The Rood

Throughout the poem, “The Dream of the Rood”, a theme develops that illustrates hope through the crucifixion. This theme of hope is developed by the heroic diction the writer chooses to use. Words such as “warrior” and “foes” characterized the crucifixion as a battle itself. Additionally, words like “triumph”, “strong and courageous”, and “great might” represent the victory of Christ and the Rood in the battle over death, creating hope. The overall concept is also emphasized through the imagery in the text. When the Dreamer first sees the Rood, he describes it as “gleaming in bliss, all plated with gold; precious gemstones”. As it continues, it becomes clear that as Christ suffered, so did the Rood. For example, the Rood shares how “They drove dark nails into me; the dints of those wounds can still be seen, open marks of malice;”.

When taken out of context, this could appear to come from the perspective of Christ, but it comes from the Rood and exemplifies the similarities they held on that day.

The Rood experiences many common earthly feelings such as embarrassment at being cut down to humility at being chosen to hold the one and only Christ. This develops into an eternal spiritual connection as he develops a loyalty and respect for Him and is, therefore, honored to “stand fast” for Christ. The Rood tells his story so that the Dreamer and the reader can understand that Christ’s suffering and resurrection have provided forgiveness for mankind’s sins. Hope will allow them to live in spiritual grace or as the author says, “to live in glory, when their Lord returned, the Eternal King to His own country.” The Rood presents a truth for living in the physical world by commanding both the Dreamer and the reader to “tell others the events you have seen.” Each person must “seek His kingdom” during their time on

Earth.
Throughout Robert Henryson’s poem, “The Cock and the Fox”, the reoccurring theme of deceit is evident. It also teaches that destruction can be the possible result of pride. The cock’s pride causes him to be overconfident and arrogant, leading to him being tricked by the fox’s flattery. The text specifically refers to the cock as being so “blinded with pride” that he was completely unaware of the fox’s intentions to hurt him. The fox chooses to use flattery as a method to hide what he truly wants to happen, to capture the cock. The general ideas of this poem are demonstrated by using animals as characters. For instance, Henryson uses each animal to symbolize a certain personality trait that people often demonstrate. The fox, having a predatory nature, must resort to flattery to deceive the cock. Likewise, the cock, who struts around the farm yard, is used to represent the prideful person. Furthermore, the rest of the animals are utilized to reveal more information about the cock. For example, one of the hens, Sprutok, claims that the cock “was just too prone to jealousy”, and ultimately the hens make the cock out to be one who got what he deserved. The diction in the story also helps illustrate the deceit that is taking place. Words such as “crafty’ and “treacherous” are used to show the reader the fox is up to no good. However, the phrase “fair swollen with pride” is used to describe the cock. Overall, this poem teaches that in the physical world we must beware of pride and flattery because “Deadly they are, and from them we must flee,” but spiritually this teaches that sin can lead to God’s judgment, vengeance, and learning lessons the hard way.