The Song of Roland

By: Turold (1040 and 1115)

10 Vocabulary Words

1. dais- a raised platform, throne

2. flout- To disregard something out of disrespect
3. paynim- A non-Christian especially a muslim
4. clemency- Mercy
5. Leal- loyal
6. Gonfalonier- the bearers of gonfalon
7. Disport- to entertain oneself by sport or play
8. Austere- severe or stern in manner
9. Bezant- a gold coin of the Byzantine empire
10. Feu- a perpetual lease of land held by such a lease

Conflict: Man vs Man

The major conflict in the story is when the main character (Roland)y is attacked by
Ganelon and the Saracens. Roland, the main protagonist of the story, shows bravery, yet a
sense of stubbornness, which led to his downfall.

Protagonist

Roland is the Protagonist in the story. He is Charlemagne’s nephew, nominated his

stepfather Ganelon as a messenger. Roland leads the rear guard, with the wise and moderate
Oliver and the fierce Archbishop Turpin.

Antagonist

Ganelon. There's no question that Ganelon is the villain here. In the tradition of
wicked step parents., His resentment of Roland gets the battle rolling, inspiring him to plot
with the Saracens against the Franks, while his suspicious dismissal of the Oliphant confirms
his guilt.

Marsile. King Marsile of Saragossa, Ganelon's ally against Roland and natural enemy of
the Franks, is another villain. But unlike Ganelon, his villainy isn't the result of bad
decisions like revenge and treachery; as a non-Christian he is just naturally wicked. What's
more, it's no surprise that he hates Charlemagne and wants to destroy his military power.
Spain's had seven years of Frankish war and he wants peace at any cost.

Other Major Characters

Olivier- A gallant warrior, one of the twelve peers of France, and Roland's best
friend, Olivier is the protagonist's foil, setting off Roland's daring with his own prudence:
"Roland is bold, Olivier is wise, and both of them are marvelously brave.”

Turpin - The archbishop Turpin, who fights and dies alongside Roland at Roncesvalles,
represents Christendom's turn towards militant activity at the time of the Crusades. The way
he battles against the pagans reflects the views put forth in Pope Urban II's famous speech
at the Council of Clermont in 1095, the direct inspiration for the First Crusade.
 Thierry - Thierry is the single dissenting voice at the council of barons convened to
judge Ganelon. While the others urge that Ganelon be acquitted and allowed to continue
serving Charlemagne, Thierry argues that, because Roland should have been immune from
personal attacks while he was in Charlemagne's service, Ganelon's action was not private
vengeance but a betrayal of the emperor.

Naimes - The chronicles say nothing about Duke Naimes other than that he was a Gascon
lord who paid homage to Charlemagne, but he became known as a wise advisor in medieval
legends.

Oger - The Danish count Oger is one of Charlemagne's fiercest and most reliable
vassals.

Jurfaleu - Marsilla's only son, Jurfaleu the Blond, is killed at Roncesvals; his head
is chopped off by Roland.

Corsablis - King Corsablis from Barbary is an evil magician and one of the twelve
Saracen lords picked to battle the twelve Frankish peers at Roncesvals.

Alde - Alde the Beautiful is Olivier's sister and Roland's betrothed. She dies of
grief the moment she hears of Roland's death.

Theme

Good will always triumph over evil.

Moral lesson

The main message of the epic poem Song of Roland is fairly simple: good will always
triumphs over evil. In this poem, "good" is represented through both honor and justice and
always prevails. In the main message, honor as a quality of goodness is quite important. The
honor of simply being a "Christian" is stressed.

Plot

Exposition (Initial Situation)

France on My Mind the Franks are coming out of a seven-year war in Spain with only
Saragossa left unconquered. We get to hear both sides of the situation: the Franks want to go
home but they also kind of want to get Saragossa before they leave; Saragossa just wants to
be left alone.

Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)

Do I Smell a Traitor? Ganelon plots with King Marsile to kill Roland, decimate the
cream of Charlemagne's army, and ensure a peaceful Spain forever. This treachery sets the
conflict in motion by putting Roland in the wrong place (a narrow mountain pass) at the wrong
time (just ahead of more than 100,000 Saracens on the warpath). Sensible Oliver sees the
danger, but Roland decides that God and bravery are more important than the safety of his
men. Bring it on, Marsile!

Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)

 Oliphants and Woozles the Song of Roland has two potential turning points. In the
thick of fighting, Roland realizes Ganelon's betrayal and knows that the Franks can never
prevail. Later, once his Franks are destroyed, he seems to also recognize his mistake in not
using the oliphant before (duh). When he finally does blow, he is both admitting the disaster
and communicating it to Charle-magne. It is the moment of greatest peril in the poem:
Roland's men realize they are done for and Charlemagne's men realize on a bigger scale that
France's reign of glory also might be done for. Cursing Ganelon's treachery, Charlemagne
rushes to Spain to take revenge.

Falling Action

But aren't we still fighting here? Charlemagne destroys the rest of Saragossa's army and
allies, revenging Roland and restoring France's Christian glory. Even though this seems like
some important fighting going down, Charlemagne's war is actually just an extended response
to the real meat of the poem, which is Roland's battle in the mountains.

Resolution (Denouement)

Kill the Beast! With Saragossa tied up like a Christmas present, the Song of Roland gets down
to the final business: converting the rest of the pagans, including Marsile's grieving queen,
Bramimonde, and getting Ganelon on trial. But even then the bigger struggle of pagans v.
Christians is not over. In the final scene the angel Gabriel visits Charlemagne with news:
the fighting ain't over yet, kid.

Review on the Story:

The Song of Roland tells us to remain good regardless of the challenges we encounter.
This lesson teaches us a lot of things. One is to remain good, to have a pure heart, maintain
a true perception and view point in life and do not let wickedness creep down into our souls.
In the end, those who remain upright will wear the Victor’s Crown. This story must be read
especially for us who are roused by the reality that not all people are good in the sight of
men.
 THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

By: Victor Hugo (January 15, 1831)

Vocabulary Words:

1. Axiom- a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof

2. Visceral- relating to or affecting the internal organs
3. Veracity- unwillingness to tell lies
4. Sociopath- a person with an antisocial personality disorder
5. Plumb- exactly vertical
6. Virtuoso- someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field
7. Circumscribe- draw a geometric figure around another figure
8. Depravity- moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles
9. Peal- a deep prolonged sound
10. Mutiny- open rebellion against constituted authority

Conflict of the Story: Man vs Man

The main conflict is the mutual love Esmeralda has for Captain Phoebus, which is in
direct opposition to the obsessive love Frollo has for Esmeralda.

Protagonist

Because he is a deformed, deaf, and one-eyed hunchback, he is exiled from society and
cruelly treated. For most of his life, his only companions are Claude Frollo and the bells.
Antagonist

Judge Claude Frollo is the main antagonist of Disney's 1996 animated feature film,
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is a ruthless Parisian justice minister who, after a series
of sensitive circumstances, becomes the begrudged caretaker of the deformed Quasimodo.

Characters

Quasimodo - The hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo is an abandoned child left at Notre
Dame and adopted by Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Hideously deformed, he has a giant humpback, a
protrusion coming out of his chest, and a giant wart that covers one of his eyes. He is also
deaf. His heart is pure, and this purity is linked to the cathedral itself. Indeed, his love
for Notre Dame's bells and for the beautiful sound of their ringing represents his only form
of communication. The whole of Paris ironically enjoys Quasimodo's singing while at the same
time detesting him for his ugliness. His name literally means "half-made."

Archdeacon Claude Frollo - A priest at Notre Dame, Frollo is also the novel's
antagonist. However, he is not a typical evil character bent on causing pain and suffering;
instead, he is very bright and compassionate. He dearly loves his brother, Jehan and does
everything in his power to make Jehan happy after their parents die. La Esmerelda - The lost
daughter of Sister Gudule, La Esmerelda is a beautiful gypsy street dancer. Along with her
goat, Djali, she charms everyone she meets with her stunning looks and magic tricks. She
keeps an amulet and other trinkets around her neck to help her find her parents.

Pierre Gringoire - A struggling playwright and philosopher. La Esmerelda saves him

from being hanged by a group of vagabonds and agrees to "marry" him for four years. He later
joins the vagabonds and unwittingly helps Frollo hand La Esmerelda over to the authorities.

Phoebus De Chateaupers - The captain of the King's Archers, he saves La Esmerelda from
Quasimodo. He does not love her, but tries to seduce her and a number of other women as well.
Frollo stabs him and everyone leaves him for dead. He recovers but fails to speak up when La
Esmerelda is sentenced to death for his murder. He ends up marrying Fleur-de-Lys de
Gondelaurier. His first name is Greek for "the sun."

Sister Gudule - La Esmerelda's long lost mother. She is a miserable recluse living in
the Tour Roland, who hates to hear the sound of children playing. She is convinced that
gypsies ate her adoptive daughter, Agnes, fifteen years earlier. She hates La Esmerelda and
is convinced that she is a child thief, but when she learns that she is actually her
daughter, Gudule gives her life to save her.

Jehan Frollo - Claude Frollo's brother. Jehan is a horrible student who gambles and
drinks all his money away. He decides to join the vagabonds and Quasimodo kills him as he
attacks Notre Dame.

Clopin Trouillefou - Clopin disrupts Gringoire's play and later turns out to be not
just a simple beggar, but "King" of the vagabonds. He tries to save La Esmerelda from being
hanged but Quasimodo thinks that Clopin is trying to kill her.

Louis XI - The King of France in 1482. Louis XI is a heartless monarch who lives in
the Bastille instead of the Louvre. He pardons Gringoire for attacking Notre Dame but orders
La Esmerelda's execution.
 Djali - La Esmerelda's goat. Djali can perform magic tricks and spell the name Phoebus
out of a group of letters. At La Esmerelda's trial Djali is accused of being possessed by the
devil.

Fleur-De-Lys De Gondelaurier - One of Phoebus's admirers, she later becomes his wife.
She also humiliates La Esmerelda by mocking her clothes.

Theme

The theme of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo, is difficult to narrow down
to a single one, as there are many that intertwine throughout the narrative. Perhaps the
greatest consistent theme throughout, however, is that of love, especially sacrificial love,
and especially when everything else—social standards, cultural expectations, others'
opinions, even perhaps your own prejudices and hesitations—seems to stand against love as
completely irrational and/or ridiculous.

Moral/Lesson

One of the lessons to learn from reading the novel The Hunchback of Notre
Dame by Victor Hugo is that of not judging by appearances. Quasimodo has been abandoned by
his mother just because he has been born in an ugly twisted body - but that says nothing
about his heart or his soul. In many ways he is like the character of the Beast in the
fairytale Beauty and the Beast. Conversely, just because a character appears in priestly
garb, whether in reality or in disguise, does not mean to say that they have a priestly or
naturally good nature. They may be a wolf in sheep's clothing or a devil in disguise, capable
of the worst sorts of atrocities. We should weigh people up very carefully, by their words,
deeds and attitudes towards others.

Plot

 INTRODUCTION

The story is set in Paris, 1482. Esmeralda, a lovely gypsy, caught the attention of several
people, including Captain Phoebus and the titular character; the hunchback, Quasimodo.
Archdeacon Frollo, Quasimodo's guardian, who lusts for Esmeralda, despite his duties in the
Notre Dame Cathedral, orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, which failed when the hunchback was
captured by Phoebus. Quasimodo was then sentenced to be whipped and flogged, then put to the
pillory as punishment for the 'kidnapping'.

 RISING ACTION

Esmeralda was then arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, which
Frollo set up out of jealousy of the blossoming relationship of Esmeralda and Phoebus.

 CLIMAX:

As Esmeralda is being taken to the gallows to wait for her execution by hanging,
Quasimodo comes to her rescue and takes her to the cathedral, protecting her with the law of
sanctuary. Frollo then voted to remove Esmeralda's right to the sanctuary so she will not be
safe in the cathedral. Clopin, a companion from Esmeralda's band of gypsies, hears about the
execution and charges the cathedral to rescue Esmeralda. However, Quasimodo assumed that the
gypsies are hostile, so he drives them off. Still unaware of Frollo's ploy, Quasimodo informs
him of Esmeralda's location. Frollo attempted to win Esmeralda's heart once again. Once
Esmeralda rejects his love for her, Frollo ordered her to be hanged out of hatred.

 FALLING ACTION/DENOUEMENT:

Frollo was present during Esmeralda's execution, laughing while the gypsy struggles
and finally succumbs to her death. Quasimodo then pushes the Archdeacon from the heights of
Notre Dame to his death, avenging Esmeralda's untimely death. He then goes to the graveyard
in Paris the condemned lies, staying with Esmeralda's body until death. Several months pass,
the tomb was reopened, and both Quasimodo's and Esmeralda's skeletons are found. As the men
try to separate the skeletons from each other, it crumbles to dust.

Review of the Story

The Hunchback of Notre Dame shows us the true spirit of love and sacrifice. In this
story, we can reflect on how Quasimudo did his best to be with his true love. He did
everything just to save La Esmeralda. Love and sacrifice: this is what he did in order for
him to reach his true love. This story helps us to pursue what we are thinking, our traits
and to develop our character holistically. This is a recommended story for all.

A book Review
 On

The Song of Roland and

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Submitted by:

Beaver Aurellius Camello

Submitted to:

Ms. Joan Tacud