- 49-top52 (up to "... twenty-four hours."): Description of the "man-made" island of Utopia, named after Utopus, the conqueror, who had his army and the people labor to change the peninsula into an island - many towns - agricultural enterprise: farmers, animals, food-products
- upper52 (from "But I ...")-upper-mid54: on the towns, especially Aircastle: descriptive details: river, wall with towers, gardens, houses
- upper-mid54 (from "Now for ...")-mid55: on their "local government" - elected officials - on the Council discussion of "public affairs"
- mid55 (from "And now ...")-lower59: on their occupations & trades = farming, carpentry, ... - training for these - no idleness - recreational activities & virtues - daily labor-hours - their clothing - "main purpose" of the Utopian economy
- lower59 (from "Now I'd ...")-mid64: social relationships/arrangements/organization - marriage & the family - hospitals - communal meals for the young & old in towns & in the countryside: the nursery, the seating-arrangement
- mid64 (from "Now about ...")-mid82: on how they travel within Utopia while working on their tasks - attitudes to wealth/silver&gold/jewels - anecdote about the "Flatulentine diplomats" - their subjects of study: music, astronomy, ethics, religious/philosophical ideas/concepts (God, ...) - types of pleasure/happiness relative to money (gambling, ...) - on "real pleasures" or "mental pleasures," such as studying Greek culture (80-81) and improving their knowledge of the world (81-82)
- mid82("By the way, ...")-top90: on who are/become the "slaves" and WHY - on morality & marriage - how they deter crime despite "very few laws" - relations with "their neighbors" and "allies" (88) - "no treaties" because of "how kings behave"
- upper90 (from "And that ...")-mid98: on their attitudes to, and practices of, WAR - their international relations - how the soldiers are trained and fight - clever strategies of subversion/deception - mercenaries - Utopian volunteers, not conscripts - battle-cunning (96) - fortified camps - armor & weapons - armistice - where they choose to fight (98)
- mid98 (from "Finally, let ...")-lower109: on their religious ideas & practices - introducing Christianity - Utopus's policy/laws regarding religious belief & behaviors (100): on the soul and freedom of faith & practice - the main "sects" - on the priests - festivals - churches and their congregational service & prayer
- lower109 (from "Well, that's ...")-113: concluding general reflections on the "Utopian Republic" in critical contrast to Europe's "social system" (such as how "the rich" get to be so, and "the poor" get to be so) - what obstructs "progress towards a better life" (112) - closing section on p.113 where ThM evaluates Raphael's account, admitting that "many features of the Utopian Republic" deserve to be "adopted in Europe"
1/14/11 - READING NOTES to pp.24-35 of the Intro. to our edition of Marie de France's LAIS = ballad-tales = short-stories in verse to be sung:
General features of the literary genre called LAI as composed by Marie de France around 800 years ago in French-speaking, Norman-ruled England.
A) PROTAGONISTS: 1. The main characters are of "exalted social status" = aristocratic folk of wealth and education: lords & ladies, like King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Lady/Queen so&so. They are presented with minimal psychological portraiture - just enough to particularize each named character.
2. They are love-afflicted = either longing for or being fulfilled by this intense emotion - regardless of morality or social convention. But even if adulterous, MdeF does not judge/condemn in an explicit way; she objectively presents their experiences.
3. They may reside in a castle or grand dwelling, or they may journey to a distant land, or even find themselves in a fairy-tale-like setting - a magical Otherworld like Narnia or Hogwarts - but evoked with minimal descriptive details.
B) NARRATIVE ASPECTS: 1. Like all stories, each lai has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But the story unfolds with brevity and a certain rapidity. The few pages allow MdeF to zero-in/focus on her characters' predicament, which underscores their intensity of emotion, be it yearning, fulfillment, or loss.
2. The story-line or aventure involves telling what happened to the main characters which appeared to take place quite suddenly/unexpectedly - as if MdeF were reminding us that Life is full of surprises/happenstance/serendipity = les aventures.
3. She composed her REtellings of old folktales in Old French using a simple rhyme-scheme for her balladic verses. Her lais may well have been sung to a stringed instrument at court, but might also have been read aloud at entertainments from a written manuscript. Her original lais (and we will examine the opening verse of LANVAL in the original on p.139) are not unlike our country-western balladeers (Kenny Rogers, Lyle Lovett, Loretta Lynn, ...) who sing of love found or lost or ... .
1/21/11: At the close of class today, Chris offered us all two INSIGHTFUL observations about our first LAI. Briefly, they were as follows: 1) the amorous son of the Count is rash/foolish/unwise being blinded by his emotion of love into believing that his joy/happiness in carrying his beloved will sustain him up to the top of the mountain. But youth itself is not a guarantee of success! (Teenagers are not invincible!) 2) the young Princess/Damsel/Maiden defers to her lover as social convention dictated; a woman, in medieval society, was expected to let the man decide - her "voice" was to be submissive, week, if not silent. In the story, she DOES express her EXHORTATIONS as pleadings from her heart and her judgment, but he (like know-it-all guys in the commercials who do not use GPS and then get lost - while their wives look on in dismay) persists, his mind full of (unrealistic) self-confidence. ("Just a few drops from the phial on your tongue, Dude! - and you'll maintain your strength!" I wanted to shout. Alas and alack, he knew better! ) ... But, we can affirm, that Marie de France herself, given her PROLOGUE, is NOT a silent woman - she declares that she has a God-given talent for Literature that she intends to share with the world - and receive high praise. (You go, Girl!): "Anyone [like ME!, implies Marie] who has received from God the gift of knowledge and true eloquence has a duty not to remain silent; rather should one [like ME! Marie de France] be happy to reveal such talents [through composing lais based on old folktales I've heard]. When ... [my collection of ballad-tale retellings as versified poems is] heard by many people, ... [especially by "your honor, noble king," who will tell the royal court, then it will be] widely praised [and centuries hence be read and enjoyed by MSUM students who breathe the intellectual fire of the dragon.] "
WEEK III - Fri 1/28 - Daniel A, Katy A, Mitch B, Mark B, Amanda B, Michelle B, Chris B, Cory C - GUIGEMAR: 43-55
WEEK IV - Fri 2/4 - Justin C, Ruvimbo C, Amber C, Donald C, Steven C, Deawna C, Stacia C - EQUITAN: 56-60
WEEK VI - Fri 2/18 - Taylor D, Erin Ditm, Erin Dur, Alexandra, Dustin F, Tyler F, Lyndsay F, Dennis F - BISCLAVRET: 68-72
WEEK VII - Fri 2/25 - Jared F, Wesley H, Sarah H, Caitlin H, Jared H, Ethan H, April H, Aditya H - LANVAL: 73-81
WEEK IX - Fri 3/11 - Dillon J, Kaitlin K, Kyle K, Jared K, Josh K, Alex LaD, Bobby L, Ciera L - CHAITIVEL: 105-108
WEEK XI - Fri 3/25 - Cassie L, Caleb L, Sarah L, Samantha M, Liz M-O, Shannon M, Ian M, Ashley M - ELIDUC: 111-26
WEEK XII - Fri 4/1 - Alexis M, Eric M, Tyler M, Elissa N, Dalila N, Scott N, Dean P, Reid P, Yu-Cheng - YONEC: 86-93
WEEK XIII - Fri 4/8 - LAUSTIC: 94-96 for Jennifer P Leena R, Nancy S, Kate S + CHEVREFOIL: 109-10 for Ashley S, Megan S, Joe S, Clayton S
WEEK XIV - Fri 4/15 - Rachel S, Rachelle S, Marcus S, Anjana T, Lindsay T, Paige T, Amber T, Tanner VA - MILUN: 97-104
WEEK XV - WED 4/20 - Jenna V, Yvonne W, Brynn W, Taylor W, Nick W, Demetrius Y, Shellby Z, Hui Z - Le FRESNE: 61-67