Societal changes and the different concerns of several eras have influenced the portrayal of Eurydice. It can be stated that through time, increasing importance is given to her: the adaptations...Show moreSocietal changes and the different concerns of several eras have influenced the portrayal of Eurydice. It can be stated that through time, increasing importance is given to her: the adaptations become increasingly feminist to suit modern-day concerns with regard to the position of women in society. For the reason that scholarship has focused predominately on the portrayal of Orpheus, the present study will explore the shift in focus from Orpheus to Eurydice by discussing Eurydice’s portrayal in a selection of literary works that covers the Middle Ages and the twentieth century. Eurydice’s subordinate position in adaptations written during the Middle Ages will be explained on the basis of the anonymous Sir Orfeo in combination with the ninth century adaptation of the myth by King Alfred found in his Old English translation of Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy. Eurydice’s portrayal in the feminist twentieth century will be discussed using Margaret Atwood’s Orpheus(1) and the poem Eurydice by Carol Ann Duffy. The reason for the decision to discuss adaptations from the Middle Ages and the twentieth century lies in the fact that the adaptations produced during these two eras are almost polar opposites when it comes to the portrayal of Eurydice. As a result, the shift from Orpheus to Eurydice is most evident when comparing works from these two eras.Show less
An analysis as to how people in Medieval looked at music and musicians in their society. Done by historical accounts and by looking at famous literary work from the period involving music and/or...Show moreAn analysis as to how people in Medieval looked at music and musicians in their society. Done by historical accounts and by looking at famous literary work from the period involving music and/or musicians; such as Beowulf, Sir Orfeo and the Canterbury Tales.Show less
This thesis looks into eroticism in religious devotional literature written in England during the later Middle Ages. From a modern perspective, the seemingly highly erotic nature of the language...Show moreThis thesis looks into eroticism in religious devotional literature written in England during the later Middle Ages. From a modern perspective, the seemingly highly erotic nature of the language employed in these religious texts would be regarded as highly inappropriate, as would the striking similarity between the language of the two groups of literature. The main question this thesis is concerned with is whether the nature of the religious devotional literature is influenced by secular love lyrics or whether there is some other factor that influenced the nature of religious devotional writing in the Middle Ages. In order to answer the main question, this thesis contains a contextualized analysis of several secular love lyrics and religious devotional texts.Show less
