Anglo-Saxon Literature: An Introduction

1
Anglo-Saxon Literature An Introduction
2
Literature

• Characteristics
• Few pieces of literature however, it covers a
  larger period of time than any other literary
  period
• Originated to celebrate heroism
• Oral literature (due to widespread illiteracy)
  therefore, it has to be told from person to
  person
• Doesnt rhyme, but has a strong rhythm suitable
  for chanting.
• Recited by the scops/bards (wandering poets) who
  sang of gods and heroes
• Status of scops was equal to that of warriors
  because they preserved fame

3
Literature

• Content
• Strong belief in fate
• Juxtaposition of church and pagan worlds
• Admiration of heroic warriors who prevail in
  battle
• Express religious faith and give moral
  instruction through literature
• Communal hall represents shelter and
  entertainment
• Full of battles boastings, pride in glory and
  blood-thirstiness
• Measures time by nights, moons and winters
• Spiritedness is achieved by respect for bravery
  and loyalty

4
Common Themes of Poetry

• Terror of northern winters
• Awareness of transitory nature of life
• References to fear of the sea because of its
  immensity, cruelty and mystery

5
Literary Devices Alliteration

• Repetition of initial consonant sound
• Used to bind the two halves of a line
• One or more accented syllable in the first half
  of a line is always alliterated with one or more
  accented syllable in the second half.
• Gives poetry a chant-like effect
• Ex) tears torn out of Grendels taut throat

6
Literary Devices Homily

• Literally "sermon", or any serious talk, speech,
  or lecture providing moral or spiritual advice.
• A passage in a work that gives stern solemn
  advice on how to live and is mostly concerned
  with morals and conduct.

7
Literary Devices Caesura

• Every nice ear, must, I believe, have observed
  that in any smooth English verse of ten
  syllables, there is naturally a pause either at
  the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable.
  Alexander Pope

8
Literary Devices Caesura

• A natural pause or break dividing a FOOT between
  two words, usually near the middle of a line with
  two major stressed syllables in each part
• A FOOT is a unit of rhythm in verse
• Found in typical Anglo-Saxon verse
• Literally a cutting
• Old English, cennan to declare
• Old Norse, kenna to know or name

9
Literary Devices Caesura

• Examples
• A prince of Geats had killed Grendel

10
Literary Devices Caesura

• How do I identify the stressed vs. the unstressed
  syllables?
• stress/accent a greater amount of force (breath
  or emphasis) given to one syllable in speaking
  than is given to another.
• Slightly louder, higher in pitch, or longer in
  duration than other syllables

11
Which syllable is stressed?

• Eagle
• Cigar
• Mystique
• Impact
• Open
• Precise
• Statue
• Until

12
Words typically without a stress

• A
• An
• The
• At
• By
• For
• From
• Of
• To
• With

13
Identify the Stressed Syllables

• By John Donne
• Batter my heart, three-personed God, for You
• As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to
  mend
• That I may rise and stand, oerthrow me, and bend
• You force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

14
Identify the Caesura

• By William Blake
• And priests in black gowns were walking their
  rounds
• And binding with briars my joys and desires.

15
Literary Devices Appositive

• An appositive is a noun or pronoun often with
  modifiers set beside another noun or pronoun to
  explain or identify it.
• An appositive phrase usually follows the word it
  explains or identifies, but it may also precede
  it.

16
Literary Devices Epithet

• A word which makes the reader see the object
  described in a clearer or sharper light. It is
  both exact and imaginative.
• A word of phrase preceding or following a name
  which serves to describe the character.
• A short, poetic nickname--often in the form of an
  adjective or adjectival phrase--attached to the
  normal name.
• The Homeric epithet in classical literature often
  includes compounds of two words such as,
  "fleet-footed Achilles," "Cow-eyed Hera,"
  "Grey-eyed Athena," or "the wine-dark sea." In
  other cases, it appears as a phrase, such as
  "Odysseus the man-of-many-wiles.
• The historical epithet is a descriptive phrase
  attached to a ruler's name. For instance, King
  Alfred the Great, Duke Lorenzo the Magnificent,
  Robert the Devil, Richard the Lionheart, and so
  on.
• The generally descriptive epithet would appear in
  Old Norse and Germanic cultures to help
  distinguish individuals, thus giving us (in
  Njal's Saga) colorful names such as Hallbjorn
  Half-Troll, Ulf the Squinter, Hjorleif the
  Womanizer, and Ketil Flat-Nose.

17
Literary Devices Kenning

• Kenning
• A figurative, metaphorical expression/phrase or
  compound word that takes the place of a common
  noun
• A long-winded, forceful metaphor made up of
  strung-together adjectives and nouns that stand
  for a thing without naming it (often using
  alliteration)
• Vivid and picturesque
• Connects words to complex concepts and rich
  emotion
• Examples . . .

18
Whale-road
19
sea
20
Candle of the sky
21
sun
22
More Examples of Kennings
twilight-spoiler
battle-sweat
slaughter-dew
brow-stars
ring-giver
light of battle
Vikings moon
sun-table








dragon
blood
blood
eyes
prince
sword
shield
sky
23
Examples of Kennings from Beowulf

• Ship
• the bent-necked wood
• the ringed prow
• the foamy-necked
• the sea-wood
• the sea-farer
• Dragon
• twilight spoiler
• Queen
• The peace-bringer among nations
• Sword
• leavings of the file
• Battle
• storm of swords

24
A look at complex kennings

• Construct complicated kenning strings by means of
  consecutive substitution.
• For example,
• slaughter dew worm dance battle

25
Compound Kennings
26
then a ship became a horse of the whale-road
27
Try this Complex Kenning
28
Did you get it?

• provider to the swans of the mead of battle
• provider to ravens is a warrior
• swans of blood are ravens
• mead of battle" is blood
• provider to RAVENS
• swans of BLOOD
• mead of battle
• provider to the swans of the mead of battle
• is a WARRIOR

29
Modern Kennings

• bone-house
• fire-water
• information super-highway
• gasoline gulper
• darkness destroyer
• sleep stopper
• word-eater
• sun smudge
• spinning water-spitter