History of English literature (1)

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History of English literature
Periods:

Anglo- saxon or early literature (499 - 1066)

Second or Norman or late Medieval period (1066 - 13/14 century )

Renaissance or Modern period (13-14 century – present )
Anglo-Saxon period

All of the literature had its roots in folklore
Texts were orally transmitted, the anglosaxons had no written language
Two types of singers: 1) scop (attached to the royal court, wrote poetry and songs , performed them ); 2) gleeman (travelled, mostly sang other peoples ’ songs, not their own songs; performers of scop songs)
The oldest known song – Widsith (The Far Traveller/Wonderer); tells of a gleeman who travels in Europe , of his love of noble deeds, speaks of the shortness of life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widsith
The other known song – Deor’s Lament. Can be called the first English lyrics , about 40 lines. Talks about a scop who is not happy with his life.
A-S poetry was fatalistic in its nature (fate controls you, not you it)
The greatest known A-S song, the epic Beowulf . The oldest epic poem in Europe. Composed at the end of the 7th century, the only manuscript that has survived is from the 10th century. Contains references to real people and real events. Scene of the poem: Denmark, southern Sweden (the A-S tribes came from these places ). The poem records the history of the A-S tribes and the Jutes, before they invaded the British Isles. It is written in Old English, the language is lofty (very poetic, formal ), it has many supernatural elements and is filled with heroic warriors and their deeds. The hero of the story – Beowulf – is almost an ideal A-S warrior, the champion of freedom and justice, courageous, has supernatural strength, is loyal to his king and has a very strong sense of duty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf
A-S were converted to Christianity. A lot of religious poems and hymns. Caedmonian.
Cynewulf – represents the essence of Christianity perfectly. The idea of the cycle of the Sun and the Moon , the movement of the waves, nature.
The subject matter of A-S poetry is actually centered on the three things that were most important in A-S lives : war, the sea that surrounded the British Isles and death .
Main qualities : somberness, awareness of inevitable death.

Formal features of A-S poetry:

No rhyme , instead they used alliteration; A-S poetry is alliterative. (Alliteration – the repetition of the same consonants in a line);

Every line contains a caesura – a pause in the middle of a line;

In every half -line there are two stressed syllables, so all in all, 4 in a line;

The number of unstressed syllables is not fixed ;

There is no rhyme;

There are very few similes (a direct comparison , i.e your hair is like gold ), in Beowulf there are 5 similes;

On the other hand there are many metaphors, typically A-S metaphors – kennings (a special type of metaphor comprised of two words , i.e swan- road – the sea; the bone-house – the body ; sword - game – war; Beowulf – bee + wolf = bear)

Parallelism – the repetition of the same ideas , sometimes in slightly different form.
A-S prose :

Venerable Bede – lived in the 7th century, a well-educated man, a theologician who knew all the religious texts. Wrote only in Latin . Most well-known work – Ecclesiastical history (religious history). The history of England from Caesar’s invasion until 731.
Aelfric – a monk who lived in the 11th century.
Alfred , King of Wessex (at one point there were 7 kingdoms – Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia , East Anglia, Kent). Wrote in his native A-S dialect, his greatest work is called „The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle“. History of England, even more detailed than Bede’s.

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Lühiülevaade inglise kirjanduse ajaloost

english literature ülevaade konspekt inglise kirjandus ajalugu history overview

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Old English Literature

Revision questions for the test on Old English and Medieval Literature. 1.) How is literature analysed and studied? What is the difference between the diachronic and synchronic view? Literature is studied and analysed by reading the piece of work profoundly and work on all the aspects of the piece. Diachronic is development in history Synchronic is particular state at any given moment 2.) Give a general overview of Celtic Britain, Roman invasion in 55-54 BC, Anglo-Saxon invasion and the second Roman "invasion" of Great Britain, who were the leaders, what influence did they leave on the culture of Great Britain? Celtic Britain was during the Bronze Age, there were many small tribal kingdoms fighting one another. Many megalithic monuments were built around that time, e.g. Stonehenge, the Avebury ring.

Inglise kirjandus

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English literature of the 14th, 15th century

Literature of the 14th century The highpoint of medieval literature, the best writer of late medieval lived then. William Langland 1332-1376 the last important poet of alliterative verse. His masterpiece "The Vision of Piers Ploughman" how important working hard is, the labour of peasants is the base of the welfare of the people. A passionate protest against social injustice. A time when peasants were slowly rising against their feudal lords. Descriptions of different social classes. Religious mysticism

Inglise kirjanduse ajalugu

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English literature

He shows a very rich and leisurely portrayal of this Baltic world, providing many customs like the close relationship between lord and man in the war-band and others. All this encouraged the supposition that the unknown author of the poem was himself a bard of the ancient type portrayed within the poem (a lord's scoop). However, many people propose that the author could be Christian poet, perhaps a monk, versed not only in old native traditions, but also in the culture and literature of the Latin Church, and whose purpose of writing was highly moral. For example, the fate is a `providentia' and the monster Grendel is an embodiment of evil fighting against Christian militant. This contrast corresponds to the poem itself. The poet is looking back from his own Christian times to an old society with different customs and beliefs. The poem is set, as it is announced in the very first line: `in days gone by'

Inglise keel

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English literature summary

English literature is one of the oldest literatures in Europe; dates back to the 6th century AD. Oral literature, i.e. not written down, spread from person to person. In 449 AD Anglo-‐Saxon tribes invaded England – beginning of the Anglo-‐Saxon period in English literature. The first form of literature was folklore, carried by scops and gleemen, who

Inglise keel

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English literature

ENGLISH LITERATURE Ancient Britain Lived on the British Isles in the 1st millenium. They most probably came from Eastern Europe and belonged to the Celtic race and also spoke Celtic. They were primitive hunters- gatherers, farmers. Some Celtic words are still used in modern English, however they are used mostly in place names. For example: · avon river · cumb valley · ford shallow place in the river Ancient Britons had their own religion and priests or druids and temples. In the year 55 BC Britain became a Roman province. Romans were highly developed and had their own language latin, which has also greatly influenced English. The military occupation of the Isles ended in 410 AD

Inglise keel

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Literary analyses of Beowulf

contrary. Beowulf is described as a wise, hardy, noble hero who is fighting universal evil, whereas Grendel is a hideous, horrific, grim, fierce and merciless fiend who possesses no good qualities. With the description of Grendel the author actually describes Beowulf as well as he is always the absolute contrary to Grendel. We know that this is an Anglo-Saxon text because it has all the characteristic features of Anglo-Saxon literature. For example the metrical system is alliteration and it is used in abundance e.g. "Many at morning, as men have told me", "Folk-leaders faring from far and near", "By that bloody battle the boon had come" etc. Another characteristic is that there is no rhyme, but rhythm. This was very important in the Anglo-Saxon period as in the contemporary time the epic was performed by court singers. "Beowulf" was written with four beats to each line. The

Inglise kirjandus

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Normannid (inglise kirjandus)

Land. 11.How would you describe Medieval or Chivalric Romances? Chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight-errant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. 12.What is courtly love? It was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various services for ladies because of their "courtly love". 13.What is a fableaux? A medieval verse tale characterized by comic, ribald treatment of themes drawn from life. 14.William Langland ,,The Visions of Piers Ploughman" 15.Find some information about Geoffrey Chaucer - his life and times. Chaucer was the first great poet writer in English, whose best-known work is 'The Canterbury Tales'

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English literatutre - Authors, history

THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD English literature came when the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes and the Frisians invaded Britain. During this time English was called Anglo- Saxon or Old English. In the chronicles of Roman history (composed in Latin) is said that Britain makes its first appearance in written language when Romans invade the England. BEOWULF most important poem, surviving in a 10th-cent manuscript. The historical period of the poem's events can be dated in the 6th to 8th century. Much of the material of the poem is legendary and paralleled in other Germanic historical-mythological literature in Norse, Old English, and German.

British literature

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