Transcript beowulf - marilenabeltramini.it

CULTURE AND
LITERATURE IN ENGLAND
IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Anastasia Bergamo
3^ A
Liceo Scientifico “A. Einstein”
anno scolastico 2010-2011
LANGUAGES IN THE
MIDDLE AGES
• Latin was spoken among the clergy and
influenced Old English.
• After 1066 French was spoken among the
nobility and at court.
• English was spoken among ordinary
people.
• In the 14 th century English became the
predominant language.
CULTURE
• Anglo-Saxon culture (4 th century- 1485)  oral tradition:
Beowulf
• Introduction of Christianity:
monasteries became centres of culture and education
•
•
The reign of king Alfred the Great (871-899):
Latin texts were translated into Old English
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1st example of English prose)
BOOKS AND PRESS
Monasteries were cultural centres
• The clergy was the only literate class
• Monks copied manuscripts by hand on leather pages
• In 1475 William Caxton set up a press in London.
MEDIEVAL ART
1. The Anglo-Saxons had great artistic skills:
they decorated weapons, jewellery and objects
2. Christian art: manuscripts and
books of prayers
were decorated
3. Anglo-Norman period:
scenes of everyday life
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE
1. Abbeys and minsters were built in Norman style:
the cathedrals of Canterbury and Durham.
Canterbury
2. Later on the Gothic style was imported :
Westminster Abbey (1245)
Durham
MEDIEVAL MUSIC
• The earliest music was compound by the poets who
celebrated the adventures of heroes: a single
melodic line and voices
• With the statement of Christianity ritual music
disappeared
• During the reign of Edward IV English music
developped
• John Dunstable, the first composer, introduced
melodies and harmonies which anticipated the
Renaissance.
BEOWULF
- Genre: epic poem (3200 lines)
- Author: anonymous
- Origin: 7 th century
One manuscript (around the year 1000)
- Language: Old English
- Influence of Scandinavian sagas
legends inspired by ancient historical events
- Setting: Denmark, Gaetland and Sweden
CULTURAL BACKGROUND
• The poem belongs to the tradition of Anglo-Saxon oral poetry.
• It was characterized by alliteration and repetition of fixed phrases
that help memorisation.
• The verse form was a double line with a break in the middle to
create rhythm.
• The metre was based on a pattern of stressed and alliterated words.
• The number of sillables in a line was not important.
In Anglo-Saxon times
poems were composed orally by “scops”
who recited them by heart and to the
accompaniment of harp or lyre.
PLOT
The poem tells the story of the noble warrior Beowulf,
a Scandinavian hero
Part one
- Beowulf goes to Denmark to help the Denish King.
- He fights and kills the monster Grendel.
- He fights and kills Grendel’s his mother.
- He goes back home to Geatland.
Beowulf and Grendel
Part two
- Beowulf becomes king. His reign his peaceful and long.
- He fights and kills a dragon to protect his kingdom.
- After the fight he dies from his home wounds.
THE PROTAGONIST : is a hero, a warrior
he is strong, brave, proud , loyal.