Summary English Literature (old English period, middle English period, renaissance, neoclassical period) + important terms
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Module
Engels
Level
VWO / Gymnasium
This document summarizes the old English period, middle English period, renaissance and neoclassical period. In addition, terms such as “link-and-frame story, miracle play, white fresh and courtly love poetry” are explained.
Engels
TP4, klas 4
English Literature
The old English period, The middle English period, The renaissance, The neoclassical period
, Engels TP4, 11-06-2019
The Old English Period (±500-1066)
Timeline:
- 410: Roman armies withdrawn -> Celts vulnerable
- 500: Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain and gradually drove Celts westwards
- 793: arrival of the Vikings, monastery of Lindisfarne destroyed by Scandinavian
pirates
- End of 9th century: England in acute danger of becoming Scandinavian territory
- 817: Alfred the Great gains victory over Danish Army
- 11th century: Danish influences increase
- 1042: crown fell to an English man again (Edward the Confessor)
Language:
- German invaders are founders of the English nation, their language forms basis of
English as it is spoken today
Alfred the Great, King of Mercia:
- Danelaw: area controlled by the Vikings (Danes)
- Important Anglo-Saxon king
- Gained a victory over Danish Army (817)
- After death, Danish influences increased again, few Danish kings after his death
Edward the Confessor:
- Exile in Normandy in Northern France, though he was an English man
- King in 1042
- Brought one of the most abrupt changes in course of English history
Literature/poetry:
- Oral tradition, often sung
- Epic: long story in poem form. Often the hero has supernatural strength. Omniscient
narrator
- Themes: kings, heroes, grim fighting, glory and honour
- Contains Christian and pagan elements -> Originally, they were pagan, later the
monks wrote the stories down and added Christian elements
- Alliteration: repetition of sounds at the beginning of words within one line of poetry
o Anglo-Saxon poetry didn’t Rhyme, but did use alliteration
- Germanic poetry: war, death and glory
Religion:
- Both Danes and Geats: Germanic gods, believe they go to Valhalla as brave warrior
- Celts: Christianity
Anglo-Saxon chronicle:
- Historical account of what happened in Anglo-Saxon times
- Originally compiled on orders of King Alfred the Great (± 890)
- Written in Anglo-Saxon (not Latin) -> first evidence of Anglo-Saxon language
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