The Harley 2253 Manuscript Literary Elements

Collection of verse and prose

Because each prose and lyrical piece has a different subject and is written by a different author, it is impossible to identify the setting in which the action takes place. However, most of the descried action takes place sometimes in the 1st century in Jerusalem and around the city.

The action is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.

The tone and mood is a tense one.

The protagonists in “The Lives of the Fathers” are the holy men and the antagonists are the unfaithful ones.

The major conflict in “Thais” is between desire and modesty.

In the story “Thais” the climax is reached when the prostitute is forgiven for her past actions.

At the beginning of “Herman de Valenciennes, The Passion of Our Lord” the narrator mentions the name Magdalene and then makes it clear that she is the prostitute mentioned in the Bible. The presence of this character foreshadows the later mentioning of the other women who became prostitutes.

At the beginning of “Letter of Pilate to Tiberius”, Pilate talks highly of Jesus and praises him. This gives the impression that he will try to protect the man he saw as being innocent. This is however an understatement because it is later proven that Pilate was the one who sentenced Jesus to death.

One of the main allusions we find in “The Lives of the Fathers” is the idea that those who have a lot of money will never be accepted by God.

The most important imagery we find in “Thais” is the way in which women are described. In this context, women are presented as being seductresses and capable of leading men to their doom. Women are blamed when men fall in love with her and as such, they are seen here as the creatures who can do the most damage.

One of the main paradoxes which can be found in many stories is the idea that even though the Bible criticizes and looks down on the sinners, they continue to be the main character of the most important Biblical stories.

A parallel is drawn between Jesus and his followers in the “Herman de Valenciennes, The Passion of Our Lord”. Here, Jesus is presented as someone who is not afraid of dying at the hand of his enemies. Some of his followers on the other hand are described as being afraid of what could happen to them. This makes them act in a cowardly way and even pushes them to refuse giving help to those in need. This parallel is used here to show which type of behavior a good Christian must have and which example should a person try to follow.

Beauty is used in “Thais” as a general way through which the narrator makes reference to the way in which physical beauty can seduce and push people away from God.

We have a personification in “Herman de Valenciennes, The Passion of Our Lord“ in the line “Simon’s true pardon was heard loud and clear”.