What is English Literature? - Long Reference Notes, NEB Board, Question Paper

General English

OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE

The old English language was the earliest form of English. It is also called Anglo Saxon. Though it is difficult to say the exact date or rise and development of this language, it was spoken from A.D. 600 to about 1100.

- Beowulf is the greatest old English poem.

- Other poetical works of the period are Genesis A and Genesis B.

Genesis A - is dull taken from the Bible and put into old English verse.

Genesis B - is short and concerned with the beginning of the world and the fall of the angels. The poet describes God' s punishment to Satan and place of punishment for evil in hell.

Exodus, Daniel, Christ, Satan - are related with Christ's Life.

We do not know about the great English poet who wrote Beowulf. But we know two old English poets -

i) CAEDMON - was a poor uneducated countryman who would not sing. But with the angel's presence, he was able to sing.

ii) CYNEWULF - this poems are religious. They were probably written in the second half of the eighth century. He wrote - Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles, Christ and Elene.

Old English Lyrics - i) The Husband's Message

                                 ii) The Wanderer

                                iii) The Wife's Complaint

                                iv) Deor's Complaint - Deor is a singer who has lost his lord's favour. So he complains but he tries to comfort himself by remembering other sorrows of the world.

Old English Prose - came later than old English verse.

KING ALFRED - had great influence on Anglo - Saxon Chronicle. It is an interesting piece of work. It is about an early history of the country. He also translated a number of Latin books into  old English. He improved the education of his people.

ii) AELERIC - another prose writer of this period. He wrote Homilies and Lives of Saints. They were mostly religious. His prose style is the best in old English. He used: alliteration to join his sentences together.

Beowulf

The first greatest old English epic poem is Beowulf. It is a story about 3,000 lines. It belongs to the seventh century. The name of the author is unknown.

It is a story about a brave young man, Beowulf. Hrothgar is the king of Danes. He is in trouble when a terrible creature Grendel visits his great hall called Heorot. Beowulf goes to help him with his warriors from southern Sweden. Grendel lives in a lake. He comes  to kill and eat Hrothgar's men. One night Beowulf wains for the creature and attacks it. It's fiercely attacked. So it goes back to the lake anyhow and dies there.

But his mother comes to the hall to take revenge of her son. Beowulf bravely fights with her following her to the bottom of the lake and killed her too.

Later he becomes the king of his people. Again he has to defend his country against a fire- breathing creature. He fights bravely to the creature and kills the animal. But unfortunately, he is also wounded badly and dies there.

Thus, the poem ends with a sorrowful description of Beowulf's funeral fire.

Value of the poem - Though it is difficult to understand the language of the poem, it gives the interesting picture of life in those old days. It is the record of fierce fight and brave dead. It is the description of people's life in the hall, the terrible creatures and their fight. Their life was hard, difficult and full of struggle.

[ Each half line has two main beats. There is no rhyme. Each half line is joined to others by alliteration. ]

'Beowulf' is the oldest surviving epic of the Germanic people. Its story belongs to the 7th C. The poem contain more than 3000 lines but its author is unknown. Beowulf is a great warrior of the royal Swedish blood. With his fourteen friends, he goes to help king Hrothgar of the Danes. King Hrothgar's great hall heorot was ravaged by a monster named Grendel: Beowulf woulds Grendel to death in a single fight. Later, Grendel's mother comes to take revenge. She is more fearful than Grendel and lives in a lonely lake. Beowulf goes into the lake, fights her and kills her with a huge sword. After his return to his country, he is made the king of his people. He rules peacefully for fifty years, and in the end, he is wounded by a poisonous dragon and he dies.

' Beowulf ' is written in Old English which is very difficult to read nowadays, but it has its values. It gives us an interesting picture of the life in those old days. It describes their life in the hall, the terrible creatures they had to fight, and their ships and travels. It shows their hard life on land and sea.

OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE [ ANGLO - SAXON ] 

The old English language, also called Anglo - Saxon, was the earliest form of English. It was spoken from about 600 AD to 1100 AD.

The Greatest Old English poem is Beowulf which was written in the 7th C. It is a story about the heroic adventures of a hero, Beowulf in about 3000 lines. The story takes place in Denmark. Beowulf was a young warrior from southern Sweden who went to Denmark to help king Hrothgar's great hall Heorot, was troubled by a lake monster called Grendel. Beowulf fought with Grendel bare - handed and killed it. Grendel's mother came to take revenge, but Beowulf killed her in her home in a lake. Later's Beowulf became the king and ruled his country peacefully for fifty years. In the end, he died of wounds that he had received while fighting against a dragon.

Many of the Old English poem are related with religion and the Bible. ' Genesis A' and ' Genesis B' are related with the creation of the world and the fall of the angels. ' Exodus' and 'David' are related with the Bible stories. 'Christ' and Satan deals with events in Christ's life.

Caedmon and Cynewulf are the two important Old English poets. Caedmon was a poor, uneducated villager who was asked by a angle to sing the praise of God. Only a  part of his song remain. Cynewulf poems are religious and were  written in the 8th C. He wrote ' Juliana', ' The Fates of the Apostles', 'Christ', 'Elene'.

The oldest example of Old English prose are 'Laws', written at the beginning of the 7th C. Another example was an important prose writer of Old English. He brought learning to England, and educated the people. He also translated many Latin books into Old English. Another important prose writer was Aelfric, the writer of ' 'Honcilies' and 'Lives of Saints'. His works were mostly religious.

MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE
The period from 1100 -1500 is called Middle English. The langauge has changed a great deal since the time of Beowulf. The greatest poet of this period is Geoffrey Chaucer. He is the father of English poetry.


Middle English Poetry - By Chaucer

i) The Canterbury Tales - a greatest work of Chaucer, a collection of stories.
ii) Troylus and Cryseyde - about the love of the two young people.
iii) The Legend of Good Women.