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'''Middle English Lyric''' is a [[genre]] of [[English Literature]], popular in the 14th Century, that is characterized by its brevity and emotional expression. Conventionally, the lyric expresses "a moment," usually spoken or performed in the first person. Although some lyrics have narratives, the plots are usually simple to emphasize an occasional, common experience. Even though Lyrics appear individual and personal, they are not "original;" instead, lyrics express a common state of mind.
[[Image:MalaysiaPahang.png|frame|right|Map showing Pahang in [[Peninsular Malaysia]] ]]
'''Pahang''' is the largest state in [[Peninsular Malaysia]], and as a result contains quite a large range of geography and industry. Its state capital is [[Kuantan]], with the royal seat at [[Pekan]]. The Arabic honorific of Pahang is ''Darul Makmur'' ("Abode of Tranquility")
==Geography Audience ==
Middle English Lyrics were meant to be heard, not read. Keeping in mind an [[aural]] [[audience]], the lyric is usually structured with an obvious rhyme scheme, [[refrain]], and sometimes musical effects. The rhyme scheme primarily functions as a [[mnemonic device]] for the audience. The Refrain, however, has several critical functions. The Refrain gives the lyric unity and provides commentary (this is not unlike the bob and wheel found in ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]''). In addition to functioning thematically, the refrain encourages audience to participate in singing the lyric. Finally, Musical Effects also encourage audience participation, and they take the form of rhythms and sounds (for example, [[onomatopoeia]] is not an uncommon [[trope]] employed).
The physical geography can be broken into roughly three sections: the highlands, the rainforest, and the coastal areas.
===Highlands= Authorship ==
Most Middle English Lyrics are anonymous. Because the lyrics reflect on a sort of "community property" of ideas, the concept of copyrighting a lyric to a particular author is usually inappropriate. Additionally, identifying authors is very difficult. Most lyrics are often un-dateable, and they appear in collections with no apparent organic unity. It is most likely many lyrics that survive today were widely recited in various forms before being written down. Evidence for this appears in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]''. Many of Chaucer's lines bear an uncanny resemblance to Middle English Lyrics.
Peninsular Malaysia straddles a rich [[quartz]] vein that is associated with the mountain range in the center. [[Rainforest]] covers much of the highlands, but it tends to be thinner, with more deciduous trees. Ferns are also extremely common, thanks mainly to the high humidity and fog that permeates the area.
== Survival ==
The [[Cameron Highlands]] area in the west is home to the [[tea]] plantations. The area is the highest on the mainland, and the climate is temperate enough to have distinct temperature variations year round. The area is also known as a major supplier of [[legume]]s and [[vegetable]]s to both [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]].
Middle English Lyrics were not meant to be read or written down. Consequently, the few that survive are probably a very small sample of lyrics. Surviving Lyrics appear in [[Miscellanies]], notably the Harley 2253 manuscript. The lyrics often appear with many other types of works, including writings in other languages.
== External Links ==
[[Genting Highlands]] is known as Malaysia's playground. It is home to several hotels, a theme park and Malaysia's only casino. [[Genting Highlands]] was developed by [[Goh Chok Tong]] who envisioned a hillside getaway destination for people wanting to get away from city hustle and bustle and is conveniently situated 40 minutes from the capital of [[Kuala Lumpur]] and is accesable with the [[Karak Highway]]. The border of Genting straddles both the state of [[Pahang]] and [[Selangor]].
[http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/lyrics.htm Middle English Lyrics]
== Bibliography ==
The famous silk merchant and fashion designer [[Jim Thompson (designer)|Jim Thompson]] mysteriously disappeared in the area, and it was also home to the Communist guerrillas who fought the [[United Kingdom|British]] during the 1950s.
Luria, Maxwell S. and Richard L. Hoffman. ''Middle English Lyrics.'' New York: Norton, 1974.<br>
<nowiki>(Large Selection of Lyrics with Selected Criticism)</nowiki>
Brown, Carleton Fairchild. ''English Lyrics of the XIIIth Century.'' Ed. Carleton Brown. Oxford: The Clarendon press, [1965, c1932].
[[Fraser's Hill]] was used as a [[British]] summer getaway to escape th tropical heat. It is distinctive that the road to and fro to [[Fraser's Hill]] is a single lane up the hill and traffic is controled and limited to a single direction at certain hours. It is now a small hamlet with [[British]] architectural buildings and also a holiday destination.
Gray, Douglas. ''Themes and Images in the Medieval English Religious Lyric.'' London, Boston: Routledge and K. Paul, 1972.
There is also a population of native [[Orang Asli]] who live in the area, although most have been relocated from the forests to other areas.
Manning, Stephen. ''Wisdom and Number; Toward a Critical Appraisal of the Middle English Religious Lyric.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1962.
===Rainforest===
The south of the state is home to the country's largest [[national park]], [[Taman Negara]]. This largely [[primary]] rainforest is extensive, and is home to many rare or endangered animals, such as the [[tapir]], [[kancil]], [[tiger|tigers]] and [[leopard|leopards]].
Reiss, Edmund. ''The Art of the Middle English Lyric; Essays in Criticism.'' Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1972.
Rainforest covers 2/3 of the area of the state, and the peninsula's highest point, [[Gunung Tahan]], is located within Taman Negara. Since the equator is so close, the rainforests in Malaysia are among the oldest in the world: roughly 130 million years old.
Speirs, John. ''Medieval English Poetry: the Non-Chaucerian Tradition.'' London: Faber and Faber, 1957.
===Lakes===
Two famous [[lakes]] are found in [[Pahang]]. [[Tasik Bera]] is a [[Ramsar]] site and is important for it's rich freshwater [[peat]] environment, home to various [[flora]] and [[fauna]]. The [[Semelai]] [[orang asli]] lives in the area and continues their traditional way of live, [[hunting]], [[fishing]] and making use of their natural environment.
Oliver, Raymond. ''Poems without Names; the English Lyric, 1200-1500.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970.
[[Tasik Cini]] is home to a legend whereby a [[dragon]] was believed to reside in the lake. Talks were also abound about a lost city that sunk beneath the water. Recent excavations by the museum and antiquities department of [[Museum Negara]] has found traces of human habition. Famed for it's [[lotus]] blooms, recently controversy has sparked with mismanaged tourism development resulting the massive die off of trees and recent findings of pollution in the water.
Woolf, Rosemary. ''The English Religious Lyric in the Middle Ages.'' Oxford: Clarendon P., 1968.
===Coastal Areas===
The largely mountainous state flattens out towards the coastline, and this is where the state capital Kuantan is located. There are also many islands offshore with extensive [[reef]] systems. [[Pulau Tioman]] is famous for its coral reef.
[[Category:Middle English literature|Middle English Lyric]]
[[Club Med]] is also a favourite tourist destination and is situated a little of the state capital of [[Kuantan]]. Fine stretches of beach can be easily found as one drives from [[Kuantan]] heading to [[Terengganu]].
There still exists a traditional fishing industry along the coast, and there are long stretches of sandy beaches. [[Keropok]] which are dried fish cakes are a welcome favourite among locals and traditional industry includes the mass processing of [[dried fish]] and [[seafood]] as well as the famed [[keropok lekor]]. [[Fishing]] is a majot industry for the villagers found along the coastline and is sold daily at the various fish markets in the state.
==Industry==
For decades, Pahang's main industry centered on [[timber]] production, a large [[forest]] swatches supported massive [[balak]] production and wood products were the state's main export. Yet a decline in mature trees due to intensive harvesting lately has caused a slowdown and the practice of more sustainable logging.
[[Fishery]] products are also a main source of income especially for the [[fishing]] community littering the long coastline of the state. Dried and salted fish is a specialy here.
[[Raub]] in the central [[Pahang]] area was the only profitable [[gold]] mining operation in [[Malaysia]] but reserves were soon exhausted and the mines were shut down. Recently, newer technology has made extraction profitable again and operations are being carried out once more.
[[Sungai Lembing]] in the heydays was a large center for shaft [[mining]] of [[timah]] or better known as [[tin]]. Miners would dig underground tunnels to reach the [[ore]] and bring them up by the cartloads to the surface for smelting into [[jongkangs]]. Now [[tin]] is no longer mined and the mines are mostly flooded, [[Sungai Lembing]] is now a dying town with not many prospects except tourism of it's [[tin]] mining days.
Industry mostly centers on wood based products and [[petrochemical]] processing. [[Kuantan]] port is one of the busiest ports in the east coast and transportation networks allow for the fast transportation of goods through the state.
Tourism remains the state's main earner with large natural resources to entice visitors from [[Taman Negara]]'s forests, [[Tioman]]'s island and [[Genting Highlands]].
==History==
Evidence for nomadic tribes living in the area go back to the [[Mesolithic]] Era. In more modern times, the [[tin]] and [[gold]] deposits of the [[Tembeling River]] attracted the marine traders of the [[Srivijaya]] empire in the [[700s|eighth]] and [[800s|ninth]] century, and Pahang covered most of the southern half of the peninsula.
After the Srivijaya empire collapsed, around the [[1000s|eleventh century]], it was claimed first by the [[Thailand|Siamese]], and then the [[Sultanate of Malacca]], until the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] arrived in [[1511]]. It was then the subject of controversy between the Portuguese, the [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[Johor]], and [[Acheh]], until the influence of the Europeans and the Acheh declined in the early [[1600s]]. However, Sultans of Pahang, descended from the [[Malacca]] and [[Johor]] royal dynasties, have ruled the state almost continuously from 1470.
==Politics==
Since 1974, the Sultan or hereditary monarch has been [[Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Mustain Billah ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Riayatuddin Al-Muadzam Shah|Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah]]. His ''Menteri Besar'' or Chief Minister is currently Dato' Seri Adnan Yaakob of [[Barisan Nasional]], a former schoolteacher.
==Figures==
<b>Area:</b> 35 964 sq. km
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[[Category:States of Malaysia]]
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