Honours-level students, and whole-year visiting students taking the module at Honours level, should answer questions 1 and 2, in 1 ½ hours.

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1 UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK Summer examinations 2016/17 Medieval to Renaissance English Literature Time allowed: 3 hours plus 15 minutes reading time. First-year students should answer questions 1-4, in 3 hours. Honours-level students, and whole-year visiting students taking the module at Honours level, should answer questions 1 and 2, in 1 ½ hours. Read carefully the instructions on the answer book and make sure that the particulars required are entered on each answer book. Do not substantially repeat material from assessed or unassessed essays or across exam answers. 1. Translate the following passage into modern English prose (12 marks). The brygge was brayde doun and the brode yates Unbarred and born open upon bothe halve. The burn blessed him bylive and the bredes passed, Prayses the porter, before the prince kneled, Gave him God and good day, that Gawan He save, And went on his way with his wye one, That schulde teche him to turne to that tene place There the rufulle race he resayve schulde. Thay bowen by bonkes there boghes are bare, Thay clomben by clyffes there clenges the colde. The heven was uphalt, bot ugly thereunder. Mist muged on the mor, malt on the mountes, Uch hille had a hatte, a mist-hakel huge. born: pushed, swung bylive: quickly bredes: planks, boards tene: terrible, perilous race: blow, stroke bonkes: hills uphalt: high muged: drizzled, lay damp malt: condensed, fell as rain mist-hakel: mist-robe, cloud-hat From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 1

2 2. Write a critical commentary on ONE of the following passages (24 marks). a) Heigh fantasye and curious bisynesse Fro day to day gan in the soule impresse Of Januarie aboute his mariage. Many fair shap and many a fair visage Ther passeth thurgh his herte nyght by nyght, As whoso tooke a mirour, polisshed bryght, And sette it in a commune market-place, Thanne sholde he se ful many a figure pace By his mirour; and in the same wyse Gan Januarie inwith his thoght devyse Of maydens whiche that dwelten hym bisyde. He wiste nat wher that he myghte abyde. For if that oon have beaute in hir face, Another stant so in the peples grace For hire sadnesse and hire benyngnytee That of the peple grettest voys hath she; And somme were riche and hadden badde name. But nathelees, bitwixe ernest and game, He atte laste apoynted hym on oon, And leet alle othere from his herte goon, And chees hire of his owene auctoritee; For love is blynd alday, and may nat see. And whan that he was in his bed ybroght, He purtreyed in his herte and in his thoght Hir fresshe beautee and hir age tendre, Hir myddel smal, hire armes longe and sklendre, Hir wise governaunce, hir gentillesse, Hir wommanly berynge, and hire sadnesse. And whan that he on hire was condescended, Hym thoughte his choys myghte nat ben amended. From The Merchant s Tale Heigh fantasye: exaggerated fancy, imagination curious bisynesse: constant thought gan... impresse: made a mark sadnesse: seriousness voys: praise apoynted hym on: decided on was condescended: had settled b) Love, that doth reign and live within my thought, 2

3 And built his seat within my captive breast, Clad in the arms wherein with me he fought, Oft in my face he doth his banner rest. But she that taught me love and suffer pain, My doubtful hope and eke my hot desire With shamefast look to shadow and refrain, Her smiling grace coverteth straight to ire. And coward Love then to the heart apace Taketh his flight, where he doth lurk and plain, His purpose lost, and dare not show his face. For my lord s guilt thus faultless bide I pain, Yet from my lord shall not my foot remove: Sweet is the death that taketh end by love. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey shamefast: modest refrain: restrain apace: at once plain: complain bide: endure c) Fourth Song Only joy, now here you are, Fit to hear and ease my care; Let my whispering voice obtain Sweet reward for sharpest pain: Night hath closed all in her cloak, Twinkling stars love-thoughts provoke, Danger hence good care doth keep, Jealousy itself doth sleep: Better place no wit can find, Cupid s yoke to loose or bind; These sweet flowers on fine bed, too, Us in their best language woo: This small light the moon bestows Serves thy beams but to disclose, So to raise my hap more high; Fear not else, none can us spy: 3

4 That you heard was but a mouse, Dumb sleep holdeth all the house; Yet asleep methinks they say, Young folks, take time while you may. Niggard Time threats, if we miss, This large offer of our bliss, Long stay ere he grant the same; Sweet, then, while each thing doth frame, Your fair mother is abed, Candles out, and curtains spread; She thinks you do letters write: Write, but first let me indite: Sweet, alas, why strive you thus? Concord better fitteth us. Leave to Mars the force of hands; Your power in your beauty stands; Woe to me, and do you swear Me to hate? But I forbear. Cursèd be my destines all, That brought me so high to fall: Soon with my death I will please thee. hap: good fortune Niggard: stingy stay: wait frame: serve indite: dictate forbear: desist destines: fates From Sidney, Astrophil and Stella d) The knight then lightly leaping to the pray, With mortall steele him smot againe so sore, That headlesse his unweldy bodie lay, 4

5 All wallowd in his owne fowle bloudy gore, Which flowèd from his wounds in wondrous store. But soone as breath out of his breast did pas, That huge great body, which the Gyaunt bore, Was vanisht quite, and of that monstrous mas Was nothing left, but like an emptie bladder was. Whose grievous fall, when false Duessa spide, Her golden cup she cast unto the ground, And crownèd mitre rudely threw aside; Such percing griefe her stubborne hart did wound, That she could not endure that dolefull stound, But leaving all behind her, fled away: The light-foot Squire her quickly turned around, And by hard meanes enforcing her to stay, So brought unto his Lord, as his deservèd pray. The royall Virgin, which beheld from farre, In pensive plight, and sad perplexitie, The whole achievement of this doubtfull warre, Came running fast to greet his victorie, With sober gladnesse, and myld modestie, And with sweet joyous cheare him thus bespake; Faire braunch of noblesse, flowre of chevalrie, That with your worth the world amazèd make, How shall I quite the paines, ye suffer for my sake? From The Faerie Queene, Book 1, canto 8 lightly: quickly store: abundance mitre: head-dress usually worn by a bishop rudely: violently stound: sorrow pensive: anxious cheare: countenance quite: requite 3. Write an essay in response to ONE of the following questions (32 marks). Do NOT write an answer on a text on which you have already commented in question 2. a) Examine the roles of the four female figures the Lady, Morgan, Guenore, and the Virgin Mary in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. b) An entire branch of the poem s scholarship is [ ] devoted to the interpretation of colour (Heng). What is so significant about colour in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? 5

6 c) In what ways, and to what extent, do Chaucer s Canterbury Tales invite us to think about different kinds of manipulation and exploitation? Discuss at least TWO tales. d) With reference to TWO OR MORE Canterbury Tales and/or Prologues, discuss the presentation of greed AND/OR appetite. e) The text is essentially a performance script, never intended as reading matter, and it repeatedly insists on the presence of an audience (Beadle). Explore the relationship between the play and the spiritual lives of the audience in any TWO or more texts. You may answer with reference to mystery/cycle plays or morality plays or both. 4. Write an essay in response to ONE of the following questions (32 marks). Do NOT write an answer on a text on which you have already commented in question 2. a) There is a sense of mischief lurking under the surface of Utopia (Baker-Smith, adapted). Discuss Utopia in the light of this statement. b) Explore the presentation of power in the poems of Thomas Wyatt. c) Discuss the gendered power dynamics in Shakespeare s Sonnets AND/OR Sidney s Astrophil and Stella. d) For I will not deny but that man s wit may make poesy, which should be eikastike (which some learned have defined: figuring forth good things) to be phantastike (which doth, contrariwise, infect the fancy with unworthy objects). What is Sidney s understanding of the abuse of poetry, as opposed to its right use? e) Falsity and deception are central themes in Book I of Spenser s Faerie Queene. In what ways does Spenser s poetry seek to educate the reader to discern between truth and illusion? f) The ambivalence of the poem is caused by the poet s own acceptance of conflicting feelings about love (Muir on Venus and Adonis, adapted). Discuss Venus and Adonis AND/OR Hero and Leander in the light of this statement. (End) 6

Time allowed: 3 hours, plus 15 minutes of reading time. During this reading time notes may be made on the question paper but NO ANSWER MAY BE BEGUN.

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK September 2014 Examinations Medieval to Renaissance English Literature Time allowed: 3 hours, plus 15 minutes of reading time. During this reading time notes may be made on the question