Anglo-Saxons used storytelling and writing such as in the poems “The Seafarer”
translated by Burton Raffel and “The Wanderer” translated by Charles W. Kennedy. In
both of these poems, there are similarities and differences that show fame and fate,
religious struggles and the cultures societal structure. The earliest of the Anglo-Saxon
literature began as oral tradition tales ; later, Christian monks would often take those
tales that had been written down and alter them as a meaning of spreading religious
belief. However, these poems and stories were presented either orally or written. One
can often compare Anglo-Saxon literature to find not only similarities common to the
time period, but, also, differences.
Several common points can be found
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in the Anglo-Saxon poems “The Seafarer” translated by Burton Raffel and “The Wanderer” translated by Charles W. Kennedy. In both poems, exile is a common theme. Exile means one if forced away from their home for one reason or another (The Seafarer 19).
“Though woefully toiling on wintry
seas”(The Wanderer 3). The Seafarer and the Wanderer both use harsh weather
conditions to portray how they have cold emptiness in their hearts. “Diving through
winter…hung on icicles”(The Seafarer 16). They both agree that you should not worry
about worldly possessions because at the end of your life you cannot take the
Heaton 2
possessions with you. “A wise man…swept by the winds”(The Wanderer 66). The
seafarer has hope as where the wanderer does not. “With treasures intended for
Heaven, but nothing golden shakes the wrath of God ” (The Seafarer 101). They are
portraying how you should not worry about possessions you cannot take with you at
the end of your life.
There are different points throughout both poems and stories that show several
different emotions and struggles, “No givers of gold, as once there were, when
wonderful things were worked among them and they lived in lordly magnificence” (The
Seafarer 85-87). The seafarer was put out to sea by exile to continue searching for his
kin, where as the wanderer has lost his lord. The character just experienced a loss of
his king and it forced him to go out and search for another. “Sad, I sought the hall of
a giver of treasure, where I might find, far or near, one who in the mead hall might know about my people, or might wish to comfort me, friendless, entertain with delights” (The Wanderer 24-28). Although they are both isolated and alone, the seafarer creates a new fire for life. In contrast, the wanderer feels sadness. ”Homeless and hapless he fled from fate”(The Wanderer 3). The man in “The Seafarer” was content with being on the sea as in “The Wanderer” the man was miserable and wanted to find a new lord and new people to be around. “The passion of… the towering sea!”( The Seafarer). The Wanderer portrays a lost character that needs to find his way back into society but cant. It shows his feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. In conclusion, throughout both poems they show religious struggles, fame and fate, heroic beliefs and the cultures societal structure, "In icy bands, bound with frost, Heaton 3 with frozen chains, and hardship groaned around my heart" (The Seafarer 9-11). The images represent how he feels and how he sees his life at that moment. Symbolic gestures such as, "The song of the swan might serve for pleasure, the cry of the seafowl, the death-noise of birds instead of laughter, the mewing of gulls instead of mead" (The Wanderer 19-22). This quote suggest that sounds can play an effect on a person. Both poems include similarities and differences that show fame and fate, religious struggles, and the cultures societal structure. They both go through hard times and difficult paths through exile on both land and sea.
also be seen as a man who enjoyed killing but must come up with an
As Edgar Allan Poe once stated, “I would define, in brief the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” The two poems, “Birthday,” and “The Secret Life of Books” use different diction, theme, and perspective to give them a unique identity. Each author uses different literary devices to portray a different meaning.
“My Son the Marine?” was written by John and Frank Schaeffer in 2002. This story was written in the 1st person. It focuses on the struggle a father is having about his son joining the military. “Separating” was written by John Updike in 1972 and is written in the 3rd person. It is about a family going through a divorce and focuses on the emotional toll towards the children during the separation. “Those Winter Sundays” was written in 1966 by Robert Hayden. Written in the 1st person, the focus of this poem is to show the regret of a young boy who never showed the appreciation that his father deserved. All of these stories appeal to “The things They Carry” because of the emotional aspect. In all these stories there are signs of guilt, confusion, and regret.
on: April 10th 1864. He was born in 1809 and died at the age of 83 in
the texts stem from the reasons they are the same; why certain people are chosen,
All the poems you have read are preoccupied with violence and/or death. Compare the ways in which the poets explore this preoccupation. What motivations or emotions do the poets suggest lie behind the preoccupation?
The Seafarer is about an old sailor, and the loneliness and struggle of being out at sea. The speaker uses his loneliness out at sea along with his struggles such as the cold and hunger he faces. The speaker puts emphasis on his loneliness by saying, ?my heart wanders away, my soul roams with sea?. This adds to the imagery that the sailor is attached to his life at sea, his love for sailing yet adds the isolation that comes with his life.
Comparing two poems - Binsey Poplar by Hopkins and I wandered lonely as a cloud' by Wordsworth. Compare the two poems and comment on: - The overall feelings of the poem - How they use language effectively - What the poems suggest about the characters of the authors. The two poems 'Binsey Poplars' by Hopkins and 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' by Wordsworth both contain very strong, emotive feelings.
‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ and ‘The Preservation of Flowers’: two notable poems, two very different styles of writing. This essay will look at their contrasts and similarities, from relevant formal aspects, to the deeper meanings hidden between the lines. We will examine both writers use of rhyme scheme, sound patterning, word choice, figurative language and punctuation. It will also touch a little on the backgrounds of the writers themselves and their inspirations, with the intention of gaining a greater understanding of both texts.
For the layman, familiarity with the major religions stems from the stories that are associated with them. Using the narratives that are derived from the sacred texts is the most prominent way in which our society identifies the Western religions. The Jewish tradition is best correlated to stories like the Exodus and the parting of the Red Seas, for example, as are the many tales of the miracles of Jesus connected to Christianity. This essay will present narratives as an easy method of providing the basic groundwork for the Western religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of their simplicity and easily transmittable nature. Furthermore, narratives impart many of the rules, laws, and moral fundamentals for these faiths, and are used by religious writers as a novel method of initiating discussion or providing a parallel for other narratives.
In his preface of the Kokinshū poet Ki no Tsurayaki wrote that poetry conveyed the “true heart” of people. And because poetry declares the true heart of people, poetry in the minds of the poets of the past believed that it also moved the hearts of the gods. It can be seen that in the ancient past that poetry had a great importance to the people of the time or at least to the poets of the past. In this paper I will describe two of some of the most important works in Japanese poetry the anthologies of the Man’yōshū and the Kokinshū. Both equally important as said by some scholars of Japanese literature, and both works contributing greatly to the culture of those who live in the land of the rising sun.
Throughout time, mankind has forged stories and legends to explain the unknown. As years went along the stories and tall tales were passed down to each generation. Each recount of the inherited stories are always told differently, how the story was told usually depended on the person and their particular region of habitance. Thus leading to hundreds of different versions of a single story told throughout the world, written and told by different people. Not only are these stories told as pure entertainment, they serve as wise life lessons and set examples for children when they were eventually introduced to society. These stories are so prominent in human history that even to this day the same stories that were told to children centuries ago
There are many different characteristics that bring territories together and make them stronger. One of these is religion. Religion is the organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods. In these religions, there is usually a leader to guide the people in their belief and show them the right path to take to serve their god. Throughout history there have been many different types of religion. The three main ones that are still recognized today are Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Each had different people that were seen as a leader. In order for others to know about these leaders and the works they did, there were many stories that were written about them. These stories were created to spread knowledge of their religion and how one was to act when following it. Three documents of the 300 B.C.E-800 B.C.E time period that were about religious leaders are Asokavadana, Life of Constantine, and The Life of Muhammad, Apostle of Allah and were written with persuasive purposes to show which behaviors were approved and disapproved of by looking into inspired men’s lives.
Though ballads and Sonnets are poems that can depict a picture of someone’s beloved, they can have many differences. For instance, a Ballad is a story in short stanzas such as a song would have, where as a sonnet typical, has a traditional structure of 14 lines employing several rhyme schemes and adheres to a tight thematic organization. Both Robert Burn’s ballad “The Red, Red, Rose, and William Shakespeare’s “of the Sonnet 130 “they express their significant other differently. However, “The Red, Red, Rose depicts the Falling in new love through that of a young man’s eyes, and Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 depicts a more realistic picture of the mistress he writes about; which leaves the reader to wonder if beauty is really in the eyes of the beholder.
The study of biblical text is bound to raise questions. Did this actually happen? How did these improbable events provide substance for belief systems that have prospered for thousands of years? What were these people thinking? James George Frazer never writes about the bible in his publication, “The Golden Bough,” but his study of thought provides groundwork for anthropologists for years to come.