Jwrenn

Swift uses the island nations of Gulliver’s Travels to satirize different aspects of the human experience. Book 1, in which Gulliver finds himself on Lilliput, Swift focuses mainly on the petty politics he believed characterized the English system of the 18^th century. The divisions within the government between the Low Heels and the High Heels mirror those of the Whigs and the Tories, respectively. Just an in contemporary
England, the “high” party was greater in number, yet the “low” party maintained power within the government; the king is split in his alliance, wearing one heel of each height. Swift paints a rather scathing portrait of politicians engaged in such petty quarrels and who yet seem to hold such sway over the king as to greatly influence his decisions. There is a shift in tone by Book 4, however, in which Swift derides human moral failings through a comparison with the noble Houyhnhnms. Throughout Gulliver’s conversations with his master, he realizes that the many human faults he wishes to describe have no translation into their language because the underlying notions are foreign to them. A race so virtuous has no concept of such things as falsehood or vice, for they understand only truth and kindess. Through the Houyhnhnms, Gulliver comes to realize the brutal and deplorable nature of mankind and is soon ashamed to be associated with them. Therefore, Swift begins in Book 1 with a parody of English politics but shifts the tone and theme by Book 4 to a derisive look at the general human experience.

In the Prefactory Letter to Arabella Fermor, Pope introduces the four elements of his epic machinery: “…Sylphs, Gnomes, Nymphs and Salamanders. The Gnomes or Demons of earth delight in mischief; but the Sylphs, whose habitation is in the air, are the best-conditioned creatures imaginable.” (pg. 2514) In the poem, the protagonist Belinda is guarded by a Sylph named Ariel, whose role is comparable to a governess in maintaining the lady’s propriety and virtue. The main conflict of the narrative derives from the lustful longing of the Baron to acquire one of Belinda’s curled locks; his desire is goaded by the presence of a malicious Gnome named Umbriel. In this manner, Pope constructs the spirits almost as manifestations of the gender roles imposed by contemporary society. Though gentlemen may be outwardly courteous and polite, they also are lustful creatures who, if encouraged, will yield to temptation. Women, on the other hand, are expected to be lively yet modest, and often need help to protect themselves from the designs of men. In fact, throughout the beginning of the poem when Ariel is by her side, Belinda is able to safely and obliviously enjoy herself at the party; it is only when Umbriel catches Ariel off his guard that the Baron has the opportunity to steal the lock. After the rape the Baron is delighted with his conquest and faces no repercussions for his action while Belinda must cope with her shame and humiliation.

At the beginning of Adam and Eve’s conversation in Book 9, Eve suggests to Adam that their work in the garden would be easier of they worked separately. Adam cites the warning God gave him and says that they can avoid temptation as long as they remain, “joined, where each to the other speedy aid might lend at need.” (259-260) Eve counters this assertion by stating, “our foe tempting affronts us with his foul esteem of our integrity.” (327-329) Essentially, Eve is arguing for the exercise of the free will that God granted Man; if they are never faced with temptation, then they can never demonstrate their loyalty to God. For Adam, the problem is internal: he fears the separation because he knows that if he is faced with temptation he will succumb, so he refuses to put himself in that situation. This is reminiscent of Guyon’s behavior in the Bower of Bliss: instead of attempting to resist Acrasia, which he knows he can’t, he destroys the garden, thus eliminating the possibility of temptation. Both men realize their own internal failings and are too cowardly to face the test of their faith; only by avoiding these trials do they manage to retain their holy positions. Eve on the other hand, is willing to risk everything to face temptation in the hopes that she will overcome it, making her the true proponent of the free will and choice with which God endowed her.  

Spenser described his work The Faerie Queene as a “dark conceit” in which knights represent the different virtues he believed constituted the ideal, courtly gentleman; each story requires the knight to pass through trials and battles in order to truly command his own moral identity. Through these stories Spenser hoped to fashion not only a courtly tradition in the Renaissance context, but also a code of conduct for those courtiers hoping to aspire to such lofty goals. In Book 1, we are introduced to the Redcrosse Knight who Spenser has set up as an allegory of the virtue holiness; he is accompanied on his quest by the lady Una, a manifestation of the true Protestant church. Early in Canto 1 Redcrosse comes across his first test: a battle with the monster Error, a chimera of serpent and woman. With Una’s encouragement and his own battle prowess, Redcrosse defeats Error relatively easily, sustaining only superficial wounds. The fight between the two is mainly physical, and though it it an important trial for the knight, it really does nothing to further his quest for holiness. The encounter with Archimago later in the Canto proves to be a much more difficult and crucial test for Redcrosse; instead of testing him physically, this encounter serves to test his moral identity as a representation of holiness. The false Una conjured by Archimago serves as a temptation to sin, an action which is not only unseemly for Redcrosse as a knight, but also as the image of holiness. Ashamed of his lady’s apparent wantonness,  Redcrosse abandons Una;  in  the wider scope of the allegory, this is an abandonment of the true church for the deceit of the false one. Without Una by his side, Redcrosse begins the descent which will ultimately lead him to his greatest trial later in the text when he must battle Despair. Thus the episode with Archimago brings about a severance with the church and Redcrosse must deal with despair and deceit in his quest for holiness; his eventual defeat of these malevolent forces allows him to finally command his own allegorical identity.

As the play opens, we see that an aging King Lear has decided to abdicate his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. In order to decide how best to split the territory, Lear asks each of his daughters, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend, where nature doth with merit challenge.” (1.1 50-52) Goneril and Regan both exploit Lear’s pride through insincere flattery and feigned exalted proclamations of love in order to inherit their lands. Cordelia, listening to these declarations, knows them to be false, yet doesn’t quite know how to express her own feelings. She then decides that because her love is true and she is loyal to her father, she doesn’t need to defend herself with lofty words; her actions will speak for themselves. Cordelia tells her father, “I love your majesty according to my bond; no more nor less.” (1.1 92-93) Lear, unsatisfied with this seemingly hurtful response, demands that she elaborate, to which she replies, “Good my lord, you have begot me, bred me, loved me; I return those duties back as are right fit, obey you, love you, and most honor you.” (1.1 95-98). By the end of Cordelia’s speech, Lear is so angry that he disowns her, setting in motion the action that drives the rest of the play. However, Cordelia is the only daughter who loves him and gave him a truthful answer; in fact, she is so sure of her regard for him that she realizes she doesn’t need to resort to the flattery. Indeed, it is Lear’s inability to discern truth from lies that results in his misery later in the text.

If the play Twelfth Night takes place during a celebration of mischief and festivities, Malvolio can be seen as the antithesis of this party spirit. His insistence on sobriety and etiquette mark him out as the enemy of those wishing to join in this revelry, and thus he becomes the objection of their plotting. If the reader is at first inclined to pity him, a closer examination of his character allows us to see that these virtues are mere pretensions and then we see why he is so often the butt of others’ jokes. Malvolio loves Olivia, but as her steward he is beneath her socially; to reduce the distance between them he makes pretenses at superiority by debasing the behaviors of other suitors. While he may justify his actions as an attempt to uphold the honor of Olivia’s court, his tendency to diminish others has fostered little love on his behalf. When originally plotting their scheme, Sir Toby asks Fabian, “Wouldst thou not be glad to have the niggardly rascally sheep-biter come by some notable shame?” to which Fabian replies, “I would exult, man. You know he brought me out o’ favour with my lady about a bear-baiting here.” (2.5, 4-7) Malvolio, thinking he is alone, then goes on to imagine what his life would be like if he was married to Olivia and the power he would wield: “Saying ‘Cousin Toby, my fortunes, having cast me on your niece, give me this prerogative of speech…you must amend your drunkenness.’” (2.5, 66-69) Malvolio’s true interest here is not Toby’s impropriety, but having authority and moral superiority over him. Thus, though Malvolio is easily and often the object of ridicule, his false pretensions of courtly behavior and scheming nature do not engender pity in the reader.  

One of the most beloved scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is when Arthur and his knights duel in a battle of wits against the French knights. After enduring some rather nasty taunting, the knights storm the castle only to be assailed with barn animals thrown from the tower. In response to this, Sir Bedevere comes up with a plan to infiltrate the French castle with a giant rabbit that is in essence, a Trojan horse ploy. Unfortunately for Arthur and his men, the planning doesn’t pull through and instead of allowing them access into the castle, the rabbit is thrown over the walls right back at them.

While this episode is undoubtedly humorous the behavior of the knights is far from anything that one would expect from men of their position. To begin with, no knight would tease and insult another as the French knights do the English; this behavior simply goes against the codes of proper conduct of a chivalrous court. Secondly, the plan devised by Sir Bedevere, while ingenious in theory, would have been looked upon as a cowardly act by the customs of the time. If a knight were to employ such deception in order to gain the upper hand against an opponent, he would surely be criticized for violating t he terms of a fair and equal fight. So even though the audience knows that the film is meant to parody the world of courtly adventure and the knights that inhabit it, the situations that arise in the story would certainly not find favor in the context of contemporary values.

In the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer introduces three characters that are members of the Catholic church: a nun, a monk and a friar. Among all of the pilgrims assembled, the reader expects the descriptions for these characters to demonstrate their charity, obedience and faith as is appropriate to their stations. However, as they are each described, we see that Chaucer writes each one as a slightly ridiculous character, setting them up as a parody of the clergy. The Nun is described as “simple and coy” (119), a woman for whom “curteisye was set ful muvhel hir lest” (132). While her manners and imitation of courtly etiquette may be pristine, Chaucer takes no time to extol her virtues as a nun. Perhaps this is because she really has none at all, and is simply a very superficial woman who gives the impression of being a good nun without actually possessing any of the necessary qualifications. This can also be seen in the description given of the Monk, who is said to be “fair for the maistrye” (165). Chaucer is obviously saying this with some sarcasm, as he later goes on to say that “of priking and hunting for the hare was al his lust” (191-2). The Monk uses his position as a traveler to indulge in his passion for sport, which clearly violates the proper code of conduct for his order; not that it matters, for the Monk “yaf nought of that text a pulled hen” (177). Finally, the Friar completes Chaucer’s cynical portrayl of the clergy, because although he is “unto his ordre… a noble post” (214), it becomes apparent that he too doesn’t take his position very seriously. Avoiding his duty to help the poor whom he actively avoids, the Friar spends his time with the nobility and wealthy society trying to accumulate money and esteem through flattery. In this way, Chaucer gently criticizes all three members of the clergy for their superficiality and the disregard they show towards their true purpose and ideals; it is a portrait of society and the view that many people might have held of the corrupt clergy of the time.

Occurring after Beowulf’s return to Geatland, the last section of the poem glosses over much of his adult life as king of that land, saying that he “ruled it well for fifty winters, grew old and wise as warden of the land” (2208-2210). A strong leader during times of war among neighboring clans and kingdoms, Beowulf’s people see him as a great king who protects and rules over his people. One could argue that this transition from young, impetuous warrior to wise, mature king demonstrates Beowulf’s success in the Anglo- Saxon warrior culture. However his decision to take on the dragon at the end of the poem is not the act of a responsible king, but of an aged glory-seeker who cannot resist one last challenge. Beowulf has no heir to the throne and as his country is facing a time of war, to leave them in such a precarious and unstable position is negligent on his part as king; as their provider and leader, he should ensure their security beyond his own life. Though Beowulf tries to justify his actions because “as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning,” the glory he seeks is only for himself (2513-2515). In this manner, Beowulf is not a good king as described in this warrior culture, but merely a legendary fighter who cannot accept responsibility and mortality.