dr Urszula Kizelbach

duty hours: Fr 12:00-13:00

and by appointment
room 305 A

History of English Literature RAF Year II

Old English Literature
1. Beowulf the earliest of the northern hero poems, transcribed in the West Saxon
dialect, found in the Beowulf manuscript, Continental and Scandinavian sources (myth
and folklore)
- an epic poem (frame structure, descriptions of battles that retard the action,
descriptions of a great hero, showing an important moment in history of the Geats
dragon kills Beowulf, danger of incorporation by the Frisians)
- heroic poetry depicts warrior/war-like culture, characterises a Germanic hero
- courtly poetry Germanic court and customs (feast in Heorot)
- pagan elements funeral rites (Scyld Sceafings and Beowulfs burials), sacrifices for
pagan gods (thanes from Heorot pay tribute to pagan idols after Grendels attacks),
Germanic customs (the cult of armour, acceptance of Faith/Wyrd, Wergild/paying
damages)
- Christian elements Beowulf as a heathen legend written by a Christian poet;
allusions to the Bible and Christian literature (Grendel as a descendant of Cain,
Beowulfs sword, Wealtheow thanking God for sending Beowulf to save the Danes)
- Anglo-Saxon values: war culture and loyalty; treasure as a) encouragement to serve
ones lord, b) evaluation of human worth; the importance of a warriors lineage (the
respect for the forefathers, continuing family feuds for generations); Grendel as an
exile (the faith of an exile)
Bibliography:
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Ages, The Renaissance, The Puritan Period). Pozna: Wydawnictwo Poznaskie (TEXT)
Sikorska, Liliana. 2007. A Short History of English Literature. Pozna: Wydawnictwo
Poznaskie, p. 25-28, 34-39.
Zbierski, Henryk. 1982. Historia Literatury Angielskiej. Pozna: Oficyna Wydawnicza
Atena, p. 9-14.
Baugh, A. C. (ed.). 1980. Literary History of England. London Henley: Routledge and
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Editions Rodopi.
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