Tackling Old English Poetry (I) (Pre-1800)
In this course we will examine the literature, history, and culture of the Germanic tribes known as the Anglo-Saxons, who invaded Britain as the Roman Empire crumbled into the so-called Dark Age. We will study the basics of their language, Old English, by closely reading such poems as "The Wanderer," "The Seafarer," "The Dream of the Rood," and the first part of Beowulf in modern translations as well as in the original. In addition, we will read and discuss selections from historical documents, such as the Venerable Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People," that shed light on the culture and society of the Anglo-Saxons. Students will be expected to have read two works by the great Anglo-Saxonist J.R.R. Tolkien before the course starts: his classic article "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" and The Hobbit. (ENAM 0103, ENAM 0201 and/or ENAM 0204, and ENAM 0205, or by waiver)