Chapter 1 & 2

Old and Middle English

Literature

An Outline of English Literature

G. C. Thornley and Gwyneth Roberts

Beowulf (700)

The Old English language, also called AngloSaxon, was the earliest form of English. (7)
Old English was spoken from about 600 A.D.
to about 1100.
First English epic, a story of 3,000 lines,
author unknown
Story of Beowulf about Hrothgar, King of
the Danes, and a brave young man, Beowulf,
from southern Sweden, who goes to help the
King
The first great poem (Anglo-Saxon) to be
written

Old and Middle English

Literature

Grendel in Beowulf

Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales (1387)

by Chaucer

The English which was used

from about 1100 to 1500 is
called Middle English. (p.15)
Chaucer=father of English
poetry
The Cantebury Tales contains
about 17,000 lines
A party of pilgrims tells stories
to pass the time on their
journey from London to
Canterbury

The Canterbury Tales (1387)

the Prologue
Whan that Aprille with his shoures
wrote
The droghte of marche hath erced
to the rote

The Canterbury Tales (1387)

by Chaucer

There are more than twenty stories,

mostly in verse (p.16)
Wife of Bath a woman of very strong
opinions who believes firmly in manage
and the need to manage husband
strictly.
Her story is about King Arthurs knights
who must give the correct answer to
the question: What do women love
most? in order to save his life.

Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight (1360?)

One of the stories of

King Arthur an his
knights of Round Table
(p.17-18)
Sir Gawain struggle
against an enemy with
magic powers as well as
great strength and
cunning
Sir Gawain finishes the
adventure with all honor

Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight (1360?)
Sir Gawain Meets
the Green Knight
In the legend of the Green
Knight, a fearsome green
warrior rides into the king's
court, and challenges anyone
to cut off his head.
Sir Gawain eventually rises
to his challenge; then the
Green Knight laughs, picks
up his head, and rides away,
vowing to return the favor.

Morte DArthur (Arthurs

Death)

An important Middle English

prose work (p.19)
Published by William Caxton in
1485, a translation from the
French Arthurian legends
Sir Thomas Malory
Theme: The search for the cup
(the Holy Grail) used by Christ at
the Last Supper, culminating with
the dissolution of the Round
Table

Miracle Plays

Subjects of the
Miracle Plays:
Disobedience of Adam and
Eve (p.20)
Noah and the great flood
Abraham and Isaac
Events in the life of Christ

Miracle Plays
Acted on a stage called pageant
Performed at the same time in different places
Serious and religious in intention
Characters in the play has a tendency to become
recognizably human

English drama derives from the medieval Miracle

Plays of the late 13th and 14th century

Morality Plays

Characters in these plays were not people; they

were virtues such as Truth or bad qualities
such as Greed and Revenge (p.21)
Everyman (translated from Dutch)
The story of the end of Everymans life
Characters include Beauty, Knowledge, Strength,
and Good Deeds