1a. What question does the speaker ask in line 1?
2a. What did these people do while they lived?
3a. What happened to these people? Where are they now?
4a. What observations are made about these people during their lives? What observations are made about them during the afterlife?
5a. Why should the reader or listener take notice of these women and men?
1b. What does the author mean by the phrase "they that were before us"?
2b. What was the social status of these people? How do you know?
3b. Why has "all that joy gone away"?
4b. What connections between life and the afterlife does this poem suggest? Why might medieval audiences have been so concerned with death?
5b. What current books or movies do you know of that deal with the afterlife? Which of these, if any do you identify with?
1a. Who is the maiden in the poem?
2a. Who is the maiden's son? To what does the poet compare His coming?
3a. What is the woman besides a maiden?
4a. Identify the repeated elements in this poem and the change that occurs with each repetition.
5a. How does the speaker feel about the woman in this poem?
1b. How do the two meanings of the word matchless apply to the maiden?
2b. What does the the comparison suggest about the son's coming?
3b. What is unique about the woman in this lyric?
4b. What purpose does this repetition serve? Why do you think the changes occur in the order they do?
5b. Courtly love was a code of romantic love celebrated in medieval songs and romances in France and England. The woman of this code was idealized. Explain whether you think this poem is primarily a love poem or a religious poem.
Theme. Common themes in medieval literature included contemptu mundi (contempt for the world), which lamented that the world is fallen and full of woe, and memento mori (reminder of death), which warned that because death comes quickly and unexpectedly it is important to prepare for the afterlife. What is the theme of "Ubi Sunt Qui ante Nos Fuerunt"?
Simile. What similes are used in "I Sing of a Maiden"? What do the two things being compared have in common?
1. Write a descriptive paragraph about spring. In your paragraph, use images to describe the season and your feelings about spring.
2. Write a lyric poem about your view of the world. The tone of the poem should reflect your feelings.
3. Explore either the contemptu mundi theme or the momento mori theme in a personal essay. Use examples from your own life to address the theme you choose.
Identifying Nonstandard Language. Make a list of words that you use that you think older people may not understand. Write a definition for each word.
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Dictionary Entries.Write entries for a Middle English-Modern English dictionary. Choose ten words from the Middle English version of the selection. Identify the part of speech and the Modern English counterpart for each word. When necessary, note how a word meaning has changed over time. You might want to look at the Oxford English Dictionary or another reference work that lists comprehensive word histories. Remember to list entries in alphabetical order.
Researching the Medieval Period. Find sources that will help you better understand the Medieval Period. Make a bibliography that includes both printed and audio, video, or online sources. Include at least three sources that provide general background on the Medieval Period, two that have good coverage of the Crusades, and two that discuss Medieval literature.
Bibliography-The Medieval Period
