Portrayal of emotions in Medieval English Literature
Feeling and emotion in Medieval English Literature have long been a subject of interest for literary critics and scholars alike. With recent developments in the field of psychology, anthropology and sociology in connection with the portrayal of emotions in the medieval English texts have taken the theoretical turn toward the ‘history of emotions’. The field of history of emotions is a multidisciplinary one and scholars pay minute attention to the portrayal of specific emotions like love, shame and anger in medieval texts. The present essay aims at analysing the depiction of emotions in Thomas Hoccleve’s poem “Complaint”. For the purposes of analysing emotions in the poem, the essay will draw on existing scholarly literature and also a close analysis of the poem.
Works of literature complicate our comprehension of mediaeval emotions because they not only depict individuals having emotions and reacting emotionally to the actions of others in the text, but they also evoke and play on the emotions of the audiences who heard these writings performed or read. In the single most significant and influential narrative matter of the Middle Ages, is the portrayal and depiction of emotion. The literary techniques deployed by the writers in their writings play a significantly important role in the readers’ understanding of the feeling and thinking human subject in medieval English literature. To understand the depiction of thinking and feeling of human subjects in Thomas Hoccleve’s poem “Complaint”, it is noteworthy to understand the medieval theme of complaint in medieval English literature. To best understand the genre and Hoccleve’s mastery over it, the importance of the personal tone of Hoccleve’s writing is important (Bryan 2002). From the very first line of the poem “Complaint”, Hoccleve has maintained the personal tone “For the longest time I was like everyone else;”.
Blyth (1990) has categorically commented on the use of his personal experiences and emotions throughout his body of works. The critic has pointed out the importance of understanding the personal undertone in Hoccleve’s writing. “Complaint” is no exception in this aspect. The narrative voice used by the author is personal in nature and that particular choice of the poet enables the poem to depict the feeling and thinking human in his work. The lines
“They said I looked like a wild bull, Crazed of expression, Holding my head from too high, Overbearing and proud in the brain, …” (Grindley 2022) point out the use of first-person narrative voice by the poet. The use of first-person narrative voice aids in the categorical portrayal of the personal subject of the poem. Goldie (1999) points out the need to understand the representation of self in Hoccleve’s works. It is also very important in the understanding of the medieval fervour of self representation in literature. In fourteenth-century England, there was no one phrase or concept to express ‘the emotions’ as a category of feeling. The verb ‘felen’ (to feel) was used in Middle English to indicate a combination of emotive and mental processes. Other Middle English names for emotional states or situations, such as ‘sens’ and ‘sentement,’ as well as ‘passion,’ ‘affectioun,’ and ‘care,’ are still used today. Many of these arose as a result of the mediaeval period’s frequent contact between English and French. Barbara Rosenwein’s research into late mediaeval French chronicles reveals the wide range of terminology for emotions in 13th French (‘Thinking Historically’).
The personal undertone in Hoccleve’s Writing
Gallacher (1972) has highlighted the autobiographical element in Hoccleve’s works and also comments on the importance of understanding the poetic techniques deployed by Hoccleve to achieve the effects he desired. In the use of imagery and other poetic techniques, Hoccleve’s “Complaint” can be cited as an example. For example, the lines “Damper than any river,
And at once both frosty cold and fiery hot.” are great examples of Hoccleve’s utilisation of various images like river, water or snow. These images of nature used in the poem are also a sign of the poet trying to convey human emotions. In this connection, furthermore, specifics of the history of emotions can be discussed. Also, the study of emotion in Medieval English literature becomes important. According to the opinion of Patterson (2001), the psychological complexity of self-representation in medieval English literature is crucial not only in relation to the understanding of the nature of Hoccleve’s “Complaint” but also to the greater understanding of the medieval fervour of self-representation through works of literature. The reader needs to understand that the ‘history of emotions’ categorically helps in the understanding of specific reasoning behind a writer’s use of certain literary devices. One of the most important aspects to keep in mind is the linguistic differences present in the medieval English language. Knapp (2010) carefully points out the apparent disparity between the general writing style of the medieval times and Hoccleve’s writing. The author points out the “plodding didacticism” in Hoccleve’s writing. The element of mimicking Chaucer in his writing is not only well known but also unanimously concurred upon. Critics and scholars have also time and again reminded the readers to keep in mind the factor that translation changes a few literary aspects of the poem. For example, the tone and the cadence of the poem are changed hugely in the modern English translation.
McNamer (2015) significantly points out medieval literature often has relied on the poetic language’s power of portraying emotions through the use of sensory images. Images like “woods”, “wild bull” and “lost the key to my tongue” are examples where Hoccleve utilises the power of poetic language to create and convey the particular feeling of human beings. Images of nature like “wild bull” and “six point stag” are also utilised by the poet in giving an insight into the thinking process of the person in the poem. It is important here to note that critics and scholars have time and again pointed out the importance of understanding Hoccleve’s use of his own persona as a literary device in his works. With a close inspection of the poem, it can be said that the main concerns of the poet positively include his own psychological process of feeling and also his own “complaints”. The use and depiction of emotions in literature have changed through time hugely. However, the usage of specific words to convey emotions and feelings in literature has remained more or less the same (Thorley 2013).
It can be argued that for the secular’s centrality in comprehending premodern feelings and affect are essential to the understanding of medieval poetry. Hoccleve’s “Complaint” is no exception in these terms too. The characterisation in the poem, as used by Hoccleve is immensely important in the understanding of thinking human subject in the poem. By using himself as the main character of the poem, Hoccleve achieves the effect of poetic sensation by the use of the personal emotions and feelings throughout the poem (Zimbalist 2021). In this connection, it can also be pointed out that, in depicting the feeling and thinking human in the poem “Complaint”, Hoccleve makes use of a varied range of feelings like “Without serenity or seriousness” in inculcating the feeling and thinking human. Hoccleve also has utilised amplifications in the language in order to achieve the heightened effects of emotional intimacy (Rozenski 2008). Lines such as
“But the Lord can and will do what He wants, He can take your health and send sickness, And no matter how good you feel today Don’t be too sure that it’ll last:” (Grindley 2022) can exemplify that Hoccleve deliberately utilises an amplified language that helps him achieve the universal tone of the poem.
Conclusion:
In conclusion to the above discussion on feeling and thinking human in Hoccleve’s “Complaints”, it can be said that the poem not only includes all the factors of emotional representation but also is unique in the way of the usage of various literary techniques that significantly differ from the predominant English literature of the medieval times. The analysis of the poem by the use of recent research in ‘history of emotion’ it can also be concluded that Hoccleve largely uses imagery and characterisation from the first-person perspective in depicting the feeling and thinking human. It has also been noted that emotion and feeling as human factors have been largely considered to be secular aspects in literature at that particular time. However, Hoccleve manages to amalgamate the two in a single piece of creation. Apart from the images of nature and animals, the poet also utilises other images that are solely for bringing out the feeling or emotions of the characters of the literary work.
Reference List
Blyth, C.R., 1990. Thomas Hoccleve’s other master. Mediaevalia, 16, pp.349-359.
Bryan, J.E., 2002. Hoccleve, the Virgin, and the Politics of Complaint. PMLA, 117(5), pp.1172-1187.
Gallacher, P.J., 1972. Thomas Hoccleve: A Study In Early Fifteenth Century English Poetic.
Goldie, M.B., 1999. Psychosomatic Illness and Identity in London, 1416–1421: Hoccleve’s Complaint and Dialogue with a Friend. Exemplaria, 11(1), pp.23-52.
Knapp, E., 2010. Bureaucratic Muse: Thomas Hoccleve and the Literature of Late Medieval England. Penn State Press.
McNamer, S., 2015. The literariness of literature and the history of emotion. pmla, 130(5), pp.1433-1442.
Patterson, L., 2001. ” What is me?”: Self and Society in the Poetry of Thomas Hoccleve. Studies in the Age of Chaucer, 23(1), pp.437-470.
Rozenski, S., 2008. ‘Your ensaumple and your mirour’: Hoccleve’s amplification of the imagery and intimacy of Henry Suso’s Ars Moriendi. Parergon, 25(2), pp.1-16.
Thorley, D., 2013. Towards a history of emotion, 1562–1660. The Seventeenth Century, 28(1), pp.3-19.
Zimbalist, B., 2021. Medieval Affect, Feeling, and Emotion ed. by Glenn D. Burger and Holly A. Crocker. Studies in the Age of Chaucer, 43(1), pp.291-294.
Grindley, C., 2022. University of Glasgow – Schools – School of Critical Studies – About us – Resources – STELLA – Projects – The Glasgow Review – Issue 4 – Grindley. [online] Gla.ac.uk. Available at:
<https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/aboutus/resources/stella/projects/glasgowreview/issue4-grindley/> [Accessed 28 April 2022].
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