Republic of the Philippines

BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

Calape Campus
San Isidro, Calape, Bohol

El115- SURVEY TO ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

I. Introduction to English Literature

English Literature is older than either American literature or Philippine literature in English. As a
matter of fact, its beginnings go back to a time when the first settlers of England did not speak
the language which we now call English. Coming from the different parts of the continent of
Europe, the settlers brought the languages of their respective homelands with them. The
earliest of these peoples were the Celts, who at the beginning of the Christian era already
occupied the greater part of the Western Europe. The Celts who settled in England came from
Gaul. But with the conquest of Gaul and the invasion of England by the Romans during the first
century, England became partly Romanized, yet, although Roman dress, ornaments, utensils,
pottery, glassware were used extensively, the use of Latin was not as widespread. Only the
members of the upper class and the inhabitants of the cities and big towns used Latin; the
Celtic language remained the language of the masses.
Then three Teutonic tribes each invaded England during the fifth century. These were
the Jutes, Saxons, and Angles. They came from different parts of the Danish peninsula, the Jutes
occupying the northern half of Denmark, the Angles, south of them, and the Saxons south and
west of the Angles. It was inevitable that a fusion of the Teutonic dialects spoken by these
different tribes on one hand and the Celtic language on the other should result. The language
that evolved from this slow process is known as Old English , a language which is equally foreign
to the Filipinos, American, and Englishmen of today.
Thus, it will be noted that the major stages in the history of English literature are closely
identified with the main periods in the evolution of the language spoken by the English people.
There are three such periods: Old English (450-1150), Middle English (1150-1500), and Modern
English (1500 to the present). It is obvious that the English literature was in its third stage when
American literature and our own literature in English began to develop.

II. Early Periods in English Literature

1. Anglo- Saxons/Old English Literature (450-1066)

The Old English language or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest form of English. The period is a long one
and it is generally considered that Old English was spoken from about A.D. 600 to about 1100.
Many of the poems of the period are pagan, in particular Widsith and Beowulf. The greatest
English poem, Beowulf is the oldest surviving Germanic epic and longest Old English poem in
English literature. The author of Beowulf is anonymous.

Poetry
Anglo-Saxon Poetry (or Old English Poetry) encompasses verse written during the 600-year
Anglo-Saxon period of British history, from the mid-fifth century to the Norman Conquest of
1066. Almost all of the literature of this period was orally transmitted, and almost all poems
were intended for oral performance. As a result of this, Anglo-Saxon poetry tends to be highly
rhythmical, much like other forms of verse that emerged from oral traditions. Instead, Anglo-
Saxon poetry creates rhythm through a unique system of alliteration.

What Are the Main Old English Poetry Characteristics?

The major characteristic of all Old English poetry is the celebration of the warrior, the
adventurer and the conqueror. This content makes up the vast majority of subject matter in
most Old English poetry.
Linguistically, there are several characteristics that are definitive of the form. The first is
alliteration. In the same way that much contemporary poetry relies on rhyme and meter to
establish itself, Old English poetry relied heavily on the phenomenon of literary alliteration.
Alliteration is defined as the repetition of a key consonant at the beginning of a word, such as
"rare, red-skinned rabbits." This alliteration is key to understanding the poem's structure.

Use of Sound Devices

The Anglo-Saxon oral tradition is evident in Beowulf. Like other oral art, it was handed down,
with changes and embellishments, from one story teller to another. To aide the retelling of the
story, several poetic devices are incorporated into this epic poem.
a. Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words close to one another in
lines of poetry. Instead of rhyme unifying a poem, the Anglo-Saxon poet used alliteration to
connect the narrative structure of the epic.
Examples:
“ . . . A powerful monster, living down
In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient
As day after day the music rang
Loud in the hall . . .”
 “So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall

b. Caesura
Often the verse line is divided into two halves separated by a rhythmical pause, or caesura.
In one half, two words would commonly alliterate; in the other half, one word alliterates
with the two from the other half.

Example:
“Then, when darkness had dropped, Grendel
Went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors (caesura
after Herot)
Would do in that hall when their drinking was done.”

2. Anglo-French/ Medieval English Literature (c. 350 – c. 1475)

The Anglo French/ Medieval English Period runs from the end of Late Antiquity in the fourth
century to the English Renaissance of the late fifteenth century.
The early portion of the Medieval period in England is dominated by Anglo-Saxons, whose
language is incomprehensible to today's speakers of English. That early portion is known as
the Old English period. (It is covered in a separate section of this website.) The Old English
period came to an end with the Norman Invasion of 1066. Normans spoke a dialect of
French later called Anglo-Norman.
Alongside Anglo-Norman, Old English developed into Middle English. Middle English is a
distinct variety of English, influenced in large part by Anglo-Norman French. For example,
Old English speakers did not distinguish between /f/ and /v/. Just like speakers of Modern
German, OE speakers would use both sounds ([f] and [v]) for the letter <f>. "Aefre" was
pronounced [ever]. But French speakers do distinguish these two sounds. (Vouz means
"you" and fou means "crazy.") After the Conquest, English people had to distinguish
between, for example, veal and feel. So, new sounds, new words, new syntax—all
contribute to a significant change in the English language. And to a new literature.
Anglo-Norman literature, also called Norman-french Literature, or Anglo-French Literature,
body of writings in the Old French language as used in medieval England. Though this
dialect had been introduced to English court circles in Edward the Confessor’s time, its
history really began with the Norman Conquest in 1066, when it became the vernacular of
the court, the law, the church, schools, universities, parliament, and later of municipalities
and of trade. For the English aristocracy, Anglo-Norman became an acquired tongue and its
use a test of gentility. It was introduced into Wales and Ireland and used to a limited extent
in Scotland. The earliest extant literary texts in the Anglo-Norman dialect belonged to the
reign of Henry I in the early 12th century, the latest to that of Henry IV in the early 15th
century. The alienation toward France during the Hundred Years’ War started an increasing
use of English, the last strongholds of a French dialect being Parliament and the law, in both
of which it still survives in a few formulas. Thus, the Invasion put French-speaking people at
the highest levels of society. Families that ruled England also ruled and held land in France.
William the Conquerer was also Duke of Normandy, and the English King continued to hold
that office and its lands until the thirteenth century. Only a handful of Anglo-Saxon families
remained in any postions of power. In England, French was the language of education and
literature. It was not an obvious choice for Chaucer to write his Canterbury Tales in English.
Consequently, the High Middle Ages in England were characterized culturally by their close
relation to French and Italian arts. This will change in the late thirteenth century as England
and France come to loggerheads.
From the 12th through the 14th century, Anglo-Norman was second only to Latin in its use
as a literary language in England. Most types of literary works were represented in Anglo-
Norman as in French, with a slight difference of emphasis. The chanson de geste was an
exception; this type of French epic poem was not unknown in England, but there seem to
have been no original works of the kind written there. Conversely, Anglo-Norman works
were known, copied, or imitated on the Continent. One important difference between
continental and Anglo-Norman literature is that the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 led to
an outpouring of doctrinal and devotional works for the laity in England not paralleled in
France, which perhaps explains the fact that in the early periods England was often in
advance of the Continent in the development of new literary forms. Historical writing was
popular both in Normandy and in the rest of the Continent; and although, after the Norman
Conquest, Latin replaced English for use in documents and chronicles, examples of both are
found in Anglo-Norman. Religious houses caused lives of native saints to be written, and the
nobility had a taste for romances about imaginaallegoriesry English ancestors. Thus social
and political differences between the two countries prevented Anglo-Norman literature
from being a mere provincial imitation of French.

Religious and Didactic Writings

In the 12th century the oldest substantial Anglo-Norman prose work, “The Book of Kings,”
was written in England, as were many versions of the Psalter. Sanson de Nanteuil translated
into verse the proverbs of Solomon, with commentary; and in the 13th century Robert of
Greatham wrote the “Sunday Gospels” for a noble lady. The same century saw the
beginning of the magnificent series of Anglo-Norman apocalypses, best known for their
superb illustrations, which served as a model for a series of tapestries at Angers, France.
Anglo-Norman was rich in literature of legends of saints, of which Benedeit’s “Voyage of St.
Brendan” was perhaps the oldest purely narrative French poem in the octosyllabic couplet.
Wace led the way in writing a saint’s life in standard form but was followed by Anglo-
Norman writers in the 12th century who wrote numerous biographies, many connecting
religious houses with their patron saints.
The earliest play entirely in French, the Mystère d’Adam, is Anglo-Norman. The resurrection
play La Seinte Resureccion was probably 12th century but was rewritten more than once in
the 13th century. There were a few religious allegories, the most important, the “Castle of
Love,” being the oldest in French.
The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 led to the compilation of instructive works, the oldest
and most attractive being the Merure de seinte église (“Mirror of Holy Church”) by St.
Edmund of Abingdon. In the 13th–14th century countless treatises appeared on technical
subjects—manuals for confession, agriculture, law, medicine, grammar, and science,
together with works dealing with manners, hunting, hawking, and chess. Spelling treatises
produced in the late 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries are valuable for the light they shed on
continental French as well as Anglo-Norman.

Romances
Anglo-Norman literature was well provided with geoffrey romances. In the 12th century one
Thomas wrote a courtly version of the Tristan story, which survived in scattered fragments
and was used by Gottfried von Strassburg in Tristan und Isolde as well as being the source of
the Old Norse, Italian, and Middle English versions of the story. Béroul’s Tristan, also 12th
century, was probably written in England, but by a Norman; Waldef, a long, confused story
of an imaginary king of East Anglia and his sons, has passages of remarkable originality. In
the 12th century some romances were composed in the form of the chanson de geste; for
example, Horn, by Master Thomas, which is connected with the Middle English Horn Childe
and Maiden Rimnild. Yet another Thomas wrote the Roman de toute chevalerie (“Romance
of All Chivalry”), an independent version of the Alexander romance and the source of the
Middle English romance King Alisaunder. In the 13th century the more courtly type of
romance reappeared in Amadas et Idoine and in Amis et Amiloun.

Lais and Fabliaux

Marie de France, the earliest named French woman poet, wrote fables based on an English
source and 12 narrative lays (dedicated, probably, to Henry II of England) in octosyllabic
rhymed couplets. She claimed that they had Breton lays as their originals. The lais combined
realistic and fairy-tale elements, and their author was skillful in the analysis of love
problems and often showed a keen interest in contemporary life. A few other fabliaux have
been found copied in manuscripts from religious houses, probably for exemplary purposes.

Political and Historical Writings

Fragments of political songs are found in Peter Langtoft’s Chronicle, which begins as a Brut
—a complete chronicle of British history—but became a source for the times of Edward I.
The Dominican Nicholas Trevet wrote a prose chronicle of European history from which
Chaucer derived his “Man of Law’s Tale.” Earlier than these was an Anglo-Norman verse,
Estoire des Engleis, by Geffrei Gaimar (c. 1140), which is the earliest chronicle in French.
Two magnificent biographies of the 1st Earl of Pembroke (William Marshal) and of Edward,
the Black Prince, were written for English patrons by foreigners. Official documents were
often in Anglo-Norman, and the Yearbooks, unofficial reports of cases in the common pleas,
ran from the allegoryreign of Edward I to that of Henry VIII. English began to be used in
Parliament alongside French in the late 14th century.
Natural history and science. One of the earliest writers in Anglo-Norman, Philippe de Thaon,
or Thaün, wrote Li Cumpoz (The Computus), the first French bestiary, and a work on
precious stones. Simund de Freine based his Roman de philosophie on Boethius, to whom
the 13th-century Petite Philosophie also owes much.

Dominica Legge
The Rou was commissioned by Henry II of England, who sometime before 1169 secured for
Wace a canonry at Bayeux in northwestern France. The Brut may have been dedicated to
Henry’s queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Written in octosyllabic verse, it is a romanticized
paraphrase of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae, tracing the history of
Britain from its founding by the legendary Brutus the Trojan. Its many fanciful additions
(including the story of King Arthur’s Round Table) helped increase the popularity of the
Arthurian legends. The Rou, written in octosyllabic couplets and monorhyme stanzas of
alexandrines, is a history of the Norman dukes from the time of Rollo the Viking (after 911)
to that of Robert II Curthose (1106). In 1174, however, Henry II transferred his patronage to
one Beneeit, who was writing a rival version, and Wace’s work remained unfinished.