The development of poetry
The Anglo-Saxons
Their literature was told in hall of kings, they were epics and they celebrated cultural values (in ceremonies)
Poet: The Scop: anonymous and oral, accompanied by a harp.
Anglo-Saxons' literature
Their poetry was written in the 12th century by churh clerks, it is divided in 2 parts
epic
elegiac
Main features
Stress: each line can be divided in 2 parts, each has two main stresses
Alliteration: repetition of the same initial consonant, it was used to link the two parts of the line
Kenning: phrase used in place of nouns
The medieval lyric (Middle Ages)
It expressed personal emotions, religious first and then secular (love and nature)
Metrical romances: they talked about chivalry (cavalleria), love and supernatural creatures, it came from France, Britain and Rome.
The medieval ballads: (simple language) composed between the 13th and 14th century, they were anonymous, intended for singing and dancing, it present supernatural creatures like fairies
The epic poem
A long narrative poetical composition, in it, the society was aristocratic and military, the heroes were the main characters, the narrative was based on battles, voyages and funerals. The main theme was hero's life in the society.
Brave acts of heroes and supernatural creatures.
The style is elevated with vivid vocabulary, each line is divided by a break and it has 4 stresses, the alliteration links the 2 parts of each line
The pagan elegy
Lyrical poem in form of dramatic monologue, the main theme is the exile/wracca which haunts (ossessiona) the Anglo-Saxons immagination
A fear of the dissolution of the clan due to attacks or internal conficts, the main character is the lone wanderer that shares a moving view of the human condition
It has a melancholic mood and a frequent use of the alliteration
They had no moral aim, it told a dramatic story in series of flashes, and it had a mixture of dialogue and narration. It uses a rhyming ABCB and a refrain, a repeated line or groups of lines
Type of ballads
Ballads of magic: fairies, ghosts, witchcraft and trasformations
Border ballads: rivarly between English vs Scottish
Ballads of love and domestic tragedy: murders and jealousy
Ballads of outlaws: (Robin Hood)
Beowulf
It is the oldest surviving epic poem, named by the Scandinavian hero of the 19th century
Written in Old English, it is divided in three parts linked by the presence of the same hero
The hero and the story are a fiction, it was written for a king who died in the 7th centyry and it had many retelling before it was written down in the 11th century
The first action took place in Denmark, ruled by King Hrothgar, Heorot Beowulf mortally wounded a monster that terrorized the king for 12 years, later he dives in a mistic lake and had to fight the monster's mother
The last action took place in Sweden where and elderly Beowulf fights a dragon terrorizing his own land.