Compare And Contrast Anglo Saxon And English Language

The Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, was originally told orally then later was written down anonymously in the Old English language. It is not known who or whom wrote this poem down. What we do know is that Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem of the English language; the original has suffered irreparable damage in a fire. “The poem dates back to 1000 AD”

“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” – Ayn Rand. To fully understand the complex world and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, one must examine the only form of historical evidence available – texts. One particular great work from this time period is often underrated and overshadowed in modern society by many other ancient works such as Iliad or Oedipus Rex. The epic poem, Beowulf, was sung by multiple unknown Anglo-Saxon poets four centuries before the Norman Conquest. The theme of good versus evil was constantly reappearing throughout the storyline, the portrayal of evil and its downfall initially shaped the poem’s plot, and illustrates an alien presence; something that

Beowulf is influenced by the Anglo-Saxon time period as it has several characteristics of an epic poem. A characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon time period is the use of alliteration and kennings. This is used in the text to bring attention to certain areas of the poem. An example can be found on page 39, “as they willed, and you struggled seven long nights to survive,” (Raffel). This expression brings about the attention of the reader that Unferth was not as strong or manly as Beowulf. Similarly, the author uses kennings to make his writing colorful, thus attracting his readers. An example in the text is “light-of-battle” meaning sword. Another characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon literature is the epic hero.

Writers are often able to convey their messages and opinions on a subject of their interest or a piece of literary work. This can be done through either direct statements by the writer or done in a more secretive, discrete way. It is also possible for the reader to make his/her own judgments or interpretations based on the writings, whether the author wanted you to perceive it in that sense or not. There is this same idea present in the poem of Beowulf. Beowulf is believed to have originated between 700-750 AD, which was the 6th century. It is considered to be the first great work of English national literature. Some scholars believe that the original story of Beowulf was told by a Pagan, passed down through word

Beowulf is an epic poem that was originally told between the eighth and eleventh centuries. It is the first surviving epic to be written in the English language. The single existing copy dates from around the tenth century, but some scholars believe its dates from the early eleventh century. It was found in a large volume that contained stories about mythical creatures and people. It is said that two different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy (Heaney 6). During the period of 1066 and the reformation the volume

Heroes are forgotten, but legends never die. England’s “ mother poem” was written by an anonymous Christian monk during the Anglo-Saxon period. It was composed circa 700 A.D. and 1,000 A.D. Beowulf is a poem that shares Christian and Pagan references. Consisting of three literary devices of imagery, tone, and style , thus making it the “ mother poem” of England.

Returning to the Genesis texts, changes in the appearance of words (in particular the loss of some characters) underline that English today is very different from English 1500 years ago. The character ‘ȝ’ has been replaced by ‘y’, The character ‘ƥ’ has been replaced by the sound ‘th’ in that, ǒ by the sound ‘th’ in thin and ‘æ’ is used for the short ‘a’ sound in ‘nap’. If we replace these characters with their modern equivalents, then alien looking Old English words become much

Languages are always changing and evolving. The English language itself is full of words from other languages.

Beowulf is an interesting, old English epic poem. Often referred to as one the most important works of Old English Literature. The author of the poem is unknown, but the date the poem was made into a manuscript is c. 975 – 1010 CE. Although, the manuscript was damaged from a fire in 1731. The poem of Beowulf is set in Scandinavia c. 700 – 1000 CE. It starts with Hrothgar, king of Danes building a mead hall for his loyal followers. Then Grendel, the monster hears everyone’s joyfulness and is over come with jealousy. The over jealous Grendel decides to attack the men in their sleep. No one is brave nor strong enough to stand up to Grendel either. This goes on for 12 years until a young warrior by the name of Beowulf over hears of Hrothgar’s troubles.

English is a language that has been around for roughly 1300 years. Its’ early days included several variations of the language. Despite this, the Anglo-Saxons were the most prevalent group in England and are basically the most responsible for the long history of the English language as they were one of the few groups in the world not using Latin. Their history and culture is largely responsible for where the language is in the world today, with several classic pieces coming from this time period which showcase what the various tribes valued in terms of traits. The Anglo-Saxons were a people who respected honor, justice, and bravery.

The Anglo-Saxons were pagans, people who are not Christians. This is a trait that was shown throughout the poem. The warriors had the attitude that fate would decide their destiny. Beowulf leaves it up to fate as he prepares for the fight with Grendel: “Fate always goes as it must!” (1068). The people believed that Wyrd, the god of Fate, decided their future. The warriors showed a very fatalistic attitude. Beowulf proves this point when he tells Hrothgar not to mourn his friend Esher’s death:

The Tale of Beowulf, teach us many things about this time such as; how the development of Christianity brought hope to the people, it shows the origin of the ideal hero stories, and last but not least ,being that this piece of writing is the first example of english writing, it show the conception & the concurrent growth of the english language. Another example of the growth of the English language is The Venerable Bede’s work ; he was the initial person to translate the Latin Bible to an English Bible-which was important this time due to the fact that the common language was old english influenced by the Germanic and Latin speaking, he was also the one to established B.C -A.C ( therefore establishing the Calendars) and his writing The Life of Cademan from which the hidden message “ With all good things, comes reward” (Which

Some of those languages are Italian, Spanish, and French. Even though English is a Germanic language, it was solidly influenced by the French-speaking Normans, who conquered England in 1066 c.e. In fact, English still uses the Latin alphabet, although English has 26 letters and Latin has 23 letters. A quote from the History Alive textbook states, "English has borrowed heavily from Latin, both directly and by way of French" (History Alive 14). This proves that the Romans' legacy of language and writing had a the greatest impact on today's society because if it wasn't for the Romans' Latin language, our life would be so much different today. We wouldn't have our native language, English, therefore our communication would be disparate. We still see Latin words show up in our English vocabulary. Many English words begin with Latin prefixes and Latin proverbs are still in use, we use Latin roots as well. An example of a Latin prefix that we use today is "trans", which means across or through. The English word using "trans" is "transportation." A common Latin proverb is E pluribus unum, meaning "Out of many,

Beowulf is one of the most important pieces of English literature. The epic poem is said to be a great representation of the Anglo-Saxon era. Written by an anonymous monk between 800 and 1000 A.D., Beowulf displays Anglo-Saxon practices, beliefs, values, and religion. Beowulf is not only a fascinating story, but also a primary source for the time period. Serving as a primary source document, scholars can have a deep understanding of the Anglo-Saxon culture. They can learn about the Old English language, their customs and beliefs, and what they valued. This is why Beowulf is one of the most important pieces of English literature.

Little writing remains to be studied because England was still developing their written language during many of these years, and storytelling was generally in the oral tradition. The two types of poetry that was written during the time period was heroic poetry and Christian poetry. Only about 30,000 lines of poetry from the age have survived to this time, and the epic poem "Beowulf" makes up a large portion of that (Irvin, Vacca, Probst, Beers, p.47). It originated as a pagan saga transmitted orally from one