Anglo Saxon Literature (449

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Anglo Saxon Literature (4491066)
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II. Anglo Saxon Literature

• Introduction to British Literature
• 1. What literature is
• 2. Early Literature and the Epic

--characteristics of the epic
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3. The Personality of England

• a. Timeline of British Literature and Thought
• 449 1066 1492 1660
  1790 1830 1914 1945
• l____l_____l_____l___l___l___l___l___
• Anglo- Medieval Rennais.
  Reason Rom. Victor. Mod.
  Anxiety
• Saxon

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b. Britains Island Personality

• Strongly independent
• Individual freedom
• Anglo-Saxon heritage
• worth of the individual)
• Strongly traditional _____ system (medieval)
• mistrust of the _________ class
• ______ family into the 21st century

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B. Anglo Saxon Literature
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I. Anglo Saxon Literature (4491066)

• IntroductionHistorical and Philosophical
  Background
• 1. Germanic invasions (Britons Celts
  conquered by RomansRomans leaveGermanic
  barbarians invade
• a. Angles
• b. Saxons
• c. Jutes

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Germanic Invasions of the Angles, Saxons, and
Jutes
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Anglo Saxon Literature

• Primitive Heroic Ideal
• a. Ideal of Kingly
• behavior
• b. The Warrior ideals
• c. Goalwin enduring
• fame

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• Christianity and Written Culture Arrive
• a. 597Augustine (no, not that one) arrives
  in England and brings writing and a new morality
• --earlier Celts and Romans had been
  Christians
• The Venerable Bede
• Alfred, King of the West Saxons (871899)

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• Old English Poetry
• a. written literature in England begins in
  7th century
• b. Before thatthe scop

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• c. Mead, mead halls, and mead hall lifestyle

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• d. The Spirit of Old English Poetry
• 1. dark world little _________
  warrior life
• 2. style (no romantic poetry)
• 3. butOE poetry had
• --extraordinary___________
• --ironic __________________
• --subtle and intense depiction of the
  nature
• or realityno sentimentalitywyrd
  (____)

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• Types of Anglo Saxon Literature
• a. heroic epiclong narrative whose main
  character is THE EPIC HERO
• --great bravery
• --super human ability
• --generosity

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• b. Elegiac lyricsexpress thoughts and
• 
  _________________
• c. Riddlesguessing games
• --shows Anglo Saxon love of

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A. Intro to Anglo Saxon Literature

• Style of LiteratureA--S Literary Techniques
• alliteration
• kenning
• caesura
• rhythm

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B. Beowulf the earliest epic poem in English
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B. Beowulf

• Introduction
• a. Great epic poem of the Anglo Saxon age
• b. English writing about their Germanic
  forebears
• c. originally oral (scops) but written down
  later (early 700s) by a Christian (the Beowulf
  poet)

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B. Beowulf (introduction)

• Beowulf is a profound mixture of two sets of
  values
• 1. Anglo Saxon _________
• Ideal
• 2. Christian _______ and God

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2. Meanings in Beowulf

• Surface level
• b. Not just about feuds but about a deeper
• sense of evilwhat does Beowulf say about
  evil?
• --the symbolism of the monster

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2. Meanings in Beowulf (cont.)

• C. What does Beowulf say about the Heroic Ideal?
• --bravery is the instrument by which the hero
  realizes himself
• --Hrothgar compared to Beowulfshows what?
• --Beowulf meets his doom but not before he
  shows his ______________

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2. Meanings in Beowulf

• Philosophical level
• --what does Beowulf say about
• fate (wyrd)?
• --sense of doom
• knowledge of death
• bravery and courage

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2. Meanings in Beowulf

• Psychological / archetypal level
• 1. The heros journey (the monomyth)
• 2. What does Beowulf say about being human?

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Setting and Characters

1. Herot
2. Hrothgar
3. Beowulf
4. Grendel

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3. Setting and Characters

• Grendels mother
• Swamp--
• Dragon
• Wiglaf--

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4. Symbolism in Beowulf

• Psychological
• (swamp, Grendel, mother,
• dragon)
• Social
• (Hrothgar, Beowulf,
• Herot)
• Universal (G., G.s mother,
• the dragon, the treasure,
• the tower

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5. Conclusion

• The Anglo Saxon people, like all people, were
  much like us, dealing with
• --a dangerous and seemingly uncaring world
• --what being human means
• --what living with bravery and honor means
• --battling the monsters that endanger us
• They were our grandparents who lived in
  difficult times with pride and courage.