ANGLOSAXON POETRY:

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ANGLO-SAXON POETRY

• Origins, Language, Elements

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Origins

• The Oral Tradition
• Originally, storytellers (scops- pronounced
  shops), told stories in mead halls for
  entertainment
• These stories were passed down through generations

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Origins

• Conversion to Christianity (due to the influence
  of St. Augustine of Canterbury) in the 7th
  century
• Monks began writing down stories- reflect the
  merging of cultural values

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Origins

• The English Language
• Language is the most perfect work of art in the
  world. The chisel of a thousand years retouches
  it.
• Henry David Thoreau
• http//www.danshort.com/ie/timeline.htm

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Old English Beowulf

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v4L7VTH8ii_8

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Alliteration

• A figure of speech in which consonants,
  especially at the beginning of words, or stressed
  syllables, are repeatedIn Old English poetry
  alliteration was a continual and essential part
  of the metrical scheme and until the late Middle
  Ages was often used thus.

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Caesura (sih-ZHUR-uh)

• (Latin "a cutting") A break or pause in a line
  of poetry, dictated, usually, by the natural
  rhythm of the languageIn Old English verse the
  caesura was used to indicate the half line.

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Kennings (cont.)

• Examples
• a) helmberend"helmet bearer" "warrior"
• b) beadoleoma"battle light" "flashing sword"
• c) swansrad"swan road" "sea"
• Essentially, then, a kenning is a compact
  metaphor that functions as a name or epithet it
  is also, in its more complex forms, a riddle in
  miniature.

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Kennings

• The term derives from the use of the Old Norse
  verb kenna 'to know, recognize'
• It is a device for introducing descriptive color
  or for suggesting associations without
  distracting attention from the essential
  statement.

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Anglo-Saxon Literature

• Epic Poetry
• Long narrative poem written in a lofty style
  which celebrates the deeds of a legendary hero
  (epic hero) or god

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The Epic Hero

• Noble Birth
• Capable of deeds of great strength or courage
• Experienced in battle
• Travels over a vast setting
• Faces supernatural foes
• Receives supernatural help

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Anglo-Saxon Riddles

• http//www2.kenyon.edu/AngloSaxonRiddles/texts.htm