Characters

Question 1

Helen of Troy

Answer 1

• Seductive nature of evil / temptation
• Femme fatale – destructive
• Tension between reason + desire
• Tension between Christian + pagan views
  o Greek figure - pagan ideal of beauty and desire that stands in contrast to the Christian ideal of piety and self-denial

Question 2

Old man

Answer 2

• Allegorical figure – urging to repent
• Represent medieval worldview – contrasts F humanism
• Representative of power of faith / embodies Christian values – persistence of these values
• Lexical field of disgust – stench + filthiness – invites us to sympathise aS
• Juxtaposes HT + mephy – classical world vs christian world = MANICHAEAN DUALISM (can be interpreted as…)