Anglo-saxon lyrical poetry


Widsith:
     * It is preserved in the Exeter Book.
     * 'Widsith' means 'the far goer'.
     * It is a poem of 143 lines, divided into three parts-
              a) A Prologue- first 9 lines.   
              b) A speech by Widsith- Next 125 lines.
              c) En Epilogue- last- 9(nine) lines.
* It is the autobiography of an itinerant minstrel who recounts the story of his long travels through the Germanic World.
* During his tour he visited different tribal chiefs, lords, kings and princes and received rich presents. Some of them are well-known to History as- Eormenric, king of the Goths; Attila, king of the Huns; Albion-king of the Lombard, Theodrick, king of Franks and even the reference of Hrothgar and Hrothwulf.
* It is a valuable piece of social and historical documents of primitive life.
* To David Daiches- "What strikes us most forcibly is its catholicity; praise is meted out impartially to Huns, Goths, Burgandians,Franks, Danes, Sweedes, Anglos, Wends, Saxons and many others".
* To S.Brook- "Widsith is our Ulysses".      
           

The Wonderer:-
* It is an elegy of 115 lines by an unknown Anglo-Saxon Poet.
* It is the lamentation of a young-man for his dead master. The Wonderer travels in a ship, alone and friendless, seeking a home for peace and protection under a new lord .In the sleep he dreams the happiness of his former days but after awakening he finds nothing but grey waves and falling snow which adds to his distress. Finally he draws the conclusion that miseries are the common lot of man.
* The poem ends with a conventional Christian sentiment that good is the man who never loses his faith on God.
* The poem is purely personal but attains the universality by virtue of its presentation.

The Seafarer:- 
* It is a poem of some hundred lines.
* It is difficult to surmise wheather the poem is a monologue of a seaman or a dialogue between two sailors-one old and another young.
* It seems to be in two distinct parts.
 The first shows the hardship of ocean life; but the subtle call of the sea is more alluring.
 The second part allegorically represents that the troubles of the seaman are the troubles of earthly life and the call of the ocean is the call in the soul to go to its true home with God.
* The poem is remarkable for (as Legouis puts) - "The somber and violent pictures it gives of northern seas in which sufferings from cold mingles with the pains of water and wind".                       
The Ruined Burg or the Ruin:-

 * It is an elegy not for the misfortune of a person but for a place.
 * The unknown poet laments for the vanished glory of a great city, probably the Roman built city Bath, which was turned into debris by the Anglo-Saxon aggression, Conquest and settlement.
 * The poem can be divided in three parts-
      a) First the poet describes the ancient gorgeous buildings now deserted and rootless and tottering.
      b) Next he goes to muse on its golden past and its adorned and crowded noble princess and warriors.

      c) Finally he contrasts the runions present with the pompous past.
 * The poem is remarkable for its nostalgic melancholy and for its descriptive nature.
    Deor’s Lament:
* It is a poem of 42 lines, divided into stanzas and it is included in the Exeter Book.
* It is the lamentation of Deor, a scop who after years of service has been supplanted by another minstrel, Herrenda. Finally he consoles himself by considering the misfortune of others.
* It is written in strophic form throughout and each strophe ends with a refrain.
* There are altogether seven sections in the poem.
* In the first five sections, the mentions the adversities that befall others but ends with a note of consolation in the sixth section he speaks of the misfortune of mankind in general. And in the seventh section the poet mentions his own misfortune. In this way the poem is logically well-knit.
* It remains plainly heathenic in sentiment.

The Wife’s Complaint:
* It is a kind of monologue.
* The narrator is a woman whose husband has left her and gone to the sea. She is forced to live in an old dwelling dug out of earth under oak by her husband's relatives. She sitting under the tree laments over her miserable lot all day. Friendless and fore shaken she bewails her loneliness and the vows of love that have come to nothing.
* The poem is rich in melancholy feeling.

The Husband’s Message:
* It exists in fragments. A good many lines of this poem are lost for ever.
* An exiled husband sends his message to his wife by means of letters carved on a piece of wood. The wood tells the wife its own life story and its journey in a ship. It tells her that though the circumstances let her husband out of home he has been able to gain a position of wealth and dignity. Finally it bids her to join with her husband in the place of exile.
* To some critics the poem is a sequel to 'The Wife's Complaint but some would to see it as an independent poem.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PRE-SHAKESPEREAN DRAMA OR THE UNIVERSITY WITS:

Image
      The Pre-Shakespearean dramatists are known as the ‘ University Wits’ . They are so called as nearly all of them were closely associated with oxford and Cambridge University . As we know the condition of the drama that preceded them was precarious and chaotic; - “The classicists had form, but not fire; the popular dramatists had interest, but little sense of form”. They tried and were able to unite the classical conception of the drama and enthusiasm and favour of the popular dramatists. They were usually actors and dramatists. Their training began as actors. They revised old plays and finally became independent writers. They all were more or less acquainted with each other, and most of them led irregular Bohemian lives. Their plays had several features in common. Albert sums up- (a)            There was a fondness for heroic themes , such as the lives of great figures like Mohammed and Tamburlaine. (b)            Heroic themes needed heroic treatment: great
Read more

Banalata Sen an analysis

Banalata Sen was a recurrent theme in Jibanananda's creation with its richtapestry of imagery. Was there a Banalata Sen? There is no documentation thatthere was indeed someone by that name in his real life. Expressions suggestingthe end of time, and the use of words like "darkness remains" suggest end oflife themes, that were common in Jibanananda's works related to Banalata Sen,but nothing beyond this is hinted at in these works. Banalata Sen has found her stands with the best of the lady characters of the world. She has been ordained with the characters of the solitary reaper, Lucy, Maria, Phenomenal women and others. Immortal poets like Herman Goering and William Butler Yeats stands as the primal inspiration to the idea of this woman. She stands as a hope, a ray of light among the abyss of darkness, a speck of treasure of happiness in the pool of emptiness. She is the humanity personified; Banalata is the direction of love that resides in the romanticism
Read more

POST SHAKESPEREAN DRAMA OR THE JACOBEAN DRAMATISTS: THE JACOBEAN PERIOD (1603-1625):

Image
  * The death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 created a situation of utter confusion and turmoil in society which had momentous impact on English literature. James-I ascended the throne in 1603. * The early decades of the 17 th century may be called the age of transition. By this time the Renaissance exuberance and optimism are succeeded by a mood of disillusion . First , there were series of plots to assassinate Elizabeth. There was no heir to the throne. Apprehension of civil war and intervention of foreign powers gripped the mind of the people. The situation reached its crisis in the rebellion of Essex on February 1, 1601 and his execution. A feeling of uncertainty was sharpened with the accession of James I.   * Court standards were lowered. Uncertainty and fears increased with the constant threats to the power of James. The Jesuits plotted against James constantly. * Elizabeth was popular and tactful. She compromised in matters of religion. James was unpopular
Read more