Symbolism In 'The Dream Of The Rood'

Although the Bible’s description of Jesus and his crucifixion has not been changed, the perception of the people about Jesus has been changing throughout the ages. The poem “The Dream of the Rood” is good example of a unique view of Jesus and his crucifixion. The poem is referred as “one of the first and most successful treatments of the crucifixion” in Old English poetry (Burrow 123).

Everyone needs hope in their lives for the good times and the bad. Hope is an essential part of human life, which is sometimes symbolized into objects. Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian story about Day, a slum sector teen criminal, and June, a wealthy military prodigy. Marie Lu uses Day’s pendant to symbolize the hope and freedom Day and June yearn for.

Anglo-Saxon literature often expressed concepts of survival, battle, exile, male dominance in society, and loyalty to the lord. These aspects are strongly represented in both “The Wanderer” and “The Wife’s Lament”. Both elegies deliver themes of self-exile and the mourning of lost companions. Ideas of longing and alienation are present in these two Anglo-Saxon poems through use of figurative language, structure, point of view, comparison, and various other literary techniques.

The Bible has been translated into 451 languages, sold over 6 billion times, and depicted in over 40 movies. The Bible and the crucifixion of the Messiah are prominent aspects in cultures all around the world today. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been translated, dramatized, televised, adapted, and cartooned. In “The Dream of the Rood,” translated by R.M. Liuzza, the Biblical cross comes to life to tell its own version of Christ’s death and resurrection. The author recreated the Biblical account to appeal to the Anglo-Saxon warrior group to effectively convert them. However, the story from the cross’s perspective matches the crucial material of the Biblical account of the crucifixion without defaming Christ.

The expression “Jesus take the wheel” is quite common in today’s world, but just because it is a modern saying does not mean that it did not have any relevance in earlier time. Throughout the story of Beowulf, a comparison between Christianity and paganism had always been a topic discussed both within the text and spoken aloud in the classroom. Likewise, in this instance, man-made issues serves as a mirror of paganism and trust in God becomes Christianity. Many factors throughout section three revert to paganism rather than Christianity because there was no trust in God. Details such as pride, arranged marriage, and death are the major aspects of man-made issues in this section.

This essay will be about the analyzing of literary devices that are discussed in this book. The professor in the book thoroughly describes these devices and the allusions and symbols that are involved in literature over the centuries. I will be discussing the specifics of the allusions and symbols of the bible and the Christ like figures in literature.

In analysis of this poem, we find the symbolic association the Little Lamb and Jesus Crist, The Lamb of God.

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic that was transmitted verbally for hundreds of years before it was written down. Around the time of its composition, Christianity was beginning to gain prominence in England and was quickly replacing the animistic religion of the Celts. As a result of the dueling religions of the time, the poem includes influences from both Christianity and paganism, leaving its readers to wonder which religion had the most sway over the poet. Beowulf is a fundamentally more Christian epic on account of Beowulf’s resemblances of Jesus Christ, its allusions to the Bible, and its intimation of a supreme, monotheistic religion.

Bartlett’s book revolves around William Cragh, who was hanged for his crimes in the late 1200s. Shortly after his hanging, Cragh came back to life and was proclaimed to be a miracle. The sources that Bartlett uses to construct his historical narrative are not records of the trial or the crime. But rather, Bartlett uses records from the canonization process of Thomas de Cantilupe. This is because the miracle of Cragh’s resurrection was done through the intervention of Thomas de Cantilupe. While the story of William Cragh is extremely interesting by itself,

Every culture has its own set of values, beliefs, and customs. These values, beliefs and customs create each unique culture, and these cultural constructions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout the lifetime of the culture. A major part of culture is literature; the literature of the time reflects upon daily life and society during the time that the story was composed. Beowulf, an epic poem, is one of the most important and only works of Anglo-Saxon literature. Much like a fable, the epic poem of Beowulf had lessons that taught the people within this society how to behave. This essay will outline how the importance of Christianity and the Germanic Heroic Code in Beowulf are revealed throughout the epic poem as important aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture as a whole.

In lines eighty-one through eighty-four it is said “Though he lived in Herot, when the night hid him, he never dared touch king Hrothgar’s glorious Throne, protected by God…” showing that king Hrothgar may have been Christian along with multiple other beliefs shown throughout such as in lines (592-594) “A brilliant Light burned all around him, the lake itself like a fiery flame. “ While there is imagery relating to Christianity there is an equal amount of imagery relating to pagan religions, one such example of pagan religion lies within lines ninety through ninety three “... they sacrificed to the old stone gods, made heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s Support, the Devil’s guidance in driving Their affliction off.” Imagery shows more than hidden meanings, for instance it can act as a way to introduce settings such as in lines (545-563) “They live in secret places, windy Cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours from the rocks, then runs underground, where mist streams like black clouds, and the groves of trees growing over their lake are all covered with frozen spray, and wind down snakelike roots and reach as far as the water and help keep it dark. At night that lake burns like a torch. No one knows it's the bottom , No wisdom reaches such depths. A deer, hunting through the woods by packs of hounds, a stag with great horns, though driven through the forest from faraway places,

During the Anglo-Saxon time period, individuals wrote poems about achievements, deaths, emotions, and adventures taken by certain individuals. There were many popular poems during this era including, “Beowulf” translated by Burton Raffer and “The Wanderer” translated by Charles W. Kennedy. Although both these poems were written during this era, “Beowulf” was an epic poem and “The Wanderer” was an elegiac poem. However, both of these pieces shared certain characteristics related to the culture and values of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Many attributes that make up this culture are related to both Pagan and Christian beliefs. This includes many ideals relating to fate and God. The culture and values of Anglo-Saxons through “Beowulf” and “The Wanderer”, suggest that along one’s quest emerges an individuals outlook on ways of life.

The cross, once plain wood, is now “exalted over all forest-tress” (91) and risen to the status of a lord. The Dreamer is seeing for himself the validity of Christ’s claims of rewarding his faithful servants. So the Cross, it seems, is now further gift-giving and reciprocating by telling the Dreamer that he has been given a gift by Christ, who died for his sins. The Dreamer interprets the telling of this story by the Cross as a gift, and so in return for this gift that the Cross has given him, the Dreamer tells the story of his dream to others in order to tell the tale and let others know of this great gift that was given to all of humanity by Christ. Its resplendence in its appearance to the dreamer is testament to the validity of its sacrifice in going against traditional Germanic servitude, which is important to addressing the comingling of cultures in The Dream of the Rood. This is certainly not heroism and faithful retainership as the Anglo-Saxons were used to it, but the Dreamer’s vision of the Cross in all its glory gives credence to Christ as a lord and gift giver.

In Anglo-Saxon literary works, the writing usually addressed to a Christian audience but yet all commonly affirm the values of the warrior cultures in power in different matters. In the two pieces “The Dream of the Rood” and Beowulf there are two powerful kings being represented that are set in overlapping values that benefit their true courageous deeds. Both are considered good, but do they mean the same thing in Christianity and paganism contexts? Specifically, the two pieces both fuse together Christian and pagan ideals to show their two powerful kings represented in two completely different manners. In the literary work Beowulf the character Beowulf is known as the king along with many others. While in the literary work “The Dream of the Rood” Jesus Christ is known as the king since he is directly referred to as a “king” several times throughout the work.

Writers for many centuries have depicted the greatest event of history, Christ's sacrifice in many ways. Fantasy writers, especially, have symbolized it as either the sacrifice of a lion on the Stone Table, a mighty warrior battling a red dragon, or less obviously, the destruction of a ring, and numerous other ways. However once writers chose to directly write about Christ's sacrifice without using symbols. Nonetheless even these writers differed greatly in their portrayal of Christ's sacrifice. Among these, William Langland, who wrote Piers Plowman, and the poet who penned “Dream of the Rood” both discuss Christ's sacrifice vividly and poetically. While Piers Plowman and “Dream of the Rood” share many similarities in their portrayal of Christ