Roland

with many others. Like in every great tale, a villain is born. The plot of the Song of Roland unravels essentially because of a declaration of vengeance and actions taken by one character: Ganelon declares, “… I’ll start a feud with you.” (Halverson 661 and Turold 1341). Ganelon plays the role of a villain with little to no redeeming qualities, as do most antagonists. The role Ganelon plays in the Song of Roland displays important feudal relationships and is a representation of Judas Iscariot,…

Beowulf and Roland were two men that lead very different lives. One was a man who was perceived as a hero from the start of his story. The other was a man who was notably egotistical and did not redeem himself until his last moments alive. Though these two men seem have no common ground they are connected in their similarities to Christ and man. Though Roland did not show heroic tendencies throughout his life he died a hero. When Roland and the rest of the rear guard were attacked Roland…

Vera Brittain, in her memoir, Testament of Youth, analyzes and describes her experiences being a young lady during the First World War. Her memoir consists of clips of letters, from her brother (Edward) and her fiancé (Roland), and clips of her journal in order to better understand her thoughts and feelings concerning both the war and her personal life. Brittain’s purpose is to try to unravel all the feelings she has, while trying to understand them, because, at the time, it was difficult for…

there was no real in depth study of how to read photographs within society. However, soon came the emergence of semiotics, which Burgin perceives brought photography to the forefront and shifted photography in terms of theory. Burgin references Roland Barthes’s Elements of Semiology and further explains that the study of natural language progressed into the study of visual language. Furthermore, by using semiology there was a means to explore photography in terms of codes and conventions,…

excerpt from the Song of Roland is an exemplary citation of the content that would have been deemed worthy of a chanson de geste. This type of poetry is that of the French, where it was their goal to bolster their troops to defeat the pagans in the gruesome and grotesque Crusades. These poems were recited so courage and bravery could be glorified and encouraged so that the soldiers would have clear examples of what they should do for their country. In the Song of Roland, there is a plethora of…

The role of Louis IX in Chronicles of the Crusades is very different from the portrayal of Charlemagne in The Song of Roland. Louis is a lot closer to the absolute monarch than Charlemagne was. Charlemagne was powerful, but only as powerful as the people who swore allegiance to him. Louis has his own power base. He has his lands which are controlled and loyal only to him. This is important because it allowed him to draw power and resources from places other than the barons. He takes…

Beowulf, Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Song of Roland can be analyzed and compared throughout the ages depending on the culture. In this paper, the writer will compare and contrast the characteristics of each of the epic heroes, determine their influence on the culture in which they lived, and detail why these characters are considered archetypal. The epic heroes within Beowulf, Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Song of Roland can be compared and contrasted to showcase the…

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills have been at the centre of Post Modernist and Post-Structuralist discourse since the 1980s. This paper will address the arguments made by Rosalind Krauss, Judith Williamson, Laura Mulvey and Jui-Ch’i Liu surrounding these film stills. The work at hand consists of a series of black and white photographs where Sherman plays the role of the director and the agent to construct an image and mise en scène that has an uncanny resemblance to 1950s snapshots of…

Content Theory Structuralism Structuralism is a theory that suggests that all ideas have a structure; “structuralists” believe that structures are the “real things” that lie beneath “the surface” or the appearance of meaning. (Sternagel, 2012) When using structuralism theory, we attempt to analyse the meaning or try to see a forming pattern. In films this theory emphasizes how certain film clips convey meaning through the use of codes and conventions that are similar to the way languages are…

Christians and Muslims clashed over land and faith. Christians felt that it was their God-given right to slay the unfaithful and take back their holy land, backed up by powerful bishops. The zealous pride of the Christians is evident in The Song of Roland, while further supported by both accounts of Pope Urban II. The sadisticly blinded Christians saw themselves as heroes guided by God while slaughtering men in the Letter of Godfrey, Raymond, and Daimbert to Pope Paschal. The Muslims had to…