The Dream of the Rood is by an unknown, Anglo-Saxon, author. This ancient poem is about Jesus being crucified through the cross’ point of view. Although this poem is about Jesus’ death, it does not exactly match up with what the Bible has depicted in the Gospels of the New Testament. There is a culture clash between the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs and what the Bible thinks of Jesus during his crucifixion. In this poem the author expresses Christ as strong, heroic, and bold, but the Bible states that he was humble, passive, and weak. Contrary to what the Bible says, The Dream of the Rood proclaims that Christ felt no pain, the cross did. These are only a few examples of the differences between the Bible’s take on this story versus the unknown author. This piece of literature is so highly regarded, even today, because of the culture clash it displays. The story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had only been written down in the Bible. To see this story being transformed into how a newer culture interpreted the story had never been heard of up until this point in history. This shows how time and different cultures can change stories and belief systems. …show more content…
It is composed of stanzas, is written in verse, and has a lot of imagery. This poem tells the story of the crucifixion a little more imaginatively, in the sense that the poem is written in the cross’s point of view. This poem does not have a rhyme scheme, but poems do not always have to
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).
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.
Palestrina had a simple but complex way when it came to his strategic plan in this piece. The piece is text driven as is written as a simile. Palestrina used Aesthetic appeal, emotional power, and intellectual depth to make this piece a true masterpiece. Part of Palestrina is strategic plan was to write the piece as a simile. He used the translation from Psalm 42, “ As a deer longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you”. First off, this line is represented throughout the motet, like a simile. The deer longing for springs of water is a simile as to how the soul longs for God. Each part is put into three sections, because Palestrina is comparing “ As a deer longs for springs of water” and “ my soul longs for you”. Palestrina also uses “so” or “ita” to put the simile together, he uses this to show what is being compared and to help show that the deer longs for water is the same as the soul longs for God. Palestrina also shows textpainting when has the notes flowing just like the flowing of water when it says water. The springs of water is a comparison to God. Also, he when it states in the piece ,” my soul longs” the notes go down because the soul is connected to Earth. This is also a connection to how the notes go higher when it reaches God because God is up in heaven. As a result, the strategic plan was to make the piece a simile and
The last sentence of the poem, ““There is still murder in your heart” (14), is a powerful claim that suggests that a routine consisting of prayer, communion, or hymn singing will not dissolve the sin of the heart. However, seeing this claim from a different standpoint, this can also suggest that this dull routine is convenient when it comes to preserving an appearance of purity and grace. There is an image in the middle of the poem, “light swords” (7), that possibly represents sharp members of the congregation trying to deceive the church authorities and God. Their comfort to the routine is remarkable because it does not really make a difference at the end; the only thing that truly matters is the masked life they are trying to keep hidden. Readers may consider the arguments presented in this poem as the truth reaching out to the contemporary church and its followers to improve their relationship with
The ominous figure in the centre of the foreground - Jesus Christ hanging lifeless on the cross, in Luca di Tommè’s ‘The Crucifixion’, primarily catches the eye. The symmetrical arrangement of lamenting figures around the cross, as well as the gilded background, highlight him as the focal point of this artwork.
The image of Jesus nailed to a wooden cross by the palms of his hands and with a crown of thorns wrapped around his head is one that has transcended all time barriers. It has inclusive been replicated into figure form that is utilized in various ways but whose primary function is to serve as a constant reminder of the physical suffering endured by Jesus. In The Dream of the Rood however, the perception of Jesus Christ as not only the son of God and savior of mankind but also as a human with the capacity to feel pain, is subverted when through the perspective of a personified cross he is conveyed as a warrior in the midst of combat. The portrayal of Jesus in this way immediately evokes the image of an ideal stereotypical hero who is strong,
As I first examined this work, I could not focus on just one portion of it. Although each part tells its story, there it one overall explanation. As usual, I am drawn to the center of this piece which would be a man sitting in an oval like throne. With a closer look, I look at this man and see a cross behind him, with angelic figures in the background. I conclude this important
Therefore, most of the Stanza and the 10th line focus on introducing the reader into the problem and the perpetrators of the violence. The use of religion is not only symbolic to the inevitable suffering of the Latin Americans at the Poets country but also is ironical to the end times which marks massive violence acts against humanity. The aspect is brought to form by the last two lines which liken the treatment of the Indian bodies being killed as rotten fruits, thrown in a pile of garbage. The words rotten and garbage bring out the ugly scene of dead bodies surrounded by flies that feed on the decomposed material, an immense feeling of empathy towards the dead.
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.
The Christ depicted in this passage willingly accepts his battle on the cross and because of this act the poet then goes on to describe Christ as a "warrior", "strong," and "stouthearted." Christ is not portrayed as a meek and humble man resigned to his task as savior and lord. Within this portion of the text, he becomes a bold warrior climbing the cross as if going into battle. At the end of the poem, the narrator looks to Christ and the cross for protection.
‘The Dream of the Rood’ has been marveled as one of the finest religious poems from the Anglo-Saxon time period. The poem itself shows the contrast between the Pagan religion and Christianity and the overlap of religious symbols between them. It follows the crucifixion of Jesus and the dreamer’s journey to finding faith. The rood is seen as the backbone of the crucifixion and is depicted as being praised more than Christ. Using the literary devices of kenning and alliteration the author highlights the heroic nature of the rood, the dreamer’s gradual progression to optimism and the struggle of the people of the time to remove Pagan traditions in literature.
The poem is in form of a villanelle, consisting of the rhyme scheme ABA throughout the poem. There are two major extended metaphors in the poem- the “day” which stands for a person’s lifespan and all their actions and memories; and the dark “night” which stands for afterlife or the void. These metaphors are also the starting rhymes for the poem (for line A and line B), and thus all the following lines rhyme with these metaphors. This shows the constant cycle of day and night thus life and death, emphasizing on the inevitability and continuity of this process. Also in the first stanza, the metaphor for death is expressed as “good night” (in line one), “close of day” (in line two) and “dying of the light” (line three), where all are placed at the end of their respective lines; thus again showing what lies for all at the time of their end.
The Dream of the Rood is a work which inspires one to think, to contemplate, and to begin to better understand one’s own faith. The Rood tells us of its life, from being a tree to being the instrument in Christ’s death to its visions after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. I felt the Rood’s agony as it became an unwilling participant in the death of the Lord. The purpose of this poem is to bring the glory back to God, reflecting on his goodness and his purposes in the earth. The dreamer, who heard and recounted the Rood’s story, ends with hope in Christ and a hope in the future of everlasting life in heaven.
The idea of this poem concentrates on the thoughts of the features of the hippopotamus. That it is a strong animal, it may have difficulties, but it is a strong and he will prove that he can use his features for the right purposes. The poem is unique, as the formal structure of it is separate and not similar to any other structure. The poem does not criticize the religion, as he respects each of the religion and wants to just express his thoughts about how he thinks the church is similar to the hippopotamus. He wants to make clear the characteristics of the
Before doing all this work, he first worked on his first poem named “Miroir de l’Omme, or speculum meditantis. What’s in this is about sin that is developing over time and that there are certain responsibilities when person the is deciding something that you're about to praise to. In his poem it contains well over 28,603 lines, he construct it in a 12-line stanza of