Background to the English Language - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Background to the English Language

English Literature ISlide2

History/ The Makings of Modern Day English

About 449 AD, several large Germanic tribes, the Angles (from Denmark), Saxons (from Germany), and Jutes (from Jutland or Rhineland), traveled to the islands known as

Britannia

. At the time, England was not yet united and these Teutonic plunderers brought with them a Germanic-based language that would become Anglo-Saxon, or Old English.

www.englishclub.com

Slide3

In 597 AD

, St. Augustine arrived from Rome to spread Christianity and convert Anglo-Saxons. Clergy were literate—priests brought writing to England (writing was a result of Christianity).

Most

“literature” of the time was in the Oral Tradition, or passed down by a

SCOP who could memorize and recite pages and pages of poems. The Scop praised deeds of

past

heroes, recorded history, and provided entertainment.With the arrival of Christianity, more writing took place (in Latin, the language of the church). The church controlled what was written down so less religious ideas were lost.

History/ The Makings of Modern Day

English (cont’d)Slide4

History

/ The Makings of Modern Day English (cont’d

)

All prose was usually written in Latin before the reign of Alfred the Great.

Bede (673-735), a priest and a scholar, wrote The History

of

the English Church and People, which gives an account of England from the Roman invasion up to his own time. He was able to generate the history of Britain, although his main concern was the spread of Christianity in England.

The Venerable Bede

psalterstudies.wordpress.comSlide5

In 827, King Egbert named Britannia

Englaland

, or “land of the Angles,” and the language

came to be called Englisc.In the ninth century, Norse (Norway) and Danes (Denmark) were pressured by their own populations and set out for other lands—namely, the British Isles.

In 871, King Alfred (the Great) was able to resist further encroachment by these Vikings; Saxons acknowledged Danish rule in the North and Danes respected Saxon rule in the South. Alfred the Great also encouraged a rebirth in learning and education (he was a great patron of the arts). He became known as the

“Father

of English Prose.” History/ The Makings of Modern Day English (cont’d)

King Alfred the Great

www.satucket.comSlide6

By the close of the tenth century

, Saxons were forced by the Danish to select Danish

kings,

and this went on until Edward the Confessor eventually was able to regain Saxon Rule. His death in 1066 brought about the end of Anglo-Saxon rule. In 1066, Edward’s chosen Saxon predecessor battled with William of Normandy over rights to the throne. William won the Battle at Hastings or what was called the

Norman Conquest. During his reign he saw that business was conducted in French or Latin. French became the official language, which then mixed with English (OE) to become what is now known as Middle English (ME).

History/ The Makings of Modern Day English (cont’d)Slide7

Middle English eventually gave way to Early Modern English, then MDE or PDE (Modern or Present day English).

OE

= Beowulf, Exeter Book, etc. ME

=Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales MDE or PDE= Shakespeare

History/ The Makings of Modern Day English (cont’d)Slide8

Timeline of the English LanguageSlide9

Old English sample

This is from the epic

Beowulf

, and in its original form—Old English. Click here for a link to hear it

read aloud: http://

faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html

Slide10

Middle English Sample

Whan

that

Aprill

with his shoures soote

The

droghte of March hath perced to the

roote

,

And bathed every

veyne

in

swich

licour

Of which

V

ertu

engendred

is the flour;

Whan

Z

ephirus

eek with his

sweete

breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and

heeth

The

t

endre

croppes

, and the

yonge

sonne

Hath in the ram his halve

cours

yronne

,

And

smale

foweles

maken

melodye

,

That

slepen

al the

nyght

with open ye

(so

priketh

hem nature in

hir

corages

);

Thanne

longen

folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And

palmeres

for to

seken

straunge

strondes

,

To

ferne

halwes

,

kowthe

in

sondry

londes

;

And specially from every shires

ende

Of

E

ngelond

to

C

aunterbury

they

wende

,

The

hooly

blisful

martir

for to

seke

,

That hem hath

holpen

whan

that they were

seeke

. Slide11

Variations in/ evolvement of English

Source: http

://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/OE_vs_ME.pdfSlide12

Most Anglo-Saxon

Writing

/Poetry

: was fatalistic, gloomy, melancholy, and grim (dealt with the Germanic idea of wyrd, or fate

)addressed the reality of a warrior societyfocused

on a seafaring tradition

was mostly pagan though written down by monks/clergy who injected Christian ideasCharacteristics

of Old English/ Anglo-Saxon

WritingsSlide13

Poetry was usually epic (heroic; dealing with the achievements of warriors)

or

elegiac

(lamenting the loss of a loved one).Anglo-Saxon poetry had two general features: repetition and variation (on a theme)

Characteristics of Old English/ Anglo-Saxon WritingsSlide14

A strong rhythm, usually four beats in a line

Caesuras

, or pauses within a line, which gave a

Scop the chance to catch his breathKennings, or metaphorical two-word poetic renamings of people, places, and things, such as “whales-home” for the seaAssonance

, or repetition of vowel soundsAlliteration, or repetition of initial consonant sounds Elegy, a lyric poem mourning the loss of someone or something

Epic

, a long narrative poem, usually developed orally, that celebrates the deeds of a heroLyric poetry, developed from the lyre, a stringed instrument used when poetry was recited; was both secular and religious and full of emotionSynecdoche, where part of something is used to refer to a whole entity; e.g., “wheels” for car, “iron” or “steel” for sword

Metonymy ,

refers to something else, but unlike synecdoche, the part does not have to refer to the whole (linked but not part of). e.g., “ride” for car, “Lend me your ears” for listening, “

H

ollywood” for celebrities

Poetic elements associated with Anglo-Saxon

PoetrySlide15

The Exeter Book

A

collection of manuscripts that includes pieces from oral tradition, probably compiled by monks around the time of Alfred the Great between 871 and 899. It was a blend of traditions mixing pagan ideas about fate with Christian ideas about faith and heaven.

Included were the stories and boasts of proud warriors with lessons in humility, and the famous Exeter Riddles; most material was in poetic form. -The riddles, or enigmata

, are sometimes sexual in nature with their use of

double-entendre. The reader is teased by a misleading description of an object.-Of the 95 riddles, there are only 5 on which everyone agrees on the answer-People pretty much agree on 15 of themSlide16

Themes and Motifs of this Time Period and its Literature

The characters outside the male community are disruptive: monsters, women, etc. Women did not hold as much importance and were infrequently found in writings of the time.

Nothing lasts; human relations are discordant

No human effort can change the course of wyrd or go against God’s will.

Pagan vs. Christian valuesMaking a good name for oneself was almost as good as immortalitySurvivalGood vs. EvilThe sanctity of the homeLoyalty and allegianceHeroism/ heroic deedsSlide17

Good Luck this semester!Slide18

Beowulf is the oldest surviving work of English poetry, written in Old English sometime around the 11

th

century, although the poem dates from around the eighth century. The

action takes place in Scandinavia.The epic Beowulf explores the nature of heroism in medieval society.The character Beowulf is a Geat from what is now southern Sweden. He sets sail to help Danish King Hrothgrar

in his fight against the evil monster Grendel, who is terrorizing Denmark’s great mead hall, Herot. The second battle is between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother, who seeks revenge for the murder of her son. The third and final battle takes place in Geatland about 50 years after the first two battles. When a dragon threatens his kingdom, the aged Beowulf is determined to slay him.

Beowulf