U N I T 1 POETRY This Unit explores the world of poetry from Anglo-Saxon to contemporary works, focusing on recurring and universal themes in different genres like the epic, the ballad, the sonnet and experimentation in modern poetry. A. ANGLO-SAXON POETRY The term Anglo-Saxon, or Old English Literature, refers to poetry and prose written in Old English during the Anglo-Saxon period, from the mid-5th century to the Norman Conquest in 1066. There are two types of Old English poetry: secular pre-Christian heroic poetry and religious hymns, among which is Caedmon s Hymn, from the 7th century and the oldest surviving text written in English. The origins of secular poetry can be found in the oral tradition brought from the Continent by court poets or professional minstrels, called scops or gleemen, wandering from village to village and court to court. From memory, the scops sang anonymous, alliterative verse mixing history, myths and legends of Germanic origin. Two genres were particular popular: the epic and the pagan elegy. Epic poetry developed from the combination of different poems and popular ballads that exploited a single hero or event. The poems were assembled as a unified whole and recited on important public occasions. They were then passed down by word of mouth until, in the 11th century, they were written down by church clerks and preserved in manuscripts. An epic poem is a long narrative poetic composition celebrating the glorious past of a nation, praising the deeds of great heroes and lamenting the death of the heroic protagonist. The poem is based on real historical facts mixed with supernatural and mythological events. An aristocratic and military society with the cult of heroes is described objectively and uncritically because the poem s main GLOSSARY 1 Read the text above and answer the following questions. a. What does the term Anglo-Saxon literature refer to? b. How can we divide Old English poetry? c. Who were the scops? d. What is the origin of epic poetry? e. What are the main characteristics of an epic? 208 alliterative: type of verse in which the first sound or letter is repeated in a succession of words Almighty: powerful beyond measure, God bond: link, relationship deed: action fame: being known by many people former: previous Geats: Beowulf s people, probably from the south of Sweden Hrothgar: King of the Danes in Beowulf kin: family member Northmen: people from the North regret: (here) to feel sorry about a loss secular: not religious