Understanding Gerlad's Writings

It was at this juncture, when the play takes place, that Britain began to make deeper inroads to Irish society and culture. An attempt to colonise the mind and the people as opposed to conquering land through brute force. Translations is Friel’s vehicle for representing methods central to the colonial discourse of Imperialist aspirations. In the foreground of the play

On one hand, Gerald may be ashamed of his own biological makeup, because of his parent’s filthy urges but, on the other hand, he still holds some confidence in the fact that because he is more involved with his Christianity, he could not possibly make the same ghastly choices that his parents and supposedly the Irish appeared to. He uses the Irish his book to make an example out of anyone involved in hybridity. According to Gerald, the Irish “are ignorant of the rudiments of the Faith” and “do not attend God’s church with due reverence”, but instead he repeatedly accuses them of “incestuous relations” and have “yet to pay tithes or first fruit or contract marriages” (106). He is upset with the Irish because he

The Anglo-Saxons kept detailed records of their familial heritage through oral stories, such as Beowulf. When the narrator introduces a character into the story, he uses family lineage as an identifier. Beowulf introduces himself as “‘King Hygelac’s blood-kin,’” and King Hrothgar notes that Beowulf’s “‘kin-folk and I are hearth friends’” (390). Such elaborate descriptions of relationships are present with all of the major human characters introduced. The constant references to lineage and bonds of friendship show that the Anglo-Saxons exceedingly valued the ties to their ancestors and companions. By placing emphasis on their roots and their friendships, the Anglo-Saxons were creating the basis of civilized society.

In Book II, chapter 12, of Bede’s History, King Edwin of Northumbria converts to Christianity after being persuaded to believe in a heavenly vision from God.

While the author of Beowulf did not initially intend for the epic to become one of the most researched and foundational works in the English language, and therefore, did not go into much detail about its setting and surrounding political structures, the unnamed writer left behind important clues regarding Scandinavian and English political, economic, geographical, and societal bodies. Although not much is known about the author, it is evident through their writing, especially in the societal structure mentioned in the epic, that they were of English descent, specifically, born in the middle of seventh and end of tenth century England, according to Seamus Heaney in the introduction to his translation of Beowulf. Societal clues are the most prominent in proving this claim, as they merge Scandinavian and Old English structures, and at its most form, Beowulf is a Scandinavian tale told through an Englishman’s persepctive.

Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf dispossesses the audience of the crave for adventure and the components associated with adventure: gore, violence, and even death. Beowulf’s author portrays a military aspect of war within the poem; furthermore, the action scenes are no anomaly within the poem, rather a thought-out effect to grasp the listeners. An alternative explanation can be explained by simply analyzing the time period. The Anglo-Saxons were converting to Christianity;moreover, it is evident that the depiction of violence could be a result of Christians using the wrath of God to force Christianity upon the population. Beowulf reveals the more primitive aspect of human nature: the search for death, violence, and fear to stimulate

Ireland has always had religious problems between, Pagans, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish people. Ireland has always been a place of interest in English eyes so Ireland was continually concord over and over by the English and the currency, traditions and religions changed with every English King, Queen or Irish Rebel. Between 1641 and 1691 Oliver Cromwell changed everything, Irish Catholics, Pagans and Jews were killed or shipped off to be slaves. The influence to immigrate was very strong, their options were to go to a new world of which they knew no one and had nothing, be killed for your religion, or be gathered up and shipped away as a slave. It was a hard decision they all were forced to

In order to write a successful essay, a author must research and use appropriate and reliable sources. The book series “Ranger's Apprentice” by John Flanagan is about the fictional country Araluen and a key part of the country, the Rangers. England, an island country of Europe, has many sources about it, but the one sourced in this essay comes from the “BBC”, it is written by Professor Tom James. The “BBC” source is about England during its middle ages. This essay compares and contrasts England and Araluen to determine which would be a better place to live.

Throughout Old English literature, the themes of loyalty and pride have played a large component in the narratives of the protagonists. While Beowulf was written after the Anglo-Saxon tribes had been Christianized the pagan elements of the past still dominated the culture. The retention of these themes within Beowulf reflects the landscape of England at the time, because even though it was Christianized, England still had many pagan elements such as pride within its culture. Conversely, even though Lanval was written at a later date when pagan elements subsumed with Christian elements the concept of chivalry had arisen thus the poem is still tinged with the themes of loyalty and pride. From observing the themes of loyalty and pride in Beowulf and Lanval we can discern the

In source A it is shown that conformity to Catholicism is being forced, even though priests are willing to conform the overall consensus shows that Catholicism still needs to be widely accepted again by the people. Given that a priest in Yorkshire was recording this gives us an inclination into the regional view of religion at this time, its depict Yorkshire as less Protestant and so it would lead people to be more willing to conform due to the region being a strong Catholic area. Similarly source B supports the idea of Catholicism was strong, this is suggested through the actions taken in overcoming the obstacles caused by Protestantism and reconciling with Rome in favour of Catholicism once again. It shows conformity by how Parliament unanimously agreed on the act to repeal all laws against the Pope’s authority, the church seemly showed conformity as there were certain measures put into place to stop anybody who did not wish to revert back to Catholicism, these people were called Heretics and were strongly disliked by the church in particular.

Although Susan Aronstein uses her observation that scholars’ attempts to “strip away the later French impositions and to reveal the “real” text” (Aronstein 215) to discuss the historical and political implications of Owain, that critique should be applied to literary analysis of the text as well. Somehow, through the oral tradition, The Mabinogion “Owain (The Lady of the Fountain)” Owain becomes Chretien de Troyes’ Yvain (or vice versa, since scholarship continues to debate whether the French version predates or post-dates the Welsh), but the stark differences between the two versions cannot be dismissed as translation tweaks. Brynley Roberts correctly identifies that the term “translating” has simplistic connotations that fail to take into

Two frequently overlooked themes that emerge in retellings of Beowulf are those of heritage and ethnicity. Ethnicity has come to the forefront of political discussions in the US and the UK. In the months leading up to the

The Irish had suffered long before in the hands of the English when Cromwell had been in control and had taken away land held by the catholic majority of the country to members of the protestant minority. This created a large tension among the population with the oppressed majority and the rather entitled minority who by Trevelyan’s snooty tone did indeed see themselves as the superior people in the country. (Trevelyan’s tone is probably the most dismissive when in discussion of the Irish, mayhaps showing his own true dislike.) (Trevelyan, p. 116-

Beowulf is one of the oldest and best-known epic poems written in Old English. By illustrating stories of Beowulf, a hero from Geat, defeating monsters and protecting the nation, this literature provides writers and historians with comprehensive details about the life of Anglo-Saxons. Unlike many readers who criticize this poem as too antiquated to have any contemporary relevance, I believe that Beowulf is a heroic poem which not only presents Anglo-Saxon cultures but also reveals life lessons which can be connected to modern times.

In William Trevor’s short story ‘Beyond the Pale’, the reader is presented with a text that seethes with the angst of a writer whose country’s Colonial past has been gnawing on his bones. Although there is nothing unusual in this (especially in Irish writing), Trevor manages to fumble the ball in the course of his didactic strategy and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory: what should have been a successful indictment of British Colonial Rule in Ireland becomes nothing more than the grumbling of an intelligent writer who cannot negotiate his patriotic feelings.