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20th century English literature history
Anglo saxon heroic poetry
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Recommended: 20th century English literature history
Anglo Saxon Scops
The written word has existed for thousands of years, with the style and subject matter of literature changing to fit the times. English literature is no different, with three distinct periods of writing (Old English, Middle English and modern English). As the earliest period of documented literature, the Old English period is marked by the primitive styles and language of the Anglo Saxon people. Though they were sea-faring warriors, the Anglo Saxons were capable of strong emotions, best captured in poetry. However, these works were not written down. Rather, they were recited or sung. Some men even devoted their lives to this purpose. These skilled minstrels were known as scops.
The scop was an Anglo-Saxon poet who was commissioned by the early Germanic kings or soldiers to entertain them by reciting the poetry to the accompaniment of a harp or a similarly stringed instrument. From the Old English word “scieppan”, scop means to create, form or shape. The scop was also referred to as a gleeman, from the Old English word “gleoman”, who was a musician or performer. Though the scop was a performer, like the gleeman, the work of the scop was more artistic, as the name denotes. Unlike the gleeman, scops also wrote and performed their own poetry. Also, they had to be able to insert fitting verse where necessary, depending upon the occasion or celebration .
Scops were known to travel from village to village; however, many had permanent posts in the king’s court or mead halls. Usually, they performed for great feasts, celebrations, or the homecoming of soldiers from war. Their performances were usually short, but there were usually many lines of verse. Beowulf itself is over 3000 lines long. Any given song could deal with events from the present, such as battles won or recent adventures had. In Beowulf, the scop announced Beowulf’s triumph over Grendel the morning after the deed. Some songs might deal with figures from the past like the ancestors of the Anglo Saxons. Other subjects reflected in the poetry include the sea, brave deeds, glory of warriors, and the love of home. Scops were also commissioned to write elegies or songs for the dead. It was considered an honor to have a scop sing one's praise or mourn one’s death. But, regardless of the subject matter, the theme was lofty and its tone was earnest.
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem.
Because these performers were known by so many different names, it is important to distinguish the one from the other. William Quinn and Audley Hall tell us that "Jongleur is the term now commonly used to designate the professional reciter of extended narrative poetry..." . The term minstrel is many times used interchangeably with jongleur, as it will be in this paper; however, minstrel or ménestrel carries with it multiple connotations that jongleur does not. Jongleur is specific to the Middle Ages; whereas minstrel is also used to describe musicians specifically, in addition to the black-faced performers of Vaudeville. Bard, scôp, and gleeman are of Celtic, Scandinavian, and Anglo-Saxon derivation, respectively.
One of the earliest Medieval Literature work and the most popularly praised epic poems, Beowulf is considered as the most prominent epic poem in the history of British Literature. Beowulf is said to be a part of a “genre of Old English long epics, but it must have been a remarkable and difficult work even in its own day”, (Greenblatt, pp.37). The poet was resurrecting the epic language of ancient Germanic oral poetry, which makes it a rare form of poetry in writing since most of Germanic poetry was spoken and not written. Beowulf is remarkable in this nature for it is a poem that gives modern readers an insight on how German Heroic Poetry was performed in those times. Nonetheless, Beowulf is considered a Heroic Poem, a story about a mortal
Although the author is unknown (anonymous author), a reader can infer the type of individual he was. The author’s poem was written to be simple and precise, which made it easy for his readers to grasp the essence of human qualities within Beowulf. Another key element or aspect of Beowulf was that it was written to be verbally told (oral tradition). In written form, it followed traditional Anglo Saxon poetry, which contains four stress lines. Furthermore, the exact date of the writing of Beowulf is also unknown.
The epic poem, Beowulf, a work of fiction, offers more insight into Ancient Anglo-Saxon English culture than the work of Bede, who wrote, A History of the English Church and People. The epic poem Beowulf gives an enhanced illustration and clearer understanding of the culture of the Ancient Anglo-Saxon’s. The epic poem gives the audience a picture of what the Ancient Anglo-Saxon English valued; seafaring, warriors, heroes, and paganism.
?Modern Turkish National identity has been shaped by events that have taken place in the region throughout its history. The formation of the national identity can be attributed to two dichotomies of political thought and culture. Some people want to keep in line with Turkey?s modern history as a secular westernized country looking to join the European Union; while others hearken back to the days of the Ottoman Empire and wish to make Turkey a divided Islamic state. Conflict between those who consider themselves Turks and the Kurdish separatist party, a militant rebel force, has long shaped the changing Turkish national Identity. Today, Turkey in many ways has had ?to depart from a strict observance of the guiding principals of [Turkey?s modern history] and the kind of self-perception and views it aimed to instill in the population? (Kushner 232). Although the most westernized of all Middle-East countries, Turkey still must deal with Islamic fundamentalism prominent in the area. In recent history, Turkey has done a poor job balancing the differing desires of the members of its society: some would like to homogenize and westernize society while others want to be recognized as a deeply religious and individual sector of the Turkish population.
Beowulf, written between the 8th and 10th centuries, is an epic poem set in southern Sweden. The poem illustrates the Anglo-Saxon’s strong belief in the heroic code. The loyalty between the warrior and his king bound the culture together. The warrior was the ultimate hero who represented strength and courage. Beowulf, the hero in the poem, illustrates the Germanic principles of the heroic code. Through the battles and character interactions, Beowulf converges loyalty, strength, courage and forgiveness into the hero archetype.
Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.
Beowulf is an epic poem telling the story of Beowulf, a legendary Geatish hero who later becomes king in the aforementioned epic poem. While the story in and of itself is quite interesting, for the purpose of this paper it is important to look at the character more so then his deeds, or rather why he did what he did.
Writers throughout history have always influenced or have been influenced by the era that which they live in. Many famous authors arose during The Age of Discovery and The Romantic Period all of whom had very distinctive writing styles that held true to their era. To find the differences between the two eras, it is important to understand the era at which time the literature was wrote, the writing style, and the subject matter.
The Sutton Hoo discoveries have provided and continue to provide historic backing for various aspects of the Old English poem Beowulf: the customs, the accoutrements, the symbology, the wealth.
When she came to, Katherine’s body was racked with an insurmountable amount of pain. She felt like she’d topple over at the slightest gust of wind. The girl knew she’d have to call 911. She’d have to explain that her mother had attacked her, that she’d tried to gut her with a bread knife. Her movements were slow, jerky, and painful, and every breath, every step she took caused a wave of searing pain throughout her
The first aspect of language is vocabulary. Interestingly, Indonesian has some similar vocabulary like American, result...
Beowulf is the single greatest story of Old English literature and one of the greatest epics of all time. Ironically, no one can lay claim to being the author of this amazing example of literature. The creator of this poem was said to be alive around 600 A.D. and the story was, since then, been passed down orally from generation to generation. When the first English monks heard the story, they took it upon themselves to write it down and add a bit of their own thoughts. Thus, a great epic and the beginning to English literature was born.
Language is one of the most basic necessities for human interactions in a society. Ng and Bradac (1993) stated that, “some of the most remarkable human tools are the specific languages that particular groups of human have developed and adapted for use in their daily lives” (p.1). Without language, socialization between individuals in society would be highly difficult; which would possibly result in a lack of social solidarity that ties people together. From social and academic institutions (family and school), we were taught to use the most favorable language to survive in society. Brunei Darussalam centers on the Malay and English language. Depending on the surrounding and how Bruneians were raised, the use of language may differ for different individuals. In this essay, I’ll be talking about the language that my family and I have acquired. I will also talk about the existence of bilingualism in my family and the use of different languages during travelling.