ENG 2105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: English Poetry, Sigmund, Skjöldr

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: English
• Course: ENG 2105
• Professor: David Carlson

Document Summary

The transition in the middle of the poem. The amount of old english poetry that survives is limited. What does survive doesn"t match up very well with later literature. Genres that don"t survive much, not the same literary development/genre. Make it difficult to place the poetry in a generic content. There is nothing like beowulf in old english corpus. The question of what beowulf is, is difficult. Think of it as an old english epic. He is only mentioned in this poem. The epic is a celebration of some things heroes do. Is a criticism of heroism: is not like any other fundamental epic. The cost of whose heroic deeds is always emphasized in such a way that. Human life according to the anglo-saxons is like the life od a sparrow. Out of the darkness, briefly into the light, and then back into the darkness. Always repeat and reflect on the chief story or elements.