Anglo-Saxon Literature
Lesson 2: A Survey of Important Works
I. Epic Poetry: Beowulf
Explores Beowulf as the first great English epic: its plot, structure, heroic code, Christian elements, poetic style, symbolism of monsters, and literary importance.
II. Narrative Poems
Covers the evolution of Anglo-Saxon narrative verse, focusing on The Battle of Maldon and The Battle of Brunanburh, oral traditions, heroic ideals, and their historical significance.
III. Lyrical & Elegiac Poetry
Examines the personal and reflective side of Old English poetry — exile, loss, and faith — with detailed study of The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Deor’s Lament, The Wife’s Lament, The Ruin, Widsith, and related works.
IV. Prose and Chronicle
Analyzes the rise of English prose through The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, King Alfred’s translations, and later writers Aelfric and Wulfstan. Highlights the beginnings of English historical, religious, and educational writing.
V. Religious Verse
Discusses the development of Christian poetry: Caedmon’s Hymn, The Dream of the Rood, Genesis, Exodus, Andreas, and Cynewulf’s works. Explains how Christian ideas were expressed through heroic style and symbolism.
VI. Effects of Christianity
Explains how the coming of Christianity reshaped Anglo-Saxon thought, language, and literary forms—merging pagan heroism with Christian morality and producing prose, hymns, and allegories of faith.
VII. The Dual Tradition and Legacy
Concludes the lesson by analyzing the synthesis of pagan and Christian traditions, major themes, literary achievements, manuscript preservation, influence on later literature, and the lasting moral and cultural heritage of the Anglo-Saxon age.
