Class 11 Opt. English

  Show your acquaintance with Old English Literature.

Ans: Old English literature is also known as Anglo-Saxon Literature. English Language was started to be used in England in the mid-fifth century. English literature started with songs and stories of three tribes; Angles, Saxons and the Jutes. So, the literature during 450- 1066 AD is called Old English Literature. The greatest old English epic is Beowulf which belongs to the 7^th century. It is the story of about 3000 lines. In the poem, Beowulf is a brave young man of Sweden who goes to Denmark to help the king, Hrothgar and his people. Hrothgar is in problem as a terrible monster named Grendel used to visit his great hall and kill and eat Hrothgar’s men. Beowulf kills the monster and his mother. Then he becomes the king of his people. He is badly injured in a fight with a fire-breathing Dragon. Although he kills the dragon, he also dies of the wounds of the fight with the dragon.

Genesis A and Genesis B are the two poems among many other poems of the period, that were written in religious theme. Genesis B is about the beginning of the world, the fall of the angles and the God’s punishment to the Satan. Genesis A is a bit long, dull and little more than the old history of Bible and is put in poor old English. Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan and The Dream of the Rood are some of the other poems of old English literature. Christ and Satan deals with the events in Christ’s life and his struggle with Satan.

The development of prose is less in than poems in the old English period. In the seventh century, there were some laws including the punishment system which were written in verse with the style of prose. The important prose writers of the period were King Alfred and Aelfric. King Alfred translated several Latin books into old English to make his people easy to read. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first important prose work in English literature. King Alfred also ordered the collection of this early history and several other writings were collected for publication. Aelfric wrote mainly two religious prose Homilies and Lives of Saints. He also wrote the meaning of the first seven books of the Bible in old English.

2.       Write short note on the Development of Old English Language.

Ans. As the three tribes from Germany Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded England, German dialects were used in day to day language of the people. Before it, Latin and some other varieties of languages were spoken in England. King Alfred translated many Latin books into English so that the people could understand them well. So, these translations borrowed many lexicons and structures in English too such as school, title, paper, verse etc. The Danish invaders brought the old Norse language in England in the second half of the 10^th century. From the name of the tribe Angles, we have the word English. The tense formation and word order in Old English is similar to Modern English. Old English cann’t be understood without special training of the old scripts. There was a gradual transformation in the English language over the centuries to come to the modern form.

Write a short essay on Middle English Literature.

Ans: The literature written during the period of 1066- 1500AD is called Middle English Literature. In 1066, the Norman French armies invaded and conquered England. This event approximately marks the end of the old English. They adopted French language and culture. The French language was used as the language of the upper class, courts, schools and literature.

They brought romantic tales of love and adventure to England, strengthened the concept of nationality, and developed new language and literature mixing the French and Saxon elements. Poetry expanded its horizon from religious to various other themes and subject matters.

Geoffrey Chaucer is the great name of poet of English literature. He is often regarded as the father of English poetry. His The Canterbury Tales is a realistic piece of literature that gives a clear picture of the 14^th century England. A group of pilgrims tell stories to pass the time on their journey from London to Canterbury with its great church and the grave of Thomas a Becket. The characters in this poem are from all sectors of life- rich and poor, good and bad, man and woman etc. It contains 17000 lines. There are more than 20 stories, mostly in verse and through the stories we get to know the pilgrims themselves. Among the pilgrims are the monk, the nun, the priest, the friar (the begging monk), the merchant, the lawyer, the doctor, the cook, the sailor, the carpenter, the knight and the Wife of Bath. The wife of Bath has five husbands. She is a woman who desires to tightly control her husbands. The monk and the Friar don’t live a religious life. The monk has the passion of hunting and loves roasted swan while the Friar is corrupt and married many times. He asks people to give him money so that people would go to heaven. The Farmer and the Knight are good, helpful and honest characters in the poem. He has also written Troylus and Criseyde and The Legend of Good Women.

Another poet of the time is William Langland who wrote The Vision of Piers the Ploughman which deals with the hard life of the poor people. Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are some other poems by unknown writers.

Middle English prose was basically dominated by religious subjects and themes. Richard Rolle, John Wycliff and Sir Thomas Malory are some important prose writers of the time. Richard Rolle wrote The Form of Perfect living which is full of religious teachings, John Wycliff arranged the production of the Bible in simple English and also translated some parts of it and criticized many religious ideas and the church of the time. Sir Thomas wrote MorteD’Arthur, a tale about King Arthur and his Knight’s adventures.

Middle English period also introduced Miracle and Morality Plays in English literature. Miracle Plays are the religious dramas which told religious stories and were performed in or near the Churches. They are about the life or actions of a saint, usually about the actions that made the person a saint. These dramas were performed to teach and explain the truths of religion to the ignorant people.

Morality Plays on the other hand, are different from miracle plays. They give moral truths in a new and effective way. The characters in these plays were not people, rather they were virtues and bad qualities of humans like Truth, Kindness, Pity, Greed, Revenge which walked and talked like humans. These plays were performed to personify the abstract ideas to teach moral lesson.