Selection from J.D. Mackie, The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558

Selection from Penry Williams, The Later Tudors: England, 1547-1603

Background on Malory and the publication history of Le Morte Darthur, and on William Caxton, the printer who brought these stories to the public, both from the British Library.

Thomas Malory, Selections from Le Morte Darthur:

-"The Noble Tale Betwixt King Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of Rome" (Winchester MS)

-"The Death of Arthur" (Caxton)

Caxton's 1485 Preface to Le Morte Darthur (original) and (modernized)

The Wars of the Roses (History)

Presenters:

Jackie Lyons

Shana Krisiloff 

The readings for this week should raise a series of issues:

We might think about Le Morte as the first bestseller, one of the first printed texts in England. Read Caxton's Preface with this in mind. We should also think about Malory's conscious invocation of the better days of King Arthur during the broils of civil war. Why is this the material he marshals? We also might consider the continued influence and popularity of Malory's tales, not only in the sixteenth century, but in our time as well. Almost everything (in the English tradition, at least) that we think of as "Arthuriana" stems from this text.

The Wars of the Roses (History)

Presenters:

Jackie Lyons

Shana Krisiloff

We will want to pick up on some issues from last week's reading of Malory, particularly how the past affects the imagining of the present (and future) in these readings. We might note, for instance, the discussion early on of capital punishment and sheep enclosure laws. Why does More give us these details about the present world? More wrote Book One after Book Two--why do you think he decided to add this section to the Utopia?

Pay particular attention to the various aspects of Utopian culture and society More describes: labor, technology, education, economy, defense, consumerism, gender, crime, etc. Are the Utopians better off than Europeans? Why? Do you see any inherent critiques of Utopia in More's writing?

Finally, Greenblatt insists that it is the AUTHOR and his role in shaping identity and representation that helps define this period. Do you find the Utopia to be a good case in point? We are not reading Greenblatt's section on the Utopia, but can you imagine what kinds of arguments he might make about this text to support the general claims he lays out in the Introduction and Epilogue?

John Bale, King Johan (1539)

Medieval Drama and the Morality Play (History)

Presenters:

Valerie Hughes

Michelle Kramisen

Reformation I (History)

Presenters:

Rob I.

Arthur Marotti, "Love is not Love: Elizabethan Sonnet Sequences and the Court" (Critical/Theoretical Essay)

Presenters:

Sherrie Torres 

Ryan Meade

I have assigned pairs of you (below) to work on close readings of 3-5 poems from this week's selections. You can collaborate over e-mail, or use a PBWorks page, to facilitate work ahead of time, but I will also give you time in class to talk about the poems before you present your readings to the entire seminar.

Answer the following questions about your selections:

1. Make a list of the words that you identify as being the "keywords" in these sonnets--the most important to the central meaning or ideas expressed.

2. Identify recurring figures of speech or thought in these poems.

3. Connect the keywords and/or recurring figurative language to any broader themes or ideas you see emerging in our course, or in all the sonnets we are reading for this week.

The Faerie Queene, Book 2, "Letter of the Authors" and Cantos 1-6

Link to a useful plot summary of the entire Fairie Queene

Christopher Crosbie, "Fixing Moderation: Titus Andronicus and the Aristotelian Determination of Value" (Critical/Theoretical Essay)

Presenters: KEVINLARKINANGIOLI and ANDREA PETRULLO!

Triangulating Titus: The Geometry of Revenge 

Gender, Household, and Private Life (History)

Presenters:

Chris Sabatelli

Both Groups Blog this Week--Instead of blogging on the material, I'd like to invite everyone to write a post about your experience blogging for the course this semester.

Look back over your previous blog posts, first of all, and comment on what threads you see emerging in your own writing over the course of the term. Are there any recurrent themes, approaches, or ideas that you see? Are there any ideas in there that you would like to revisit, or have already? Second, what aspects of blogging to you most value, and how does that show up in your posts?