DEVELOPMENT OF POETRY

FROM ANGLOSAXON

TO

SHAKESPEAREAN AGE

PRESENTERS:

MAHARUKH ZULFIKAR

TEHNIYAT ARSHAD

IQRA HUSSAIN

ARISHA SIDDIQUI
 TOPIC : Development of poetry from Anglo Saxon
to the age of Shakespeare:
 POETRY:
Dr. Johnson, the great scholar and literary critic of
the 18th century, defined poetry as, “metrical
composition,” and added that it is “the art of uniting
pleasure with trut by calling imagination to the help
of reason.” Poetry , according to Macaulay is, “the
art of doing by means of words what the painter
does by means of colours.” Poetry is imaginative and
emotional interpretation of life. Poetry deals with
facts, experience and problemsof life, but first, it
relates them to our emotions , and secondly, it
transfigures and transforms them by the exercise of
imagination. It treats reality imaginatively, colors it
with emotion , but it does not falsify or distort it.
Imagination and emotion predominate in poetry,
they are the essential qualities of poetry and without
them much that passes as poetry, is in reality
unworthy of the name of poetry.
ANGLO SAXON AGE (450-1066A.D)

INTRODUCTION :
In the ancient times, there were three tribes called
Angles, Saxons and Jutes in the northern Europe. In
 the 5th century, they conquered Britain and settled
down there. Angles, Saxons and Jutes who are
usually known as Anglo-Saxons are the first
Englishmen. The language spoken by them is called
the Old English, which is the foundation of English
language and literature. With the Anglo-Saxon
settlement in Britain, the history of English literature
began.
The Anglo-Saxon invaders brought with them a
tradition of oral poetry, but it was christanity that
brought the written word to them. For the most
part, only churchmen were literate and spent much
time copying manuscripts. Thus we see plenty of
religious topics in the written works of that era. In
oral poetry, it could be passed down by word of
mouth from generation to generation. Its creators
for the most part were unknown. It was given a
written form long after its composition
 Anglo-Saxon Poetry:
Anglo-Saxon poetry is divided into two parts.
Christian poetry which is also known as (Religious
poetry) and Non-Christian poetry, also known as
 (Secular Poetry). Religious poetry represented by the
works of Caedmon and Cynewulf. Non-Christian
poetry is further divided into two parts Heroic poetry
and Battle War poetry.
 Heroic Poetry:
Anglo-Saxon literature is almost wholly verse. Most
of this verse is religious, only a small portion being
secular. Of this secular verse Beowulf is the most
famous. It is the earliest and greatest epic in Anglo-
Saxon. It is a poem of more than 3000 lines
celebrating the heroic deeds of the warrior who
gives his name to the poem. Beowulf sails from
Sweden and comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, king of
Denmark, whose feasting hall is nightly raided by a
terrible monster, Grendal, who carries off and
devours his warriors. Beowulf fights the monster and
kills him. But the scourge is not over, for Grendel’s
mother, even more terrible than Grendal, renews
the attacks. Beowulf plunges into the lake at the
bottom of which she dwells and kills her with a
magic sword. Beowulf and his party then return
home laden with honours and gifts from Hrothgar.
Fifty years later when Beowulf is old and king of
Sweden, he distinguishes himself in another heroic
feat. A fire-belching dragon guarding a treasure has
been provoked and is ravaging the land. Beowulf,
though old, fights and kills him, but is himself
mortally wounded in the encounter. The author of
Beowulf is still unknown and another essential key
feature of Anglo Saxons poetry is the use
ALLITERATION.
Anglo-Saxon literature is almost wholly verse. Most
of this verse is religious, only a small portion being
secular. Of this secular verse Beowulf is the most
famous. It is the earliest and greatest epic in Anglo-
Saxon. It is a poem of more than 3000 lines
celebrating the heroic deeds of the warrior who
gives his name to the poem. Beowulf sails from
Sweden and comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, king of
Denmark, whose feasting hall is nightly raided by a
terrible monster, Grendal, who carries off and
devours his warriors. Beowulf fights the monster and
kills him. But the scourge is not over, for Grendel’s
mother, even more terrible than Grendal, renews
the attacks. Beowulf plunges into the lake at the
bottom of which she dwells and kills her with a
magic sword. Beowulf and his party then return
home laden with honours and gifts from Hrothgar.
Fifty years later when Beowulf is old and king of
Sweden, he distinguishes himself in another heroic
feat. A fire-belching dragon guarding a treasure has
been provoked and is ravaging the land. Beowulf,
though old, fights and kills him, but is himself
mortally wounded in the encounter. The author of
Beowulf is still unknown and another essential key
feature of Anglo Saxons poetry is the use
ALLITERATION.
Two other poems of the pre-Christian period which
tell us of the primitive past are Widsith and Deor’s
Lament/ Complaint. They are the songs of two
wandering minstrels. Widsith, ‘the far traveller’ has
wandered over the Germanic lands and visited many
princes He sings the praises of the princes who have
honoured and conferred gifts on him. Deor's
Complaint is the sad tale of a poet who has been
supplanted by a rival in the favour of his lord. He
 consoles him- self by remembering the misfortunes
of others before him and ends every stanza with the
refrain: That he over went; this also may I (so and so
overcome his misfortunes; I too may overcome
mine). The English passion for the sea and the
adventurous life is well illustrated by the Seafarer, a
lyrical poem of great power but marred by obscurity.
 BATTLE/WAR POETRY:
By far the greater portion of Anglo-Saxon poetry is
religious. It is associated with two names—
Caedmon and Cynewulf. The first is historical, the
second more or less mythical. The story of Caedmon
as related by Bede is famous. Caedmon was an
unlettered cowherd at the monastery of Whitby to
whom the gift of song came by a miracle. Unable to
sing at a Saxon feast, he retired to his stall abashed
and humiliated. Suddenly an angel appeared and
commanded him to sing of the creation. Caedmon
thereupon sang of the creation and of the creator
and his glory. The most notable of his poems are
versions of Genesis and Exodus. To the mythical or
semi-myth
 Cynewulf is attributed all the rest of Anglo-Saxon
poetry, partly original and partly translations or
adaptations from Latin or other originals. These are
the Christ lives of the Saints Juliana and Elene
(Helena) and Guthlac (a native saint), and the Dream
of the Rood. The last named is the most interesting.
In this the rood or the Cross relates its adventures
from the time it was cut off from a tree in the forest
until it received Jesus who was crucified on it. Anglo-
Saxon Christian poetry is duller than the Pre-
Christian heroic poetry, its chief defect being its
rhetoric with elaborate periphrasis. The resulting
verbosity smothers the simple austere eloquence of
the original, whether the Bible or the lives of the
saints. For example, “where the Bible says: ‘And God
said let there be light, and there was light’, the
Anglo-Saxon has ‘‘The creator of angels, the Lord of
life, bade light appear on the limit- less ocean. The
order of the most High was accomplished with haste,
the holy light spread over the immensity, as the
Creator had required’ (Legouis)
 Form and Style of Anglo-Saxon Poetry:
Quite apart from other factors, the quality of any
poetry is determined by its language The Anglo-
Saxon language is rough its words are hard and
metallic The poetry accordingly is crude and rough_
But even more serious is the shortcoming of its versi-
ficanon. The stock formula is a line of accented
alliterative syllables with a middle pause. Alliteration
does lend a musical charm and has always been used
with great effect in English poetry But the excessive
and regular, almost compulsory alliteration, of the
Anglo-Saxon verse, makes it not only monotonous
but also artificial, for the poet must select the right
letter rather than the right word. No advance lay
along this line of prosody and Anglo-Saxon poetry
came to a
dead end even after its sudden and glorious revival
in the fourteenth century by Langland
and a few others. Further, this monotony of
versification is aggravated by the cheerless gloom of
tone and temper, dwelling on ‘ Weird* or fate
making short work of man and his achievements.
Even the Anglo-Saxon’s love of Nature is tinged with
melancholy gloom. Instead of treating of the softer
aspects of Nature — the spring, sunshine and
flowers — Anglo-Saxon poetry dwells on the harsher
and wilder aspects of the elements — stormy seas,
hail and thunder. To make matters worse, this
poetry is marred by verbosity— high sounding words
and long-winded peri- phrasis by way of explanation
and elaboration. The Anglo-Saxon poets cannot
speak simply.
MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD 1066-1500:
The year 1066 is also called Norman Conquest and
battle of hasting. In this year the duke of Norman
named William challenged Harold, who was the king
of anglosaxon and William became the king of
England and French became the language of of
court, parliament and elite society for three
centuries but common people didn’t change their
language. In 1066-1340. Anglo saxon became the
language of Anglosaxon.
AGE OF CHAUCER:
FIVE MAJOR WRITERS OF THE AGE:
 The five major writers of the middle age are:
 Geoffrey Chaucer
 William Langland
 John Gower
 John Wycliffe
 Mandeville
WILLIAM LANGLAND:
He wrote the vision of William concerning piers the
ploughman, vivid suffering of peasents.
JOHN GOWER:
He was the best friend of Chaucer. He was a moralist. He
wrote speculum Medantis in French.Vox clamantis in
latin and confressico Amantis in English.
JOHN WYCLIFFE:
He was a prose writer. He translated Bible into Middle
English language which is known as Wycliffe bible written
in midland dialect. He was the morning star of
reformation. Lollards movement are the followers of
Wycliffe.
MANDEVILLE:
He was a traveler. He wrote voyage and traveler of sir
Mandeville.
GEOFFREY CHAUCER:
He was born in 1340 in the region of king Edward3 and
died in 1400. He is the first poet who was buried in
Poet’s corner in westminister Abbey. Chaucer wrote in
East midlands dialect. The most important feature of his
poetry was REALISM. He has his own style of poetry.
Chaucer is the FATHER OF ENGLISH POETRY. He was
termed as the REPRESENTATIVE POET OF THE AGE. His
literary career can be divided into three main groups.
FRENCH WORK:
 Roman de la Rose
 The book of duchess
ITALIAN WORK:
 Legend of good women
 The house of fame
 Torilus and cryside
ENGLISH WORK:
 The Canterbury tales
 The prologue to Canterbury.
IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE AGE:
 100 year’s war
 Black death
 The peasant Revolt of 1381

RENAISSANCE
 HISTORY:

The literal meaning of “REANISSANCE” is Rebirth or

Revival. So basically it implies the revival of Greek
culture, civilization and knowledge, which first
appeared in Europe around 14th Century. Then later,
it shows signs in Italy, when Greek knowledge and
literature was brought to light after the Turkish
invasion in Constantinople , The Greek scholars fled
to Italy and after some time the classical literature of
Greece was studied by Poets like Dante, Francesco
 Petrarch and Boccaccio. From there the revival of
Learning was started and later in 16th Century , it was
spread in England as well.
THE KEY FEATURES OF RENAISSANCE:
• Revival or Rebirth of Greek Knowledge, culture and
Civilization.
• Beauty of Women
• Beauty of world
• Humanism
• Secularism
• Freedom/ Chivalry
• Patriotism
• Sense of Exploration
• Discovery
SOME IMPORTANT CHANGES:
• The revival of Human Mind
• It was a secular movement
• This period was the age of Discovery. Countries like
 India and America were discovered
• The birth of QUEST
• The blind believe in religion and clergy was no
longer there
• Women’s rights were elevated, they were presented
in theatres.
• THE DEVELOPMENT OF POETRY:
WYATT AND SURREY:

The literature in this period was directly influenced

by ITALY. A new form was written in this period and
is also considered as the main ingredient of
Renaissance “ SONNETS“. Two poets stand out in
the name of this form “SIR THOMAS WYATT AND
EARL OF SURREY” . Both of them took great
influence from Italian Poet “Francesco Petrarch”.
Wyatt and Surrey were also represented in
“TOTTEL’S MISCELLANY”( A collection of Songs and
Sonnets), which is still considered as the greatest
work in English Literature. Their another work was
translation of Virgil Annelid. Another important
 feature was the introduction of Blank Verses by
Surrey in his work, which was also influenced from
Italy.
• EDUMUND SPENSER:

He is also known as “Poet’s Poet” and also

considered as the big name of Renaissance. Spenser
belonged to a middle class background and was not
much acknowledged as a Poet before but after
“WALTER RALEIF” took him to Queen Elizabeth’s
court, he received a lot of appreciation from her on
his long Allegorical poem ‘FAERIE QUEEN’. It was his
Epic masterpiece. Another works of Spenser include
Shepherd’s Calendar , AStropheL ( an Elegy on the
death of Sir Phillip Sidney), Amoretti( 88 sonnets),
Epithalamion/Epithelium ( Marriage Songs), 4
Hymns and Colin Clout come home again. The main
quality of Spenser’s work was it’s ability to draw an
imaginary picture in it’s reader’s mind. He invented
his own 9 line stanza “Spenserian Stanza”. He is
known as the “CHILD OF RENAISSANCE” due to his
diverse content, his work reflects the key features of
 the revival period. For Example: the promotion of
love in AMORRETI, Elegies in AStropheL , The spirit
of Adventures, Humanity, Beauty, The corruption of
Clergy and the struggle of Protestants were
represented beautifully in “FAERIE QUEEN”.
Another key feature of his craft was his subjectivity
in Colin Clout come home again and Objectivity in
Faerie Queen. He boldly expresses the society
without any restriction in his craft.
• SIR PHILLIP SIDNEY:

Sir Phillip Sidney is considered as a minor writer

because of his acknowledgement as a great critic .
He belonged to a Royal background and is
remembered for his noble deeds during a battle
where he embraced martyrdom , that’s why he is
known as a NOBLEMAN.

WORKS:
-Arcadia
-An Apology to Poetry/ A Defense to Poesy
-AStrophel and Stella ( a sonnet).
• SHAKESPEAREAN AGE
• WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR
• He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in
the english language and the world's pre-
eminent dramatist. He is often called
England's national poet and nick named the
(Bard Of Avon). He was born in stratford upon
Avon ,That's why called Bard Of Avon. His
father name was John shakespear and mother
name was Mary Arden. His father belonged to
protestant church.
• There were alot of uncertainities regarding
shakespear. He never wrote about his likes or
dislikes which proves that he was a
commercial writer, He was uncontroversial.
• Little is known of shakespear's childhood and
education (It is speculated that he attended
the King's New school in stratford , where he
learned to read and write. Since all the
grammar schools then followed the same
curricular, It is believed that he recieved
intensive education is grammar based. upon
 latin classical author.
• William shakespear has been confessed with
the honour of being england's national poet
and Bard Of Avon. Though its not exactly
known as to when did shakespear begin hisb
writing area. Records of performances show
that his plays started to feature on the london
stage by 1592.
• Scholars refers to the year between 1585 and
1592 as shakespear's lost years.
• He wrote about 37 plays. Histories (henry IV ,
V), Comedies (As you like it, Mid summer night
Drama), Tragedies (romeo juliet, King Lear).
• Shakespear characters were extremely deep
as if they're real humans.
There are the 10 famous poems written by william
shakespear.

* The rape of Lucrece.

* The phoenix and the turtle.
 * Sonnet 20, sonnet 1, sonnet 73 .
* Venus and Adonis
* Sonnet 29, sonnet 130, sonnet 16 , sonnet 18
BEN JHONSON
Ben jhonson was an English Playwright, poet,
actor, and literary critic, whose artistry exerted a
lasting impact upon English Literature and stage
comedy. Jhonson was a classically educated, well
read and cultured ,man of English Renaissance.
. contemporary of shakespear.
. Genius in Comedies.
. Classical Dramatist.
BEN JHONSON'S LITERARY WORKS:-
A Tale of a Tub , The isle of Dogs, EveryMan In His
Humour, Volcano or the fox, Alchemist, silent
woman, mosque poet.
Ben Jhonson maintain humour in his work.
SIMMILARITIES BETWEEN BEN JHONSON AND
WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR:
.They both were the Dramatist
.Contemporaries
.Same Age
UNIVERSITY WITS
The university wits is a phrase used to name a group of late
16th-century English playwrights who were graduated from
universities that's called "university wits" Among them are:
. Thomas Nash
. John Lilly
. Thomas Keat
. Christopher Marlowe
. George Peele
. Robert Greene
. Thomas Lodge
>Their content was diverse in Literature Output, Among them
were Novelist, Tragic or comic genius, Prose writers and
dramatists.
> They set a platform for other dramatist like shakespear . He
took a lot of influence from them.
> Like john lily comedies, Marlowes and Keats Tragedy.
> Thomas Nash: unfortunate traveller
> Christopher Marlowe: Dr.Foster
( He used to write blank verses in writing tragedy)

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEN JHONSON AND

WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR:
_Shakespear (comedies, Tragedies)
_Ben Jhonson (Comedies, prose romance)
_Shakespear : Romantic Dramatist
_Ben Jhonson: Classical Dramatist
_Shakespear :Violate Unities
_Ben jhonson: maintain unities
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