BEOWULF

INTRODUCTION:
The beginning of English literature: The old English period
 We first hear of Great Britain 55 B.C when Julius Cesar crossed the English channel and
found the land occupied by a peace loving agricultural people called Celts.
 In 449, wave of invasion from the European continent took place in the land.
 It was only in A.D 43, however, when the Romans under Emperor Claudius actually
conquered the island.

BODY
I. Beowulf is classic epic warrior hero
a. Beowulf is the longest and greatest surviving epic in English Literature.
b. Its author is unknown
c. The setting of the epic was in sixth century in what is now known as
Denmark and Southwestern Sweden.

II. Major Events of Beowulf

a. With the aid of Wiglaf, he succeeds in killing the beast, but at a heavy
cost. 
b. Beowulf fights Grendel without weapons and tears one of Grendel's arm
off.
c. The funeral of Scyld-Scefing is described. It is foreshadowing of
Beowulf funeral at the end.

III. Conclusion
Man and all his works are destined to pass from this world. Time and
chaos/monsters always win. The only moral path to follow is resistance,
even in the face of certain defeat. Fame outlasts everything: buildings,
human life, rulership/institutions and even love are defeated by Time but
fame lives on. 
 THE RUINED CITY’S

INTRODUCTION:
Elegiac Lyrics of the Pagan Age
 The Pagan Age gave old English literature both the epic and elegiac lyrics.
 Elegiac poem seems to have been part of a larger poem of unknown date.
 It was said to have been plundered by the Anglo-Saxons in A.D 577.

BODY
I. Ruined City is refer to the ruins of the Roman city Aquæ Solis, the modern city of Bath.
a. Ruined City by Anonymous Anglo-Saxon Poet
b. famous for it's many stately bathhouses patronized by men of power.
c. The poem describes a ruined city and its collapsed state, imagining what and whom filled the
city in its heyday and is now gone.

I. Major Events of Ruined City

a. The districts of the city have crumbled.
b. The work of giants of old lies decayed.

II. Conclusion

this poem is all about the loss of former wealth, glory, and power. 
 THE HISTORY OF CAEDMON
INTRODUCTION:
The contribution of the Priest to Early English Literature
 The priest was, by the nature of his work also a teacher, an intellectual interested
in literature. Some of the priests, were scholars.
 One of such priest was the Venerable Bede, who wrote the Ecclesiastical History
of the English Nation.
 A combination of historical and legendary material.

BODY
I. Caedmon Earliest known English poet

a. Caedmon was the first of a series of Anglo-Saxon religious poets.

b. From Bede we get the History of Caedmon

c. The story of how he developed his talent is wrapped in the mist of

folklore.
d. He said his talent sprang from a dream

I. Major events of History of Caedmon

a. Others after him attempted, in the English nation, to compose religious poems, but none could
ever compare with him, for he did not learn the art of poetry from men, but from God

b. He there composed himself to rest at the proper time; a person appeared to him in his sleep.

c. Awaking from his sleep, he remembered all that he had sung in his dream, and soon added
much more to the same effect in verse worthy of the Deity.

d. They all concluded, that heavenly grace had been conferred on him by our Lord.

I. Conclusion

Most people imagined that shepherds led lives of peace and contentment and, with all that tending time
on their hands, were free to contemplate philosophy, morals, and what makes a Good Life. Shepherds
were portrayed as poets and philosophers, reinforcing the idea that in the simplest jobs resides the
most.
 THE DEATH OF ARTHUR

INTRODUCTION:
I. The contribution of the Knight in Early English Literature
 Malary's Le Morte D'Arthur is considered a complete
story of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
 The fighting nobleman during the Middle Ages was an
object of great respect and even of veneration.
 The knight was accorded the highest rank of society;
 The knight worshipped women because Mary was a
woman.
 Malary's Le Morte D'Arthur is considered a complete
story of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

BODY
I. Arthur's famous sword Excalibur and the death of King Arthur

a. King Arthur had a mysterious and magical birth; his career

was marvelous one.
b. He surrounded himself with twelve knights who came from
different lands.
c. The name Round Table came from the table used by the
knights, a wedding gift to Arthur.
d. At the beginning the knights were noted for their nobility
and loyalty. But later, evil crept into their hearts, resulting
 terrible fighting among themselves and the breakup of their
brotherhood.

II. Major events of King Arthur

a. Arthur led his army against the 11 rebel kings. There were many battles, but
thanks to Excalibur, Arthur won. The kings, defeated, agreed that Arthur
should rule.

b. Arthur married a princess named Guinevere. She was the daughter of King
Leodegrance of Cameliard. As a wedding present, her father gave them a huge
round table.

c. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table fought against the Saxons in many
battles. They finally defeated them at the Battle of Mount Badon

d. They had fought each other in single combat. Arthur killed Mordred, but
was gravely wounded.
III. Conclusion

Nice going Knights, you have successfully completed your quests about Arthur and Gawain and are now
ready to become true Knights of the Round Table.
 LORD RANDAL

BONNY BARBARA ALLAN

GET UP AND BAR THE DOOR

INTRODUCTION:

I. Ballad is a poem that tells a story

 To the ordinary people of the Middle Ages,these ballad

were more entertainment than Literature.

 Their authors are unknown and each ballad has several

versions, but they share their common characteristics.

BODY:

I. Three English Ballads

a. The Following is a ballad widely known in both England and America.

b. At Lord Randal, the central theme is a variation of the "poison-maid" motif; the girl in this poem
poisons her lover by giving him poisonous snake to eat.

c. To Bonny Barbara Allan, this is a story of unhappy love affair.

d. Lastly, Get up and bar the door, Although ballads were often serious or even tragic, this ballads
testifies that the comic was not entirely neglected by the balladeers.

II. Major Events at Lord Randal

 Through the mother's inquiry, it is gradually revealed that the Lord has been
poisoned by his lover, who has fed him poisoned eels.

 talk of making beds or going to bed was often a way of referring to death, so the
bed in question is either a deathbed or a grave, depending on circumstances.

Major events of Bonny Barbara allan

 Barbara’s lover dies of a broken heart from her rejection of him, and after his death, she
realizes her mistake. 

 She goes to Sir John and finds him lying behind a curtain, apparently on his deathbed. 

Major events of Get up and bar the door

  They make an agreement that who ever speaks first will be the one that has to get up and
look the door.

 When a wind blows the door open, the husband orders the wife to "bar the door." The wife tells
him off, because she is busy working, and he isn't doing anything.

3. Conclusions

 Lord Randal - It becomes quite clear early in the poem that something is wrong with Lord
Randall, and we find out that he is, in fact, poisoned. However, when he states his sickness at
heart we begin to suspect that it was his lover who poisoned him.

 Bonny Barbara Allan- In

life, Barbara Allan could not accept her love for Sir
John, but having lost him, she learns to value his love. By poem's end,
she has grown into a person who can bond with another.
 Get up and bar the door - The point of the ballad, essentially, is that husbands should know
better than to try and tell their wives what to do; the stubbornness of women will usually
outlast that of men.