English Notes

Who settles the British Isles?

·      Iberians (Spain and Portugal)

·      Celts (Ireland)

·      Romans

·      Anglo-Saxons

10/5/10

Middle ages

Medieval

1066- the Normans conquer the Anglo Saxons

1170-

·      there was an English king called Henry the II and he wanted major control over the church. In order to control it, he appointed his friend Thomas A’Beckett into the position of Arch Bishop of Canterbury (the highest position in England in the church). He thought that by appointing A’Beckett, Edward thought he would be in control, but A’Beckett wanted to do good with his position. A’Beckett was assassinated by loyal knights of Henry on the Church steps without Edwards orders.

·      They catonized (made a saint) of A’Beckett= Saint Thomas

10/18/10

Comparing the circle of life to the seasons:

Spring- birth and youth

Summer- summer/adulthood

Fall- adulthood/ middle age

Winter- old age/ death

Knight-

·      Traveled near and far

·      willing to risk everything for god, his people, his lord

·      meek= means he’s not a braggart, has manners

·      he is not into the exterior( not fantastic horse, worn out clothes, not dressed gaily)

·      doing it because he is deeply religious and cares about being a good knight and thanking god

Squire-

·      Cares about the external- long, nice, curly hair

o   Can get caught in the trees

·      Vanity, horny

·      Stays close to home= cares about the lady

·      Wearing clean and flowery clothing, groomed, doesn’t dress practically for being in battle

·      Good qualities- respect, humble, good looking, plays music, strong, courteous, educated- aristocratic

·      Not in the right profession

Yeoman-

·      Christopher- patron saint of foresters (he was a forester)

·      The narrator gave his opinion (that he was good)- indicates that there may not be people that feel the same way

o   Saying his opinion changes the intent

·      He is a real forester- knows his stuff

·      Knowledgeable about the forest and wood craft

·      Knew his weaponry and how to take care of them (arrows never drooped)

·      Chaucer is unsure what his opinion is of him

Prioress-

·      Shouldn’t be cursing at all, even if it’s mild

·      Madam Eglantine- kind of plant, not such a holy name

·      Used sarcasm

·      FAT ASS

·      Wants to appear meticulous and high class, but she has bad manners

·      Buzz word= key word that stands out- imitate

·      People of the church are not meant to have pets and she has a bunch of boys that she looooooves

o   Nuns are meant to watch orphans

·      How can she afford jewelry? And why does her thing say “love conquers all”

Merchant-

·      Wealthy- beaver hat

·      Pompous- always talked about how much money he made

·      Sarcastic- he’s in debt but he makes his exterior very lavish

·      Don’t know his name- so you can’t find him

·      The narrator speaks of his sarcastically

·      This man is sneaky

Cleric

·      Religious

·      Old

·      Poor- he and his horse are thin

·      Never found a job

·      Values knowledge- would rather books than clothes and food

·      “but little gold in his chest”

o   alchemy= trying to make gold from other things

·      Chaucer likes him, but he can’t get a job

Lawyer

·      “at least he seemed so”- not necessarily true

·      good at his job

·      puts on an act- makes himself look busier than he was= fake

Franklin- wealthy free man landowner

·      Hedonist

·      Likes to drink

·      Lives in excess

Guild- a group of people from every profession= union

·      Get into it by apprenticing form the age of 7 under a contract

·      Jews were not allowed into the guild- made money by being bankers- gave out loans

·      Usury- lending money and getting interest back

o   Illegal in the church and for Jews

·      Of the Emerging Middle Class

·      “seemed”- not definite

·      henpecked- the wives are doing that to the men, so the men do everything so that the women can feel respected

Cook-

·      Good cook

·      They cooked on the floor= the cook had a big, open sore on his shin

·      Chaucer thinks they are men  who are not in control of their lives

Sailor-

·      Said he was a good guy but not true because he stole mine

·      The narrator thinks he is a good guy, but Chaucer says otherwise

·      Excellent sailor

·      PIRATE

Physician-

·      Ahead in the technological advances of his time

·      Crook- he told people they had diseases they didn’t have

o   Was scheming with the drug dealer

·      More of a man of science than a man of church

·      Took advantage of the people just for the money= greedy and cheap

Manciple-

·      Smart but not educated- has street smarts= clever

·      Rich

Reeve-

·      Estate manager and chief accountant

·      The lord is dependant on the reeve, and as a result of the reeve helping the lord out the reeve gets gifts

·      Always rides in the back of the procession- people hate him

o   They were afraid of him and what he would do to them

o   Thin, creepy and intimidating

Summoner- hunted people down whom they were told were sinning and sent them to court

·      Had leprosy, ugly as hell and had gross eating habits, dumbass

·      Accepted bribes

·      Everything is about money for him

·      Narrator-

·      Chaucer does not like him

Pardoner-

·      Con man- he displays crap for a price and says that it has some sort of religious significance

o   Made “monkeys”, or fools, of people

·      Good at his job but is corrupt- only cares about the money

Chaucer/Narrator-

·      Hot to be a good storyteller

o   Tell stories word for word

§  Saying that he will do so, so that he can remove the blame form himself if anyone dislikes it

·      If I don’t do things according to rank, don’t be offended because I’m stupid.

Host- Harry Bailey

·      Gets everyone to make a promise

·      Everyone should say 2 stories each way

·      Says that if you don’t agree with the plan you’ll have to pay for everyone= everyone agrees

The Knight goes first

·      Highest in rank

The Prioresses Tale

·      Makes a prayer to tell a good story

·      Jews are evil and their profession is usury

·      Story of a 7 year old boy who was very religious and devoted. He learned a song about Mary and sang it whenever he walked thought the Jewish ghetto. Satan put ideas into the Jews heads saying that he shouldn’t be singing such a hateful song against Jews in their quarters.

·      A Jew took the boy, slit his throat, and threw him in the garbage

·      The mother is distraught and going out of her mind with worry

·      She goes and searches the Jews quarters but no one knows where he is

·      Jesus made the kid sing by some FAASCINATING MIRACLE and they find the baby

·      Compare him to precious stones

·      Second Rachel- comparing his mom to Rachel

11/15/10

Blood Libel

12/2/10

12/9/10

The Anti-Shakespeareans-

·      Believe that a bunch of people just go together and wrote his plays

·      For someone who accomplished as much as him, there aren’t really that many records of him.

·      Most people believe Shakespeare is fo real

·      There are records of signatures that don’t really match up

Classic

·      Universal theme

·      Transcends times

·      Always relevant

Soliloquy- when the actor reveals his thoughts to the audience

12/13/10

no personal pronouns, never say I.

How to Construct an Essay:

I. Introduction

1.   point one

2.   point 2

3.   point 3

4.   thesis

II.  Topic sentence- point 1

·      Quotes

·      Statements

III. Topic sentence- point 2

IV. Topic sentence- point 3

V. Conclusion

·      Re-state the thesis and add a final thought

12/14/10

The Merchant of Venice (1597)

·      Setting: Venice/ Belmont

·      Venetians

·      Rialto

·      Jewish Ghetto

Portia is the heiress

·      Cant get married until he solves the riddle

Gentlewoman- personal advisor- kinda like a personal assistant

Antonio- merchant

Gratiano- let me play the fool

·      Let me make you laugh

·      Let me be the one that you talk to

Mirth- cheer

Why should someone who is alive sit like the statue head that sits outside of a tomb

12/21/10

Grammar Review

Everybody is interested in where (their, his) name came from.

Either the twins  or James will bring (his, their) football.

·      One closest to prounoun

Damon and his girlfriend Felicia always eat (his, their) favorite foods.

Each student must pick up (his, their) bus pass from the office.

One who gives (his, their) child an original name is proud.

12/21/10

shylock needs to be sure that Antonio is a good investment

·      sure yeah sure yeah yeah ill do it

3 reason that shylock hates Antonio

1.   Antonio is Christian

2.   Lends money without asking for interest

3.   He publicly disrespects shylock

12/22/10

the devil can site the bible for his purpose

parallel stories

Portia        bound by

Father        will

Antonia           bound

Shylock          by

Bassanio         loan

All arrogant

Shylock talks himself down

1/31/11

“Tell me where is fancy bred,

Or in the heart, or in the head?”