Preview

Trace the Development of English Lit During Any One Period...as Part of Your Discussion Highlight How Significant Events in the Influence the Writing...Additionally Show How Characteristics of the Genre the Writer Uses

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3096 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Trace the Development of English Lit During Any One Period...as Part of Your Discussion Highlight How Significant Events in the Influence the Writing...Additionally Show How Characteristics of the Genre the Writer Uses
Trace the development of English lit during any one period...As part of your discussion highlight how significant events in the influence the writing...Additionally show how characteristics of the genre the writer uses reflects the period in which it was written.
James Arthur Baldwin once stated that: "know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go." This quotation may apply to the span of the Anglo-Saxon period because of the coherent linkage to the origination of the English dialect and the modernization of English Literature. Over the years English literature has evolved greatly. There have been diverse changes to the structure and development of English language since the advent of Old English dialect during the Anglo-Saxon period to what we now speak and consider to be English language. “Old English is not uniform. It consists of various dialects, but literature needs to treat it as a language” (Michael Delahoyde.) Research has proven that around the world there are over one hundred (100) variants of English, from different American-English dialects, to those of Asia, Africa and Oceana. It is important for one to know both the origin of this powerful masterpiece known as the English Language and the importance of this literary period to the development of English literature. In attempting to do the aforementioned, the focus will be on the Anglo-Saxon people, their society, culture, and literary work with a view towards highlighting the impact on the development of the English language and English literature.
The Anglo-Saxon or Old English period goes from the invasion of Celtic England in the first half of the fifth century (AD 700) up till the conquest in 1066 by William of Normandy. The Anglo-Saxons consisted of diverse ethnicity that forms one nation. There were three main ethnic groups that formed the Anglo-Saxon. These are: Angles from Angel in South-West Denmark, Saxon from North-West



Cited: The Anglo-Saxon Kings. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Overview.aspx>. "Anglo-Saxon Poetry." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Anglo-Saxon_Poetry>. "Beowulf." Beowulf. Georgetown University, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/iacd_99F/medieval_lit/data/Beowulf.htm>. Damrosch, David. "Beowulf." The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Compact 2nd ed. Vol. A. New York: Longman, 2004. 27+. Print. Delahoyde, Michael. "Anglo-Saxon Culture." Anglo-Saxon Culture. Washington State University, 2005. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/anglo-saxon.html>. Household, Royal. "The Anglo-Saxon Kings." The Anglo-Saxon Kings. The British Monarchy-Royal Household, Aug. 2008. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Overview.aspx>. "How Many Dialects Are in the English Language?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_dialects_are_in_the_English_language>. Lamberth, Tim. "Life in Anglo Saxon England." Life in Anglo Saxon England. N.p., 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.localhistories.org/saxonlife.html>. "Myspace." Web log post. Myspace. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.myspace.com/pendulummanagement/blog/459255921>. Ross, David. "Anglo-Saxon Life - Kinship and Lordship." Anglo-Saxon England. Britain Express, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.britainexpress.com/History/anglo-saxon_life-kinship_and_lordship.htm>. University of Toronto Library. "RPO -- Cædmon : Cædmon 's Hymn." RPO. Department of English at Toronto Press, 2002-2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem369.html>.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle omits some key elements of the English history, is written very simply and avoids long explanations. These elements enhance the biased dimension of the texts. Moreover,…

    • 4221 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1066 Year of the Conquest

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Saxons lived in little villages that were almost self sufficient and self supporting. They lived lives of endless labor which was rewarded by having plenty to eat and drink, plenty of space, plenty of virgin land to clear and cultivate. Also, taxes had been reduced and the weather was improving so crops flourished and men and cattle thrived.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.” The Bayeux Tapestry: A Guide. n.p, n. d. Web, 25 Mar. 2013.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bibliography: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, (transl. Rev. James Ingram.), (London, 1823), (Everyman Press, London, 1912), electronic edition (ed.) Douglas B. Killings (July 1996), http://omacl.org/Anglo/part2.html, Accessed 14/4/13…

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Anglo-Saxons are an ancient people that had and still have an impact on the world. The Anglo-Saxons came over from Europe and raided England from approximately 500 A.D. to 1000 A.D. bringing with them their culture and their brutal style of warfare. Historians call this period the Anglo-Saxon period of England. During the Anglo-Saxon period the society revolved around warfare and various types of weapons that supported the warring nature of the people of that era. Some of the weapons that were the most important in this time period were the spear, sword, battle axe, and shield.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bede Formation

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages

    They were mentioned as raiding and settling in many North Sea territories, as well as expanding south inland towards the Franks in France. After the fall of the Roman Empire a significant amount of the population settled in large parts of Great Britain in the early Middle Ages and formed the group of Anglo-Saxons who eventually created the first United Kingdom of England. Many Saxons, however, remained in Germany, where they battled against expanding Frankish Empire through the leadership of the semi-legendary Saxon hero, Widukind. Initially, Saxons of Britain and those of Germany were both referred to as 'Saxons' by opposing nations in an indiscriminate manner. The term Anglo-Saxon, in turn, came into practice in the 8th century to distinguish English Saxons from North German Saxons. The Saxons' earliest area of settlement is believed to have been in Northern Albingia, an area around modern Holstein near the Angles homeland. Saxons, along with the Angles and other mainland Germanic tribes, participated in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain during and after the 5th century. The Celtic inhabitants of the Isles tended to refer to all of these groups collectively as Saxons. No one knows how many migrated to Britain but is inferred about 200,000 settled. During the Middle Ages, because of international trading routes and widespread migration, Saxons mixed with and had strong influences upon the languages and cultures of the Polabian Slavs, Baltic peoples, and Finnic people and Pomeranians, both West Slavic peoples, as well as the North Germanic…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Huck discovers his father has come to town, he wisely signs his fortune over to the Judge. Judge Thatcher has a daughter, Becky, whom Huck calls "Bessie."…

    • 4874 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alongside Anglo-Norman, Old English developed into Middle English. Middle English is a distinct variety of English, influenced in large part by Anglo-Norman French. For example, Old English speakers did not distinguish between /f/ and /v/. Just like speakers of Modern German, OE speakers would use both sounds ([f] and [v]) for the letter . "Aefre" was pronounced [ever]. But French speakers do distinguish these two sounds. (Vouz means "you" and fou means "crazy.") After the Conquest, English people had to distinguish between, for example, veal and feel. So, new sounds, new words, new syntax—all contribute to a significant change in the English language. And to a new literature.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Standardisation occurred between the 15th and 19th century, its aim was to unify a nation through creating rules around written and spoken language with agreed terms of usage.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the Normans, the Anglo-Saxons were in control of England and had strong ties with Scandinavian. The Anglo-Saxons came from Saxony, Jutes and Anglia (the equivalent of Germany and Denmark nowadays). The first wave of Anglo-Saxons settled in the 6th century and they were followed by two waves of Vikings in the 8th and 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons replaced the previous population. Because of all these Vikings waves, the Anglo-Saxon’s years were not a peaceful time. Every time a Viking wave came, a war broke out. All these waves had basically the…

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Three questions will have to be answered (one question of 16 marks and two questions of 7 marks each)…

    • 2149 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    So far, we have had three phases in our English language. We began with Old English that fell between the timeline of 450 AD to 1150AD. Following that we transitioned to Middle English which ran from 1150 AD to 1500 AD. And from there we grew accustomed to Modern English which began in 1500 AD and is still the language that we have the privilege to speak today. Although the entire history of the English language is fascinating, unfortunately this paper is mainly focused on the Middle English period. As in most cases, there are important historical events that lead to the transition from Old English to Middle English. And from those events we can better understand why Old English sounds like a foreign language compared to Modern English, whereas Middle English seems much more similar. With the help of an excerpt from Geoffrey Chaucer’s book Canterbury Tales, we can reflect upon the text and explain how and why Middle English has the vocabulary and grammar that it does.…

    • 1301 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first works in English, written in Old English, appeared in the early Middle Ages, the oldest surviving text being the Hymn of Cædmon. Oral tradition was very strong in early English culture and most literary works were written to be performed.Epic poems were thus very popular, and many, including…

    • 11462 Words
    • 46 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bede

    • 1907 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Seminar 1. Anglo-Saxon History Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum Was it a difficult text Why Did you make frequent use of the dictionary What is the original language of this history Why Do you think the authors description of the British Isles provides useful information What kind of information is it and in what order is it presented What do you know about Bede Was he interested in languages and cultures Could you find any aspect leading us to think he was a Christian and an Anglo-Saxon author In chapter 15 Bede offers the adventus saxonum (the coming of the Saxons) event as having happened in 450 According to his account, who were Vortigern, Hengest and Horsa and Ambrosius Aurelianus Whose side do you think Bede is on On what basis did Bede consider good or bad people Bede from Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (A.D. 731) Bk I, Ch I The situation of Britain and Ireland their earliest inhabitants Britain, formerly known as Albion, is an island in the ocean, facing between north and west, and lying at a considerable distance from the coasts of Germany, Gaul, and Spain, which together form the greater part of Europe. It extends 800 miles northwards, and is 200 in breadth, except where a number of promontories stretch further, the coastline round which extends to 3675 miles. To the south lies Belgic Gaul, from the nearest shore of which travellers can see the city known as Rutubi Portus, which the English have corrupted to Reptacestir. The distance from there across the sea to Gessoriacum, the nearest coast of the Morini, is fifty miles or, as some write it, 450 furlongs. On the opposite side of Britain, which lies open to the boundless ocean, lie the isles of the Orcades. Britain is rich in grain and timber it has good pasturage for cattle and draught animals, and vines are cultivated in various localities. There are many land and sea birds of various species, and it is well known for its plentiful springs and rivers abounding in fish. There are salmon…

    • 1907 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    notes

    • 9007 Words
    • 37 Pages

    1. Long, William J.: English Literature: Its History and Significance for the life of English…

    • 9007 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics