English Literature 12: Chapter 1
*THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD* (449-1066)
*THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD* (449-1066)
What was the first literature of the Anglo-Saxons?
Poetry
Was Poetry easier to remember than Prose?
Yes, because of its rhythm.
How was Anglo-Saxon poetry communicated?
Through singing.
What kind of double nature did Anglo-Saxon poetry reflect?
The kind of double nature that Anglo-Saxon poetry reflected was how they were hardy warriors and sea rovers, yet they are capable of profound and noble emotions.
_ *5* Characteristics _ of Anglo-Saxon literature
(1) Love of freedom.
(2) Responsiveness to nature, especially in her sterner moods.
(3) Strong religious convictions and a belief in Wyrd, or Fate;
(4) Reverence for womanhood.
(5) Devotion to glory as the ruling motive in every warrior’s life.
(2) Responsiveness to nature, especially in her sterner moods.
(3) Strong religious convictions and a belief in Wyrd, or Fate;
(4) Reverence for womanhood.
(5) Devotion to glory as the ruling motive in every warrior’s life.
What as an _ Anglo-Saxon _ poet called?
A //scop//
• Some wandered from place to place, others were attached to one household to provide local entertainment.
• Some wandered from place to place, others were attached to one household to provide local entertainment.
What is a //*gleeman*//?
• Also recited poems.
• He was an original poet but a performer, a chanter, a harper, and sometimes a jester and a juggler.
• He was an original poet but a performer, a chanter, a harper, and sometimes a jester and a juggler.
What is Anglo-Saxon poetry composed of? And what are they separated by?
• Composed of two-half lines.
• They are separated by a //*pause*// or //*caesura*//.
• They are separated by a //*pause*// or //*caesura*//.
Why were there _abrupt breaks_ in the middle of each line of an Anglo-Saxon poem?
Because it gave it gave the poem a kind of marital rhythm.
Anglo-Saxon poems had no rhyme.
…
The number of syllables in each line was always the same.
…
Which two literary devices were used in the poems?
An *accent*- stresses certain syllables or words.
And *alliteration*-beginning words with the same consonant sound.
And *alliteration*-beginning words with the same consonant sound.
What does Anglo-Saxon poetry //abound// with?
*Parallelisms*- repetition of ideas in slightly differing form.
Define the word *kenning*
• Strong metaphorical expressions
• Hyphenated words.
• Hyphenated words.
*P* *L* *A* *C* *E* *S*
*P* *L* *A* *C* *E* *S*
The Stonehenge
• One of the greatest mysteries of all time,
• Stands on the plains of Salisbury in southern England.
• Possibly for pagan worship or ways to keep track of the yearly paths of the sun.
• Sometime later, a new group of people, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, crossed the North Sea from Europe to England, and England’s earliest people passed into mystery.
• The _*Anglo-Saxons*_ would give England her name, her language, and the beginnings of her literature.
• Stands on the plains of Salisbury in southern England.
• Possibly for pagan worship or ways to keep track of the yearly paths of the sun.
• Sometime later, a new group of people, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, crossed the North Sea from Europe to England, and England’s earliest people passed into mystery.
• The _*Anglo-Saxons*_ would give England her name, her language, and the beginnings of her literature.
*S* *T* *O* *R* *I* *E* *S*
*S* *T* *O* *R* *I* *E* *S*
*//Beowulf//*
_Background_
• The greatest of the Anglo-Saxon poems and the oldest surviving epic of any Germanic people.
• A folk or traditional epic.
• Has no one author but was passed down through many generations.
• _*THINGS THAT //BEOWULF// HAS THAT MANY TRADITIONAL QUALITIES ON AN EPIC DO:_
*(1)* It is about a _great national hero._
*(2)* It is written in _lofty language._ //(Not intentionally but bc it was meant to be performed)//
*(3)* It contains _supernatural elements/aide._
*(4)* It explores _the struggle of good and evil._
_Background_
• The greatest of the Anglo-Saxon poems and the oldest surviving epic of any Germanic people.
• A folk or traditional epic.
• Has no one author but was passed down through many generations.
• _*THINGS THAT //BEOWULF// HAS THAT MANY TRADITIONAL QUALITIES ON AN EPIC DO:_
*(1)* It is about a _great national hero._
*(2)* It is written in _lofty language._ //(Not intentionally but bc it was meant to be performed)//
*(3)* It contains _supernatural elements/aide._
*(4)* It explores _the struggle of good and evil._
• Condensed version
• This text was probably written, copied, and preserved bemoans who added certain Christian elements to this Old World heathen story.
• Was not discovered until the 18th century and was not printed until the 19th century.
• Is about a story of a man struggling against three monstrous and mysterious incarnations of evil.
• The narrative is divided into 3 parts.
• Central in each section is the life and death struggle between the hero and some supernatural adversary.
• _*THE FIRST SECTION:*_ It related Beowulf’s fight with //Grendel//,
• _*THE SECOND SECTION:*_ Tells of the confrontation with //Grendel’s mother//, and
• _*THE THIRD SECTION:*_ Takes place 50 years later as Beowulf slays the fire-breathing //dragon// plaguing his homeland.
• This text was probably written, copied, and preserved bemoans who added certain Christian elements to this Old World heathen story.
• Was not discovered until the 18th century and was not printed until the 19th century.
• Is about a story of a man struggling against three monstrous and mysterious incarnations of evil.
• The narrative is divided into 3 parts.
• Central in each section is the life and death struggle between the hero and some supernatural adversary.
• _*THE FIRST SECTION:*_ It related Beowulf’s fight with //Grendel//,
• _*THE SECOND SECTION:*_ Tells of the confrontation with //Grendel’s mother//, and
• _*THE THIRD SECTION:*_ Takes place 50 years later as Beowulf slays the fire-breathing //dragon// plaguing his homeland.
*”The Seafarer”*
• by an Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poem.
• Basically a dude who has life at sea and starts comparing his life with those who live in land.
• Basically a dude who has life at sea and starts comparing his life with those who live in land.
*”The Bookworm”*
• by Anonymous
• The moth is actually the thief = ironic.
• The moth is actually the thief = ironic.
*”Honey-Mead”*
• by Anonymous
• shows that the Anglo-Saxons knew the dangers of drinking.
• shows that the Anglo-Saxons knew the dangers of drinking.
from the* //Ecclesiastical History of the English People//*
_Background_
_Background_
• In this story, Venerable Bede tells the story of the conversion of _King Edwin_.
• The other one that The Venerable Bede wrote about was the story of • _Caedmon_, which is _//the first Anglo-Saxon poet whose name we know.//_ Caedmon was also called _”the Anglo-Saxon Milton.”_ He was a simple herdsman who lived at a monastery at Whitby in Northumbria, the cultural center of England. He also wrote poetic paraphrases of the Bible which were in the same meter as //Beowulf.//
• About *The Venerable Bede:*
– the Founder of English history.
– Knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew & wrote over 40 textbooks.
– He wrote in Latin, except for his English translation of the Gospel of John.
– His most important work was his //Ecclesiastical History of the English People,// from which we get most of our facts about early English history.
• The other one that The Venerable Bede wrote about was the story of • _Caedmon_, which is _//the first Anglo-Saxon poet whose name we know.//_ Caedmon was also called _”the Anglo-Saxon Milton.”_ He was a simple herdsman who lived at a monastery at Whitby in Northumbria, the cultural center of England. He also wrote poetic paraphrases of the Bible which were in the same meter as //Beowulf.//
• About *The Venerable Bede:*
– the Founder of English history.
– Knew Latin, Greek, and Hebrew & wrote over 40 textbooks.
– He wrote in Latin, except for his English translation of the Gospel of John.
– His most important work was his //Ecclesiastical History of the English People,// from which we get most of our facts about early English history.