Characteristics Of Middle English Literature - 1356 Words

Social Structure in Middle English Literature In today’s time, we have modern day literature and it’s refreshing to be able to go back into the past and look at classic English literature to see how different literature has become. There hasn’t been another time frame of English literature like the Middle English Literature era. During the middle English era literature and its writers were unique and their pieces of literature were created during the Middle English era to cover a variety of many different literacy achievements. One quality that make the stories in Middle English Literature unique and different from the other literature eras is that there isn’t any real historical events, wars, or restorations to contribute to the†¦show more content†¦Church leaders were also powerful members of society and they took part in religious/ government roles, they often received a lot of blessings from the king. People from the lower class supported the church through donations they believed would help save their souls. To further discuss social status and class, Class and religion were a large influence and deciding factor to the status and social stereotypes of the time. Lives during this time were assigned status based on numerous variables. If a person was born into a poor family, the chances of them being smart was slim. Many lower-class people had a lack of education it made it things difficult for them to read books or understand anything written down. Since many lower-class people couldn’t read, it wasn’t uncommon for the authors during this time to create stories that were meant to be read by everyone. Brewer stated that, â€Å"The spoken, or oral, style, implies the poets presence among a known group. It was still natural in Chaucers day. He was close to the oral narrative tradition and imitates it in all his verse narratives. An oral style has marked characteristics based on the need to convey meaning clearly and immediately, usually to an audience familiar with traditiona l phrases and stories.† (Brewer, 2007) Brewer meant that Chaucers stories were written for all audiences no matter if they were upper or lower class. They would still be ableShow MoreRelatedSummary of Medieval and Renaissance Criticism1505 Words   |  7 Pages1101BA005 MEDIEVAL CRITICISM The period between the Classical Age and the Renaissance is vaguely named the Middle Age or the Medieval Age. In England, this period spans eight centuries and historians place it from the year of composition of Beowulf in 725 AD to 1474 AD when Caxton published the first book ever printed. The only standard work that dealt with Medieval Criticism is English Literary Criticism: The Medieval Phase by J.W.H Atkins published in 1952. 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