Les Grands Seigneurs

This set of cards is around the poem 'Les Grands Seigneurs' by Dorothy Molloy. It covers the context, language, structure, form and feelings and attittudes.

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  • Created by: SMBStoker
  • Created on: 05-04-14 15:09

Context

  • Narrator's talking about the men she has had relationships with in the past.
    • She presents the men as protective and entertaining, but also vain.
  • She was like a queen and the men played the part of her rescuer.
    • Part of the medieval courtly love tradition in which men tried to win the hearts of virtuous women by doing courageous deeds.
  • Now she's married and has been transformed into a modern wife who must do what her husband wants.
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Language

  • There is language of courtly love.
    • References to medieval romance and courtly love traditions distance the narrator from her past.
    • Makes her past seem more romantic but also quite unreal.
  • There are metaphors in the poem as well.
    • List of metaphors used to describe men.
    • They include birds, buildings and animals which associate men with certain characteristics.
  • There is also modern language.
    • Contemporary language brings the narrator back to the present day and contrasts with the romantic world of courtly love.
    • Reminds us that she has a different life now.
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Structure

  • Poem begins with the narrator's lighthearted reflection on her past.
  • Tone then changes in stanza four whn she thinks about her present reality.
  • Quick chang in tone emphasises the way her life was transformed overnight when she became someone's wife.
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Form

  • Poem is written from the point of view of the female narrator.
  • Poet uses sets of lists, enjambment and caesura so that the poem flows like natural speech.
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Feelings and Attitudes

LOVE

  • Narrator seems to have romantic feelings towards the men of her past.
  • She uses the courtly love tradition to illustrate the way they used to act the different parts of courtly lovers when they were together.

CONTROL

  • Narrator seen as a courtly love queen, showing that she has control of her life.
  • Howver, there is a shift in power when she marries because her husband has control.
  • It seems that she's inferior to him.

NOSTALGIA

  • She seems quite nostalgic and sentimental about her past.
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