英国文学史Chapter 2.ppt

Anglo-Saxon literature Shi Qingquan Department of Foreign Languages Dezhou University The Anglo-Saxon literature Two divisions: Pagan (heathen) and Christian The pagan lit refers to the songs, legends which the As brought from their original home. they believe in sagas, legends .e.g. Beowulf, Deor’s Lament, the Wanderer, the Seafarer, Widsith , the Ruin The Christian lit refers to poems or prose writing developed after the conversion, under the teaching of the monks; they mainly deal with religious subjects, stories based on the Bible e.g. the earliest one: Caedmonian poems“凯德蒙的诗篇” Genesis, Exodus , Daniel Other famous ones: Andreas The fates of the Apostles, Elene The Dream of the Rood Christ and Satan Anglo-Saxon literature ”Beowulf” Beowulf , written in Old English sometime before the tenth century A.D., describes the adventures of a great Scandinavian warrior of the sixth century. A rich fabric of fact and fancy, Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic（史诗） in British literature The Song of Beowulf The national epic of the AS people, which contains 3182 lines. It was in the oral form in the 6th century by “scops” (poet-singer who sang poetic tales of their own making) and “gleemen”( retellers of epics already in circulation) and was written down in the 7th or 8th century, but the manuscript was found in the 10th century. Beowulf The use of alliteration, compound words , understatement, metaphor It is trhe national epic of Anglo-Saxons It is passed down orally from generation to generation until the 10 th century when it was written down in old English. It is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo Saxon people. It is written in Old English, part-historical, part-legendary. It is a long narrative poem on the theme of arms and man, mixing with pagan elements and Christian coloring. Artistic feature in Beowulf 1. the use of alliteration, words beginning with the same consonants alliterate with each other within each line, or a word beginning with a vow