In Tristan, Beroul simultaneously celebrates and condemns the lovers. In so doing, the poet simultaneously celebrates and condemns both adultery and lies. What is the effect on you, the reader, of this “double agenda”?
This assignment first requires you to go through the text very carefully and find the places where Beroul not only celebrates the hero and heroine, but condemns them for their actions. (Searching for examples of both celebration and condemnation will require careful attention to the text; but it will require interpretation as well.) Secondly, this assignment requires you to discuss your own, individual response to the text in light of Beroul’s attempted manipulation of your emotional responses as readers.
