UNIT 1

1) How does Alexander account for the blend of oral and written traditions in Old English
literature, especially poetry?

Oral literature is a contradiction in terms, and we should not have the heroic poems if
Christian monks had not written them down; but the traditions of the patristic sermo (word) and the
pagan carmen (song) were very different, and the marriage between the two produces a blend, in
OE poetry, which has to be interpreted with care and imagination.

2) What are the characteristics of the Germanic, Anglo-Saxon heroic society as described in
the Old English poems? What does the Germanic heroic ethos consist of?

Old English society necessarily honored a heroic code, as "society revolved around the
strong, enterprising chieftain and his courageous band of followers. The essential cohesive elements
were the personal loyalty of the retainers and the large-hearted liberality and bold strength of the
leader". The motivation of the hero is to garner fame and immortality in legend, resulting in feats of
excellence and ultimately, of excess. This warrior elite and its code of ethics is the primary subject
of Germanic heroic poetry, and the ethic, if not the specific deeds, is also fundamental to Anglo-
Saxon hagiography.
In Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, to be a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to be
strong, intelligent, and courageous. Warriors had to be willing to face any odds, and fight to the
death for their glory and people. The Anglo-Saxon hero was able to be all of these and still be
humble and kind.

3) Describe the main formal traits of Old English poetry. Focus on prosody, vocabulary and
the techniques of formulaic composition.

This poetry is often bold and strong, but also mournful and elegiac in spirit, this poetry
emphasizes the sorrow and ultimate futility of life and the helplessness of humans before the power
of fate.
Almost all this poetry is composed without rhyme, in a characteristic line, or verse, of four
stressed syllables alternating with an indeterminate number of unstressed ones.
Another unfamiliar and equally striking feature in the formal character of Old English poetry
is structural alliteration, or the use of syllables beginning with similar sounds in two or three of the
stresses in each line.
Thematically: heroic themes of honour, valour in battle, fame among ones descendants.
Metaphysical and Christian questions as well as the more concrete issues commonly associated with
Anglo-Saxon culture.

4) What are the main social functions of poets and poetry in the Anglo-Saxon society? Why
does heroic poetry have specific social uses and ends?

The function of heroic literature was to celebrate and so perpetuate heroic conduct. Poets
would entertain the heroes at the banquets by tales of past deeds.
Heroic poetry had specific social uses and ends because the code was a social institution, an
ethical reality enforced by life-or-death sanctions.

5) How is the heroic ethos represented in Beowulf? And how does the poem deal with
Christian issues? Provide specific examples from the poem that address the blend of
heathenism and Christianity.

In this epic poem we find that the hero, Beowulf, encounters a record number of heroic
deeds and also displays honour, courage, and courtly behaviour. The vow of the heroic would have
taken place in the great hall. The oath Beowulf took occurred at Heorot during a feast. The heroic
society must see this oath as meaningful and necessary. Beowulf vows to defeat Grendel or die in
his attempt - death was inevitable against this capricious violence. Beowulf endured three separate
and violent battles: Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. We see the expression of the heroic
code vividly in these three battles.
Religion is a touchy issue in Beowulf, because the story is told in late medieval Anglo-Saxon
Britain, which has been Christianized, but it's about early medieval Scandinavia, which is pagan.
The narrator of the poem compromises by making constant references to God's decrees in general
terms, but never discussing Jesus or the specific tenets of Christianity. Although the poet can't get
away from the fact that his hero, Beowulf, would have been a pagan, he can suggest that Beowulf's
trust in God translates easily into a Christian context. The only specific references to Christian
stories are some shout-outs to the Old Testament story of Cain and Abel.

6) Provide a plot summary of Beowulf. Can you account for an evolution of the main
characters in light of his facing the three different monsters.

Beowulf is one of the most famous poems in old English. It is about three thousand lines
long and the story revolves around three battles.
In the poem, Beowulf, a warrior from Geats comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes
whose land is being attacked by a monster, Grendel. Beowulf succeeds and defeats Grendel. To
show his prowess, he even kills Grendel with his bare hands. However, the tension of the story
escalates, because Grendel's mother is now on the warpath to get revenge. As the story progresses,
Beowulf kills Grendel's mother in her liar with a sword that giants of a past time once used.

After this victory, Beowulf returns home to Geats. Fifty years pass. However, there is one final
battle. There is a dragon that plagues his people because of stolen treasure. More importantly,
Beowulf now has to defend his people. He fails at first, but then with the help of Wiglaf, a servant,
chases the dragon into its lair and kills it. However, in the process, Beowulf receives a fatal wound
and dies. Finally, he is buried by the sea.

Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. The poem explores his heroism in two
separate phases, youth and age, and through three separate and increasingly difficult conflicts with
Grendel, Grendels mother, and the dragon. Although we can view these three encounters as
expressions of the heroic code, there is perhaps a clearer division between Beowulfs youthful
heroism as an unfettered warrior and his mature heroism as a reliable king. These two phases of his
life, separated by fifty years, correspond to two different models of virtue.

7) Who were Caedmon and Cynewulf? Account for their likely historical identification. What
are the major works associated with them? Explain the main traits of the Caedmonian and
Cynewulfian schools of poetry.

Caedmon and Cynewulf were the two biggest poets during the Old English period.
They composed on religious themes, and their works are classified as Christian poetry.
According to Bede Caedmon became the founder of a school of Christian poetry and that he was the
first to use the traditional metre diction for Christian religious poetry. This period of Old English
poetry is called "Caedmonian". All the old religious poems that were not assigned to Caedmon were
invariably given to Cynewulf, the poet of the second phase of Old English Christian poetry.

The major works by Cynewulf are Christ, Juliana, Elene, and The Fates of the Apostles. The
Dream of the Rood is also attributed to him.

The major works by Caedmon are Caedmon's Hymn, Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, and Christ
and Satan.

Both schools of thought are Christian. Yet the work of Cynewulf and his school marks an
advance upon the writings of the school of Caedmon. Even the latter is, at times, subjective and
personal in tone to a degree not found in pure folk-epic; but in Cynewulf the personal note is
emphasised and becomes lyrical. The greatest distinction between the one school and the other, is
due, however, to the degree in which Cynewulf and his group show their power of assimilating
foreign literary influences.

8) What are the major similarities between The Dream of the Rood and Elene?

In Elene, there is an appealing self-portrait which may all be true- Cynewulf's age, his
nocturnal meditations upon the Cross, and his late discovery, guided by grace, of the true story of
the Cross. They reappear much concentrated in The Dream of the Rood.
9) Describe the main relations between The Dream of the Rood and the Ruthwell Cross.

15 of the 156 lines of The Dream of the Rood can be recognized carved in a runic border
round panels of the Ruthwell Cross. The Crucifixion can be seen in the lowest panel on the back of
the Cross. At the same time, The Dream of the Rood tells of Christ's Crucifixion.

10) What is the Benedictine revival of Old English prose? Describe its main characteristics
and its main major representatives (and their works).

English monasticism, and indeed clerical celibacy in general, had fallen into disrepair, and
the Rule of St Benedict was only reintroduced into a dilapidated Glastonburyby Abbot Dunstan, a
product of Alfred's old school there, in 940. These benedictines brought up the young Edgar, and
when Edgar succeeded as a boy-king in 957, their influence was profound.

The tradition was one of the most solemn, austere and yet resplendent celebration of the
liturgy and the monastic hours. Service-books were produced, music elaborated, churches and
minsters enlarged and rebuilt in stone. The Gregorian chant was refined and perfected.

Dunstand, Aethelwold, Aelfric (two cycles of sermons and a series of lives of the saints),
Wulfstan (Sermo Lupi Ad Anglos). The manuscripts in which OE poetry is preserved come from the
scriptoria of this period.