Essays and Research Papers on Medieval Literature

A five page creative writing paper using the character of Lazarillo de Tormes, from the Spanish picaresque novel of the sixteenth century, and transporting him to New York City. The paper shows Lazarillo meeting a girlfriend who shows him a new way to live by his wits. No sources.

A SIX page paper looking at the way the status quo is disrupted and then renewed in the story of Odysseus and the suitors in Homer's 'Odyssey,' and also in the story of Noah and the Ark. The paper shows that in the Biblical story, it is God who punishes the evildoers and restores the ...

A ten page paper supporting the thesis that the fall of Adam and Eve was inevitable due to their rejection of what Milton believed to be the natural hierarchy of husband over wife and God over humanity. It shows how, even today, Milton is able to achieve his goal of 'justify[ing] the ways of God ...

A five page paper looking at the Babylonian story of Gilgamesh and the Biblical book of Genesis in terms of their retelling of the legend of the Great Flood. The paper concludes that aside from the bare facts of the two tales, which are very similar, the Hebrews seemed to be directly responsible for God's ...

A five page paper looking at the way these two very ancient stories develop the concept of leadership. The paper concludes that both epics place equal emphasis on the dual requirements of valor and service as basic components of leadership. No additional sources.

This 5 page tutorial helps a student explore the characterization of Gamasa Al-Bulti. While this character is the focus of the paper, other aspects of the work are explored. No additional sources cited.

A five page paper looking at the way Chaucer depicts the relationships between the sexes in the Knight's, Merchant's, Miller's, and Wife of Bath's Tales. The paper concludes that of all these, the only one which accurately replicates a reciprocal relationship is the Wife of Bath, because the others see women only as objects or ...

A 6 page paper which examines how the heroic code is interpreted in the epic poem, "Beowulf," particularly in terms of the search for earthly glory, and the expression of the heroic ideal within the actions and the words of the characters. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

There is within each person a child and that child is need of certain beliefs. It seems to be almost an innate need to have heroes to look up to and to emulate. The myths of all cultures provide the youth with heroes and advice as to live their lives. The Odyssey by Homer and The ...

A 5 page (+ a one page outline) analysis of an anthology of essays, edited by Julian Wasserman and Robert Blanch, that offers essays that outline the parameters of Chaucerian scholarship in the first half of the 1980's decade. No additional sources cited.

This 4 page paper discusses the role of the gods of Greek mythology who were overwhelmingly powerful, dominating, and held an influential place in the characters of this play. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

The world of Homer's Odyssey was ruled by a conglomerate of Gods who saw little need to assess human conduct outside of intervening for personal gratification and entertainment. Jesus, on the other hand, took on the 'mortal coil' in order to teach, to bring to mankind both instructions on conduct and hope for a better reality. This 5 ...

A 5 page overview of Book VI of Virgil's Aeneid. Discusses the symbolic significance of the book and its relation to mankind's salvation and redemption. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses Crito's claims for the right of Socrates to escape from prison, rather than drink the hemlock for the sake of what is right and just. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page report discusses Geoffrey Chaucer’s views on love and lovers as presented in three of “The Canterbury Tales.” Each of these three Tales clearly speak to much of the romance Chaucer saw around, him both in terms of love and passion, as well as in the sense of the adventure and lyricism of “romanticism.” They also demonstrate darker sides ...

A 5 page paper which examines the attitudes of love revealed in a trilogy of stories from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Tale to determine what each reveals about the nature of love, as well as what can be surmised about Chaucer's own view ...

This 3 page report discusses the ancient Greek philosopher, physician, scientist and poet, Empedocles. He lived during the culmination of the splendor of the Periclean age of Athens. Some of his most significant perceptions were that: like things are known by like things; motion is explained through the forces of love and hate; and, the problem and ...

This 5 page paper focuses on The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli and discusses leadership qualities. Contemporary examples are provided. No additional sources cited.

5 pages in length. The relationship between love of homeland and love of family in "Medea" becomes as conflicting as does the relationship between the primary characters. However, this struggle to choose between person and place is not limited to just these two characters, but rather is apparent with nearly all of the ...

A 5 page paper which illustrates the paradox of dramatic character in a passage from "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles. There are many ways in which the Oedipus presents himself as a paradox. The plot of the story itself is a great paradox. But, the primary paradox discussed is that of Oedipus presenting himself as a king for ...

Chaucer's Canterbury tales are said to be a collection of folktales that are told in the form of poetry. The writing was Chaucer's, the tales were collected along his travels throughout England and Italy. This 11 page paper explores the ways in which Chaucer brought form and variety to a unified work. No additional sources are listed. ...

A 5 page analysis of the theme of guilt in Macbeth. The writer demonstrates through verses how blood acts as the symbol of guilt and how this is depicted in the play. No bibliography.

A 10 page paper that discusses a number of works, including those by Kofka, Morrison, Cervantes, Spiegelman and Jordan. These include: The Metamorphosis; the Hunger Artist; Playing in the Dark; Don Quixote; and The Crying Game. The emphasis is placed on the writer's styles and why they wrote as they did. Bibliography lists 10 sources. ...

This 13 page paper considers the characteristics of masculinity presented in Beowulf, Marie de France and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde and assesses the implications of these characteristics in terms of the problematic developments in each work. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A Six page comparison of revenge as a theme in 'Hamlet' and 'Medea,' including the main characters' attitude toward revenge, the amount of control of outside, supernatural forces and the role of madness in the two works. Lists 4 references.