THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD

CLOSER OUTLINE

I. THE BEGINNINGS

II. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

III. LITERARY FEATURES OF THE PERIOD

1. Pagan Origins

2. Anonymous Origins

3. The Imitative Quality

4. The Manuscripts

IV. THE LANGUAGE

V. OLD ENGLISH POETRY

1. Beowulf

2. The Story

3. Style

VI. OTHER POETRY

1. The Pagan Poems: Widsith, Waldere, The Fight at Finnsburh, The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon.

2. The Elegies: The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament, The Husband's Message.

3. The so-called Caedmon Group: Caedmon's Hymn, Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan.

4. The Cynewulf Group: Juliana, Elene, Christ, The Fates of the Apostles, The Dream of the Rood.

VII. PROSE

1. Alfred: Pastoral Care (Pope Gregory the Great), History of the World (Orosius), Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and People (Bede), Consolation of Philosophy (Boethius), Soliloquies (Saint Augustine). A Handbook, the King's property. 

2. Aelfric: Grammar, the Catholic Homilies (tw series of sermon) and the Lives of the Saints (third series). Colloquy.

3. Wulfstan: Sermo Lupi ad Anglos.

4. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A (Parker) MS, the E (Laud) MS.

VIII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERARY FORMS AND STYLE

1. Poetry: earlier than prose and persistence of that of the heroic type.

         a. The epic.

         b. The lyric.
Development in technique (school of Caedmon and school of Cynewulf compared): Individuality of approach, more subtle use of alliteration and desire for stylistic effect

2. Prose: Homilies of Aelfric and Wulfstan and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from cynewulf and Cyneheard episodes (775) and later Chronicles in E MS.
Beginnings of historical writings.
A great advance in style is readily seen as well, though prose is restricted to homiletic and historical kinds.
Later prose is noteworthy for its fluency, its animation.

Prose and poetry:
The effects of the Conquest on both poetry and prose have been exaggerated.