Each stanza of Pearl begins and ends with a repeating word that changes in each section.  The word “right” or variations of that word is used in section 12.  Like the word pearl, which can mean both literally the jewel, the girl Pearl, or a metaphor for something that is clear, immaculate, clean, and pure, the word “right” also has different meanings.  Pearl (the girl) explains that innocent humans have the right (the noun meaning a moral entitlement) to enter heaven under God’s grace because they have been “righteous” or “right” (adjective meaning morally correct).  The word is played around without through out section 12 stating “innocence is safe by right” and “the righteous man…shall approach God’s domicile” (stanza 57 and 58).  Another interesting repeated word is “spot” (section 16).  This word is used to describe a place in Judah or a position (spot) or something that is flawless, without a spot (like a stain) or “spotless.”  The last repeated word is “please” as the speaker describes his desire to please God and what pleases God.  After waking up, the speaker has decided to “please” God, which he learned about through out the poem and even questioned but with Pearl’s lessons he is ready to follow God’s will. The various meanings of the words and the repetitive nature of the poem, make reading it fun and entertaining but also engrain the message into the reader, much like the message was engrained into the speaker who by the end of the poem wants to submit to God’s grace and be a better Christian.

Sir Orfeo displays many of the themes we have been discussing in class.  Orfeo is a noble king with a wife that matches the glowing description of a poem but she is taken away by a mystical force.  Sir Orfeo must prove his love for her and does so in several ways.  First he loses his one and only love and claims her to be so, he is completely loyal to his wife.  Second he proclaims that he would rather die than be without her and this theme is repeated by him again and again.  Third and most important is that he must prove his love for he and in a sense earn what he desires.  By renouncing all earthly goods and moving into the woods he is really proving his devotion to his wife.  Then by playing the harp beautifully  Orfeo takes the step beyond which ultimately earns his wife back.  Having to prove his love and wanting to die when she is gone are common themes in the poetry we have seen before.

Sir Orfeo is portrayed as a heroic figure in this poem, and in many ways he is. After all, he is able to rescue his kidnapped queen and return to his kingdom at the end, which solves nearly all the problems that had developed during course of the poem. This being said, I noticed several faults of Orfeo that make him less chivalrous in my eyes. For example, when his queen is taken, he does not go on any quest to search for her – rather, he abandons his kingdom and community to become a recluse, using his harp to create melodies for the pleasure of woodland creatures and, for the most part, spends his days sulking in his depression. This state reminded me of some of the ideas the narrators in the Exeter Book Elegies were concerned about. It is as if Orfeo had accepted Fortune/Wyrd’s will, and let it be, miserable as he was. It is not until he lays eyes on his wife in silent passing that he leaves his self-imposed exile and finds a way to rescue her. This is an interesting depiction of our main character and hero, despite the ultimate happy ending of the poem.

The text Sir Orfeo contains several typical elements of courtly poetry, like an emphasis on the importance of beauty for women, and chivalry for men. This is made apparent when after being tricked out of his wife, Sir Orfeo undertakes a quest to satisfy his mourning. This quest lacked the direction that is present in other tales from this era, like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but is instead born out of passionate mourning at the loss of his wife, exemplified when Sir Orfeo says, “For now ichave° mi quen y-lore,° I have / lost  The fairest levedi° that ever was bore, lady Never eft y nil no woman/ Into wildernes ichil te° I will go And live ther evermore” (Orfeo 209). During his journeys in the wilderness, Sir Orfeo’s status was reduced nearly of that to an animal, further complicating any attempts to regain his old glory. However, Sir Orfeo employs a righteous form of deceit to deduce the heart of his steward. Sir Orfeo is portrayed as valiant and just, and therefore I was surprised to witness him lowering his own standards to examine one that he would later consider friend. I suppose a reader during the time of publication would have been able to justify this, but it struck me as strange.

While reading Pearl and Sir Orfeo, I focused on the pattern of numbers. I found it very interesting that the medieval number system could signify more than just a numerical digit but also a metaphysical reality, as it tells us in the introduction to Pearl. Knowing this, when I read Sir Orfeo, I pulled out some times that numbers were used, like the number ten. When Orfeo was trying to protect his wife from being kidnapped, he calls an army of “ten hundred knightes” which serves to express the extreme amount of effort and force Orfeo is asserting to protect his wife and the completeness of his army (183). It is only after ten years that Orfeo and Dame Heurodis return (492). According to the Pearl introduction, ten can symbolize fulfillment or completion. Suggesting, after ten years with the fairies and in exile, they have completed their time and return, as if it were planned that way.

In Pearl, the numbers one and two are used commonly, as well as ten. Pearl died at the age of two and later in the story during the dream vision, Pearl tells the story of the laborers who were paid the same but some worked fewer hours than others (only two hours). This story shares the lesson that God’s mercy is the same no matter how long one has worshipped him. She explains this because like the laborers who only worked two hours, she only lived two years but she is treated like a queen with God. The number two is also representative of “residus” meaning remaining. Jesus, the second part of the Trinity, goes out as a man and also remains in heaven. Although, I am not sure if this is a common interpretation, I think this “remaining” and “duality” of Jesus is similar to Pearl, who remains in heaven but through the dream reaches out to a man. I found the numbers and their various meanings very interesting.

The introduction to Sir Orfeo touches upon the idea of the “otherworld” where the fairies reside, and how it parallels the Underworld as represented in many stories. All of the people subjected to living in the Otherworld are in miserable states of being; some forced to madness, some in pain and suffering, and others asleep in the state they were taken away in, like Herodis. However they are surrounded by a beautiful castle and lands, which Orfeo marvels at upon arrival. The beauty of the Otherworld in this context is a hard, cold kind of beauty represented by gems and stones rather than by warmth of character and emotion which the Otherworld lacks. When leaving his home in search of Herodis Orfeo sheds all of his material possessions, besides his harp. His harp signifies a means of bringing joy to others.

The lack of emotions in the Otherworld is contrasted sharply with the seemingly excessive emotions represented in the human world. Orfeo expresses his woe at his wife’s capture, as well as his torment when he sees her and she doesn’t speak to him. However when he sees her in the Otherworld, asleep against the tree, he expresses no emotion. Even his retrieval of her does not elicit an emotional response. This suggests that the Otherworld is not only connected with materialism, but also an absence of humanity, emotions being associated with humans.

I really liked the author’s spin on the classical myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in “Sir Orfeo,” mainly because it was a happy spin. The introduction talks about how the classical story features an Orpheus that loses Eurydice, his wife, to death and upon getting her back, loses her yet again through no fault but his own. In “Sir Orfeo,” Heurodis does not die (though how she is treated by the fairies is quite grotesque) and Orpheus stays faithful and wins her back. Also, his steward remains faithful to his lord and the kingdom is restored in the end. Reading a piece with a cheery ending was quite nice after all the sorrowful pieces we’ve been through. This piece touches on loss, but also restoration. I also thought the references to London throughout the piece were interesting; the intro explains how the editor scribe for this manuscript was believed to be based in London. Overall, I found this piece easy to read, interesting to read, and happy to read.

I also enjoyed Pearl, mainly because of how it is set up. Reading about the use of symbolism in the introduction through numbers and words helped me notice the patterns used throughout the poem. I appreciated how the author linked the stanzas together by using the same word (pearl, ornament, etc.), representing a string of pearls. I appreciated a story about the relationship between a self-absorbed father and his innocent yet wise daughter who has passed away, mainly because most of the pieces we have read so far have been about the romantic relationship between a man and a woman.

Chaucer represents the jumping thoughts of a sleepless night in The Book of Duchess.  The poem begins with the tossing and turning of the narrator who then reads a story about the King Seys and his wife Alcyone.  The king dies and Alcyone prays to Juno and Morpheus, but then this is interrupted because the narrator falls asleep.  The shift is unusual because the story of the king and his wife is left unresolved only to move from his thoughts about a surreal hunt with Octovyen (Octavius) a great Roman emperor.  A shift even further from this then occurs and the dream shifts to a story about a knight who challenged Fate and lost.

Chaucer captures in these shifting stories the true feeling of sleep and sleeplessness.  The reflection on both the themes of love, death, and religion guides the narrator while laying in bed.  the restlessness is conveyed especially when the story moves from the king and his wife to a dream because the speaker fell asleep.  The important question is why create a story that is surreal like this one. Does it teach a lesson about what people should reflect on during the night or is it more to demonstrate Chaucer’s personal skill at marrying form and meaning to convey a feeling of restlessness.

It is interesting how intricately woven together each story is to another. In the beginning of The Book of the Duchess, Chaucer presents different dreams inside of a larger story but strings them together in a way that flows smoothly. Although I am not exactly sure of the point of the shifts, it is nicely done for a young Chaucer.

I also want to note that as the stories shift, there is a contrast between chaos as beauty presented. The first time I noticed this was on page 14 as the narrator describes a beautiful nature scenery and songbirds, which is then interrupted by a deer hunt with knights on horse back and hunting dogs running through the woods, that he soon joins. After tiring of the deer hunt the narrator again illustrates a nature scene of perfect greenery with all types of deer, squirrels, and other beasts of the countryside, just before presenting a more melancholic scene of the knight in black lamenting the loss of his lady. In these few pages the narrator takes us on a small emotional journey. Where beauty is juxtapose to chaos and loss. The beauty in some way offering the reader a kind of relief from the sense of loss constantly presented throughout the dreams and the narrator’s own insomnia.

It’s interesting to see young Chaucer at work in comparison to The Canterbury Tales. I hesitate to say that this story is more fun in the way that it is presented. But then if I read The Canterbury Tales now I may have a newfound appreciation for it.