Silence: Silence: a Thirteenth-Century French Romance Close Reading Paper
The writer begins Silence by calling himself Master Heldris of Cornwall and saying his wish not to have his work spread among wealthy people who don’t know how to appreciate it. He refers to them as “the kind of people”, which clearly shows his negative attitude toward those who he describes as “prize money more than honor”, or “want to hear everything but do not care to make a man happy with some reward they might wish to give". The phrase “at the beginning of the work”, or “before I begin to tell my story” are repeated three times throughout the opening: one at the start, one at the center, and one at the end right before the writer starts telling the story. This, together with strong words such as “command”, “request”, repeatedly reminds the readers of the writer’s demand to preserve his work and of his deep hatred toward greedy people.
The writer’s strong feeling against avaricious men is expressed clearly: “I feel tremendously compelled, stung, goaded [into talking about this]”, and “It bothers me terribly”. Several different negative words and phrases are also used to depict those people throughout the text: “greedy”, “nasty”, “petty”, “fools”, “intoxicated with Avarice”, “those hateful men”. He tells problems relating to those people from the perspective of a poet: “serve them well, as if they were your father: then you will be most welcome, judge a fine minstrel, well-received”, or “very bad cheer and a sour face, that’s what you’ll always get from them” when you ask for something. The bitterness in each sentence and the clear descriptions shows that the writer seems to have experienced those problems himself. He disgusts greedy people and views them as pathetic creatures that have a dreadful life as they try to “pile up wealth” and “yet afraid of losing it”:
“a man afraid is not at peace he is miserable and ill at ease .
Wealth only makes a man mean-spirited and makes him toil without profit.
All he does is soil himself”
Greedy men “rob” world
The writer’s strong feeling against avaricious men is expressed clearly: “I feel tremendously compelled, stung, goaded [into talking about this]”, and “It bothers me terribly”. Several different negative words and phrases are also used to depict those people throughout the text: “greedy”, “nasty”, “petty”, “fools”, “intoxicated with Avarice”, “those hateful men”. He tells problems relating to those people from the perspective of a poet: “serve them well, as if they were your father: then you will be most welcome, judge a fine minstrel, well-received”, or “very bad cheer and a sour face, that’s what you’ll always get from them” when you ask for something. The bitterness in each sentence and the clear descriptions shows that the writer seems to have experienced those problems himself. He disgusts greedy people and views them as pathetic creatures that have a dreadful life as they try to “pile up wealth” and “yet afraid of losing it”:
“a man afraid is not at peace he is miserable and ill at ease .
Wealth only makes a man mean-spirited and makes him toil without profit.
All he does is soil himself”
Greedy men “rob” world