Reading #1. The Old English Period
The Early Literature of the Anglo-Saxons
The People - For the beginnings of English Literature we must go back to a
time before our Anglo-Saxon forefathers came to England, when they were still
living on the shores of the North Sea in Denmark and in northern Germany.
These people were German tribes, allied more closely to the modern Dutch than
to the modern Germans both by language and blood. It is thought that they did
not penetrate far into the swamps and forests of the interior, but lived along
the shore and on the sea. They were uncivilized people, but not savages. Their
literature shows- and we always go to literature to find out the inner life of
a people-- that they loved their homes, reverenced their women, felt the
influences of Nature, believed in many gods, loved personal freedom, and
sought honor and glory. They were very adventurous seafarers, stern of heart
and strong of hand; but they were not pirates.
Their Gloomy Life - Their life was rather dreary(gloomy).The lands of
Denmark and Germany where these people lived are lands of clouds and mist.
During the entire year the sun can be seen only a third of the time that it is
above the horizon. In winter, darkness comes in the middle of the afternoon.
Moreover, the struggle with storm and the sea was long and hard. No wonder
these people were a stern and somber race of individuals, with a gloomy
religion,and with melancholy ideas of fate and life. For these people, life
was almost without joy except for perhaps the joy of conflict(war); and the
whole of man's life, with whatever joy it might have, was but the flicker of a
candle between two great darknesses; the gloomy life on earth and the dreary,
dark life after death. The essential gloom of it was well expressed somewhat
later in a piece of literature entitled Northumbria by a chief.
"You remember, it may be, O king, that which sometimes happens in winter
when you are seated at a table with your thanes (nobles). You fire is lighted,
and your hall warmed, and you are inside without rain, snow, and storm. Then
comes a swallow (bird) flying across the hall; he enters by one door, and
leaves by another. The brief moment that he is within the hall is pleasant to
him; he feels not rain nor cheerless winter weather; but the moment is brief,
and he passes from winter to winter. Such, methinks, is the life of man on
earth, compared with the uncertain times beyond. It appears for a while; but
what is the time that comes after - the time which was before? We know not.
If, then, this new doctrine (Christianity) may teach us somewhat of greater
certainty, it were well that we should regard it."
Please note how the idea of Christianity presents a much more pleasant view
of life after death; that there is a reward for those who follow the ideas of
Christianity. They enter paradise.So many of these people were more than
willing to convert to Christianity because it presented to them a sense of
hope and not despair. That there is(was) something good after this life on
earth.
Literature of Tradition - Life, however, was not always terribly gloomy.
There were times of joy and some festivities. In the long winter evenings the
Lord and his nobles (thanes)gathered in a great hall and sat around the mead
tables, (mead - alcoholic beverage brewed from honey), drinking together and
listening to the song of the scop (person who composed and sang a poem about
the adventures of someone special). These poets/reciters of stories kept alive
the traditions of the people, interpreting their ideals in myth, legend, and
heroic story. This was their literature; not books nor manuscripts. Stories of
gods and heroes passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Some of
the stories are history; most of them, myths about the struggles of people
with the sea, storms, and pestilence.
"Beowulf" The scene of the early part of this story is Denmark. Hrothgar,
King of the Danes, had built a splendid mead hall by the sea, where he and his
thanes gathered to feast and to listen to the songs of the scops. Now read the
story of Beowulf and notice how the poem exemplifies the ideals of these
Germanic people.
This poem was probably sung a very long time ago in the many mead halls all
across northern Europe and parts of England. It is also considered an epic
poem. Thus type of poem tells a story of a hero who unfortunately has a tragic
end.
In Beowulf we see the scenes with which our forefathers were familiar,
we discover their hopes and fears, and realize their passion for honor and
glory,their high feeling of duty, and the stern heroism with which they took
leave of their life.
The Celts in Britain - The people who inhabited England or Britain as it
was called back then - before the Anglo-Saxon conquests, were Celts. These
Celts lived all over various areas of France, Spain, the British Islands
before the time of recorded history in Europe. Julius Caesar had fought
against many of the Celtic tribes in Gaul (France) and in 55 B.C. had crossed
over into Britain and defeated the Celtic tribes living there. Eventually,
Britain became a Roam province, adopting a certain extent the civilization of
Rome. By the early part of the fifth century, however, the Roman army withdrew
from Britain to protect the city of Rome from various tribes of northern
Europe who were attacking the imperial city (Rome). Thus, the Celts of Britain
were left alone to defend themselves from the Anglo-Saxon invaders
who had come from Denmark and northern Germany. Little by little the Celts
were driven back into the mountains of Wales and Scotland. Some even traveled
by boat and settled in Ireland while others traveled to northwest coast of
France. Eventually, all of these Celts, living in different lands, developed
their own distinct culture and literature.
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Reading # 2. Characteristics of a Tragic Hero.
1. The individual must perform a very difficult feat or task which a
normal individual would never do or accomplishsh.
2. The individual must have a noble, honorable character.
3. The individual must overcome, leave behind any weaknesses or
temptations that might cause him to not be the noblr person he is suppossed
to be.
4. The person must be committed to his goal,and never give up.
5. The person has to experience dangers, agonies,and pain beyond those
of normal men/women.
6. The hero must do it alone; he has to do the deed. Those who may help
have no real bearing on the situation.
7. The goal, whatever it may be, must be difficult.
8. The hero must have something in common with the meekest of people. We
need to see in the hero many of the qualities we find in ourselves.(grit,
fortitude,courage,nobility,sacrifice, etc.)
8. The tragedy is that with the individual is a flaw, an imperfection in
the personality/character of the person which overwhelms him/her to the point
that the individual does things he/she might not or should not normally do.
Thus, the flaw in the individual causes the hero to fall.
You should be able to explain how each of these items is exemplfied
in "Beowulf."
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The Venerable Bede
Reading assignment # 3.
The Venerable Bede (673 - 735 ) Father of English History.
He probably was of Irish descent and was a monk of the Order of Saint
Benedict. He wrote the famous book History of the English Church and People.
Another word for history is "chronicle." I mention this because there are
times when a writer uses this word instead of the word history in describing
Bede's work. There are even references to this book asd being called "The
Ecclesiastical History (chronicle) of the People of England. (Ecclesiastical
refers to religious, the church. In any case it is the first major book
published in England and was of course handwritten by monks in the
scriptorium, a special room in a monastery, dedicated just to the skill of
writing.
During this time period Christianity was attempting to re-establish itself
in Britain after the Fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD). During the reign of
the Romans they accepted Christianity as the official religion of the whole
empire. However, with the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the
Germanic tribes such as the Anglos and the Saxons into England, many old
pagan practices crept back into practice in Britain. (Check out the pictures
of Stonehedge in England).
The purpose of Bede's book was to show how Christianity re-asserted itself
with the help of many pious monks and other people from various religious
communities. One such person was a cleric ( member of a religious community)
by the name of Caedom. By the way, those who are not members of a religious
community are called the laity.
At the same time that all of this was happening, we have developing what
is referred to as "Elegiac Poetry." This style of poetry is a serious
meditative type of poetry. This style was written up to the 16th century.
These poems were done by scops and bards and were written in a very formal
and sustained manner. This simply means that the poems were serious and
rather classy in nature. They are sustained in that they are filled with many
examples as to how the individual feels. Thus, they can be a little long
since you are dealing with a person's feelings and emotions.
What the poem does is lament (discuss, explain in a sorrowful mannewr) the
death, loss of a person, place, or thing of great importance in a somber,
sad, melancholy tone.
To the people living during this timeiod , this type of poetry was
considered "animistic" in nature. This means that to these people, every
person, place, or thing is alive and has a soul. So, the loss of an item such
as a Mead Hall or castle,or whatever, could be very upsetting to a warrior
since it was like losing a real person. The loss of the Lords ( ruler of the
area) would be even more disturbing since the warrior would have no one to
whom he could pledge his loyalty. The warrior would lament his loss since he
had no leader, no home, no family,no sence of belonging to anything or
anyone. This warrior was then considered a "wrecca", a wreck, a stranger, a
stranger wandering hopelessly. It is as if the warrior were a homeless person
who had nothing.
Please check out pages 46 - 47 of your Green text book that I gave you in
the beginning of the year. Read the poem "The Wanderer". It is a classic
Elegiac poem that explains a warrior's loss of his Lord and castle. Perhaps
you could check out the poem on-line and print it out since we will discuss
it in class.
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