I. Origin of the English Nations

Many centuries ago, the Celts were taken as the earliest natives, who were later also called the Britons. The actually knew nothing of a written language. Since the Celts had been related with the ancient people in what is now France when Britain used to be part of the European Continent a long time ago and before it was later washed off by sea water and became an island, they, perhaps, offered some help to resist Julius Caesar when he invaded France.

Since historical times, England had been conquered three times. It was conquered by the Romans, the Angle-Saxons, and the Normans.

1. The Roman Conquest

The Romans led by Julius Caesar, went across the English Channel in 55 B.C and invaded Britain. As soon as the Romans landed on the island, the Britons fought stubbornly under the leadership of their chieftains. With the Roman Conquest came the Roman mode of life. The Roman brought their Roman civilization. They brought to Britain a knowledge of iron; they introduced Roman law; they built streets, towns, temples, theatres and fine buildings. But all theses refinements of civilization were for the enjoyment of the Roman conquerors while native Britons were trodden down as slaves. The Roman occupation lasted for about 400 years. And in 410 A.D. (the beginning of the fifth century) when the Germanic races were attacking Rome, all the Roman troops were withdrawn. Thus ended the Roman occupation of Britain.

2. The Anglo-Saxon Conquest

When the Roman Empire declined and its troops left England, the tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded the island from Northern Europe around the fifth century. They drove the native Celts away from England into Wales, Scotland and even into Ireland across the sea. They divided the whole island among themselves and built some small kingdoms. By the 7^th century, these kingdoms were combined into a united kingdom called England. These three tribes had mixed into a whole people called English. They are known as the first Englishmen. The three dialects spoken by them naturally grew into a single language called the Old English, which is the foundation of English language and literature. With the Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, the history of English literature began.

II. Anglo- Saxon Literature

English literature began with the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England. Of old English literature, a few relics are still preserved. All of them are poems, or songs by the Anglo-Saxon scope or gleeman, who sang of the heroic deeds of old times to the chiefs and warriors in the feasting-hall.

Generally speaking, Anglo-Saxon literature is almost exclusively a verse literature in oral form. It could be passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. In the 8^th century, Anglo-Saxon prose appeared.

1. Anglo- Saxon Poetry

Anglo-Saxon poetry falls naturally into two divisions: Pagan and Christian. The former represents the poetry which the Anglo-Saxons probably brought with them in the form of oral sagas; the latter represents the writings developed under teaching of the monks.

(1) Pagan Poetry                               

Beowulf: It is the most remarkable literary work in Old English that has been preserved, and a typical example of Old English poetry, which is regarded as the national epic of the Anglo-Saxon and English people. However, the hero and the setting have nothing to do with England. It consists of more than 3000 lines. It has been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the tenth century.

The Main incidents of Beowulf

a. Beowulf’s fight with the monster Grendel in Hrothgar’s Hall

b. Beowulf’s slaying of Grendel’s mother in her lair

c. Beowulf’s return in glory to his uncle, and his succession to the throne

d. Beowulf’s victory-in death , fifty years later, over the fire dragon

The themes of Beowulf

The poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader.

By praising Beowulf’s wisdom, strength and courage, and by glorifying his death for his people, the poem presents the heroic ideal of a king and his good relations to his warriors and people. It reflects the features of the tribal society of ancient times.

Battle is a way of life. Strength and courage are basic virtues for both kings and his warriors. The hero-king strives to do better than any one else the things that are vitally important to the happy life of his people.

Features of Beowulf        

1. Emphatic stress. Number of stresses ,not number of syllables, is important.
2. Each line is divided into two parts, each half has two strongly accented syllables, at least one of the stressed syllables in the first half-line must alliterate with the first accented syllable in the second half-line.
3. A lot of metaphors and understatements are used in the poem.

(2) Religious Poetry

Caedomn       

Caedomn is the first known religious poet of England. He is known as the Father of English Song. Caedomn is mainly famous for his first poem “ The Hymn”. In the nine-line poem, he highly praises the Creator.

Cynewulf

Except the unknown composer of Beowulf, he is regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon poet. Of his life we know very little. He was probably an ecclesiastic and a scholar.

He produced four poems: “ Christ” , “Juliana” ,“The Fates of the Apostles” and “ The Elene” .

2. Anglo-Saxon Prose

Prose literature did not show its appearance until the 8^th century. Anglo-Saxons prose is represented by a large number of religious works. There were three famous prose writers: Venerable Bede, Alfred the Great and Aelfric.

Venerable Bede

Venerable Bede is the first scholar in English literature and has been regarded as Father of English Learning. His works, over 40 in number, written exclusively in Latin, cover the whole field of human knowledge of his day.

The most important of his works is “ The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”. It is the first English history book, written in Latin and later translated into English, and it remains an important source of knowledge about the Anglo-Saxon period. The book not only tells us how religion was introduced and spread in England but also recounts some historical events of that period and Anglo-Saxon mythological legends.

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great, king of Wessex Kingdom deserves to be remembered as one of the outstanding figures in English history. During his reign, Alfred showed great enthusiasm for knowledge and for the distribution of knowledge. He tried every means to improve the state of education, such as founding colleges, and importing teachers from Europe.

Alfred is known chiefly as a translator. His translations include The Ecclesiastical History; History of World”; Consolation of Philosophy. More important than any translation is The English or Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This book records the main happenings of the Anglo-Saxon period. It is the best monument of the old English prose.

Aelfric

Aelfric was the greatest writer of English prose before the Conquest. He was a pupil of the monastery school at Winchester, and later he was a teacher in the Abbey at Cerne Abbas. His aim throughout was to make Christian documents available to those who did not understand Latin. He composed many religious works such as Homilies; Saints’ Lives and Grammar.

III. Literary Terms

Alliteration: The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters, in a group of words. Sometimes the term is limited to the repetition of initial consonant sounds. When alliteration occurs at the beginning of words, it is called initial alliteration; when it occurs within words, it is called internal or hidden alliteration. It usually occurs on stressed syllables.

Alliteration is an important poetic device in Anglo-Saxon poetry where it generally occurs on three of the four stressed syllables in a line. Something of the alliterative effect can be seen in this line from Beowulf: “And the heathen’s only hope, Hell.”

Epic: A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Many epics were drawn from an oral tradition and were transmitted by song and recitation before they were written down. The two most famous English epics are the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

IV. Suggested Questions                           

1. What are the main incidents of the poem Beowulf?                                                     

2. How many groups does the old English poetry fall into? What are they?

3. What are the main characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature?

4. What are the writing features of Beowulf?