. The first work of art was a long anonymous poem titled "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". It is one of the greatest poetic works of Middle English literature, a romance with the theme of love and knighthood.
2. The second great literary work was a poem by William Langland titled "Piers Plowman".
Langland was a fierce social critic, influenced by Wycliffe. He believed that poverty is the result of life style of the rich who are supported by church. This very fact makes Christianity impossible. He was against the attitude of the church and the rich toward the poor. His work was popular among the oppressed.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400)
He is the greatest literary figure of the 14th century; the only second to Shakespeare who dwarfed all his contemporaries. His works are gigantic masterpieces compared with other literary works; he was the peak of English literature. Chaucer was born to a well to do family and was ranked among the high class; but due to their blood they were excluded from aristocracy. His father was a wealthy wine merchant.
At his young age, Chaucer was brought up as a page i.e. a boy attendant of a noble man. To his father, his future progress was prior to his interests. After he finished the school he had just two alternatives: either going to university which would lead him toward the service of the church or going to a noble man's home where he would learn necessary and less important formal lessons.
King Edward III had many sons, one of whom was Prince Lionel of Antwerp. Chaucer was sent to Lionel's household. His success was also owing to his being backed by nobles, one of whom was famous John of Gaunt i.e. Lionel's brother. He was a powerful man and Chaucer's supporter. Chaucer married a girl, both a member of the queen's household and the household of wife of John of Gaunt and from that time on he entered aristocracy.
He gained high official positions and also grants of money from different kings. He was a talented man and was sent to France and Italy as a diplomatic missionary. He also became the Knight of Shire of Kent i.e. a representative of the parliament. Besides, he was the custom controller of wool for a period of time.
Chaucer's Literary Career
Chaucer's period of literary career can be categorized into 3 phases:
I. The French Phase
Chaucer was brought up in a courtly environment, so he was familiar with French literature and knew Latin well. Under the influence of French literature, he attempted to translate a long poem in French; "Roman De La Rose", a romance. He gave a free translation to the book with his own trace.
Besides, he wrote a book of poems: "The Book of the Duchess" that is an elegy for the death of Gaunt's wife, Blache, who was the Duchess of Lancaster.
II. The Italian Phase
His travel to Italy brought him an influence of Italian writers such as Dante and Boccaccio. His major works under the influence of Boccaccio are:
A. "Troiles and Creseide"
It is a poem based on a poem by Boccaccio titled "Il Filostrato" i.e. "The Love- Stricken". It is a love story about a man who is madly in love with a girl but eventually finds out that his mistress is disloyal and falls into disillusionment. The book is based on the theme of the nature of earthly love.
B. "The Parliament of Fowls"
The theme is again the nature of earthly love, but the debate is held by birds.
C. "The House of Fame"
This book was written under the influence of Dante's "Devine Comedy". It is about a narrator who goes to a palace called Palace of Fame in a dream vision and there he meets famous people, either Biblical or mythological.
Chaucer made a free translation of "De Consolation Philosophia" i.e.
"Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius, the 5th century Spanish monk. Chaucer's philosophy of life is that "Man must live whole heartedly and happily; he must use everything but at the same time he must remain spiritually detached from the world". But the idea seems quite paradoxical.
III. The English Phase
Chaucer's masterpiece is "The Canterbury Tales" written in his last period. The story of the poem is about 29 pilgrims from different classes of the society who are headed for St. Becket's shrine. At the beginning, there is a general prolog in which the pilgrims are introduced to the readers. They gather in an inn whose host would like to accompany them on the journey and proposes that each pilgrim should tell two stories on the way to the shrine and two others on the way back to shorten their long journey. But there are only 24 stories told by the pilgrims (i.e. the work remains incomplete).
Chaucer was a great observer of life. Although he lived among high ranked people, he experienced and touched the low and depicted them realistically and visualized great knowledge of man's psychology.
The tales are courtly, knightly and even bawdy, that is why later on some of the stories were censored.
Chaucer drew his characters from his own experience. In "The Canterbury Tales" some of the characters come from the works of Bocccaccio, but they are handled by Chaucer.