Old English PoetryAre You Sure This is English?

The First Poem in the English LanguagePeople in the 500’s didn’t have TV, Internet, radio, etc. so their

sources of entertainment were each other.

Meadhalls were common. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56rQlAjndoU

Christianity was well-established in the British Isles at this point a hundred years after Constantine, and it influenced their poetry heavily.

Caedmon’s Hymn (In Old English rep.)

Translated Caedmon’s Hymn

Parallelism Examples"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” ~

Psalms 119:105

"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.”~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.” ~ T.S. Eliot

"It is by logic we prove, but by intuition we discover.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Figurative LanguageWhen the text does not mean exactly what the words say.

Examples from “Caedmon’s Hymn”: “the might of the architect”“heaven as a roof”

Some types of figurative language common in poetry are similes, metaphors, and personification.

AlliterationWords begin with the same letters or sounds.

Examples from “Caedmon’s Hymn”:herigean heofonrices meotodes meahte and his modgeþancweorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæsheofon to hrofe, halig middangeard moncynnes firum foldan, frea

Assonance When words have the same vowel sound but different consonants.

Examples from “Caedmon’s Hymn” firum foldan, frea ælmihtig ece drihten, or onstealde. weorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæs Nu sculon herigean heofonrices weard meotodes meahte and his modgeþanc

ConsonanceExamples from “Caedmon’s Hymn”.

meotodes meahte and his modgeþancweorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæsHe ærest sceop eorðan bearnumheofon to hrofe

Consonance

ImageryUsing language in such a way to appeal to the five senses.

Sight - a full moon in a black skySound - the chirp of cricketsTaste - the tang of a cold glass of lemonadeTouch - a warm breezeSmell - freshly mowed grass