"Longes Mac nUislenn"

Research Paper # 101501

Literature > European (other)

An analysis of the significance of the dichotomies in the medieval Irish Dierdre story, "Longess Mac nUislenn."

1,856 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the medieval Irish Dierdre story, "Longess Mac nUislenn." It specifically looks at the dichotomies of male and female, king and people, the cultivated and the wasteland within the story and discusses their significance. The paper describes the roles of the significant characters in the story and the dichotomies that they represent.

Table of Contents:
The King and His People
The Dichotomy of Male and Female
The Un-Culture of the Feminine
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Once born, Deirdre remains separated from Ulaid society. She is raised in a separate court, as discussed earlier, and perhaps it is this that explains her forwardness toward Noisu. After learning that a man existed in Ulster who fit her image of beauty, she quickly approaches him and exchanges some suggestive banter. If one compares this to Tochmarc Emer, the gender roles are reversed. Just as Cu Chulainn admired the fair country in which he wished to lay his spear, Deirdre tells Noisu of her need for a young bull. As a woman requisitioned by Conchobor, this in inappropriate, but it is in her character to act outside social norms, not being a part of Ulster society."
"This role seems tied to her gender, especially because the female satirist Leborcham acts in a similar way. Leborcham visits Deirdre because no one can prevent her. She is a satirist, so like Deirdre, she possesses powerful words--perhaps more honest than the words of the king. And Leborcham ignores social mores by telling Deirdre exactly where she can find her desired man, with his "hair like the raven, and a cheek like blood, and a body like snow." She too is a character working against "culture", ignoring Conchobor's decisions Deirdre's home and future."

Sample of Sources Used:

Gantz, Jeffrey, trans. ed. Early Irish Myths and Sagas. London: Penguin Books (1981). 256-67.
Hull, Vernam, ed. Longes Mac n-Uislenn: The Exile of the Sons of Uislu. New York: The Modern Language Association of America (1949).
Kinsella, Thomas, trans. The Tain. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press (2002). 8-20.
Buttimer, Cornelius. "Longes Mac nUislenn Reconsidered", Eigse, v. xxviii (1994-5). 1-41.
Clancy, Thomas Owen. "Court, King and Justice in the Ulster Cycle". Medieval Celtic Literature and Society ed. Helen Fulton. Dublin: Four Courts Press (2005). 163-82.