Elegiac

their lords, warm / With love, when their shield and protector leaves / His body behind, sends his soul / On high,” (lines 884-893). The idea of hope, is described as light within darkness, which Beowulf wishes to provide. He says so as he dies, “Have / The brave Geats build me a tomb, / … and build it / Here, at the water’s edge, high / On this spit of land, so sailors can see / This tower, and remember my name, and call it / Beowulf’s tower, and boats in the darkness / And mist, crossing the sea, will know it,” (lines 813-819). Beowulf wished to provide a beacon of hope, as sailors crossed the treacherous sea. The anonymous Anglo-Saxon poem is a test to one’s understanding of hope, as there are small indications of it within the seemingly elegiac…

Written after the death of Wordsworth’s younger brother John, “Elegiac Stanzas” was inspired by a painting by Sir George Beaumont of Peele Castle in Lancashire. Through extensive personification of natural forces, Wordsworth speaks of his shifting vision of the painting over time to lament the fact that he no longer views the world with the blind and blissful innocence that he used to. Therefore, the work serves not only as a subtle elegy for the death of his brother, but also commemorates the…

In the poem, The Seafarer and in the epic poem, Beowulf, there is one crucial and outstanding tone that represents the mourning and death of a person, which is called an elegy. Both, Beowulf and The Seafarer are Anglo-Saxon poems, where a significant mood seems to be elegiac. In The Seafarer, he begins the poem by explaining his many adventures and how the times that he was at sea were difficult, but through perseverance he was able to overcome them. Similar to Beowulf, the epic hero who faced…

Poems which express feelings of mourning and lament are known as elegies. In these poems, the speaker usually speaks of all they have lost. The poem “The Wife’s Lament” is an elegiac poem because of the character’s circumstance and the tone of the poem. The wife’s painful circumstances in “The Wife’s Lament” is a trait found within all elegiac poems. Towards the very beginning of the poem, the wife starts telling the story of why she is now in exile alone. It appears that she was…

“The Wanderer”: A Literary Analysis “The Wanderer,” a short poem written during the Anglo-Saxon period, is an elegy regarding a warrior whose lord, friends, and land have been destroyed by war. Many elements of the poem bring its sorrowful message to life, such as the perspective it is told in, its elegiac tone common to the poetry of the time, its eloquent, descriptive diction, and, although not necessarily mournful, a transition into something more of a wisdom poem. Most of these qualities…

The early Middle-Age poem, “The Dream of the Rood”, attempts to reconcile the vast differences between Christian and Pagan beliefs in order to attract Germanic Pagans to the Christian faith. In other words, the poem supports elegiac beliefs with heroic values to make the Christian faith more appealing to those who still hold on to their ancestral Pagan beliefs. The unknown poet draws on heroic elements of wealth, fame, and honor to enhance the Christian story of the crucifixion. Other Pagan…

Old English literature, also referred to as Anglo-Saxon literature, can be described as gloomy or grim. These writings reflected the emotions and conflicts the people were experiencing during this time. Two examples of Anglo-Saxon literature that are very alike are “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament”. “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament” are similar in their elegiac tone, theme, and form of writing. Many Anglo-Saxon poems contain a certain mournful tone that longs for the past. This tone,…

she was from that more specifically covers the themes of self-awareness and nature. Smith was part of a wealthy family growing up. She had an education that was typical for a woman during the eighteenth century. Due to her father’s spending, she was forced to marry early in order to save her from financial debt (Fry). Benjamin Smith, a reckless and violent man, soon became her husband in an arranged marriage by her father. The couple had twelve children together but were both extremely…

Anne Bradstreet: Puritan convictions What's more elegiac Poetry. Those root for american expositive expression dates again of the the long haul of john Smith, and as much investigation of the Americas. John smith might have been real donor from claiming America’s excellence and history. Anne Bradstreet, a ladies artist in the late seventeenth century, might have been also persuasive with american written works. Her Puritan convictions Furthermore modest beginnings aided shape her poetry under…

riddles, poetry, and proverbs can all be found in Old English Literature, as well as a mixture of Christian and pagan traditions and influences. One such an example would be, Beowulf, the epic long poem whose title character displays heroism and generosity. In this paper, I will explain how Christian values have been woven throughout the poem and mixed with Germanic hero values. Secondly, I will explain the long standing debate of whether or not Beowulf can be considered a Christian or pagan…