Old English Literature: A Short Introduction

by Daniel Donoghue

This innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature is structured around what the author calls 'figures' from Anglo-Saxon the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar.An innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature.Structured around 'figures' from Anglo-Saxon the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar.Situates Old English literary texts within a cultural framework.Creates new connections between different genres, periods and authors.Combines close textual analysis with historical context.Based on the author's many years experience of teaching Old English literature.The author is co-editor with Seamus Heaney of A Verse Translation (2001) and recently published with Blackwell Lady A Literary History of the Legend (2003).

Genres: Literature, Nonfiction, Poetry

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Daniel Donoghue is Professor of English at Harvard University. He is the author of Style in Old English Poetry: The Test of the Auxiliary and Lady Godiva: A Literary History of a Legend.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

After cementing his reputation as a leading scholar in Old English Studies with his Style In Old English Poetry (The Test of The Auxiliary) Daniel Donoghue turns his hand to writing a simplistic, but enjoyable, introduction to Old English literature for the beginner.

For writers of introductions and histories of Old English literature the pitfalls are well known. Due to a lack of ability to date the poems correctly a chronological method is difficult to use and with poems like Genesis and Exodus blurring the genres of both epic and religious poetry, it is equally difficult to group the poems by genre. Donoghue attempts to overcome these problems by grouping the texts by thematic concepts such as the hall, the vow and the pulpit. By using this method the author selects key passages from the Old English literary canon to elucidate by using both received interpretations and adding his own theories on the meaning of the poems. The poems are quoted in both Old English and Modern English translation. Certain key words such as beot (boast) are explored in detail, giving the beginner a chance to familiarise themselves with numerous important words from Old English vocabulary. The bibliography to further reading at the end of the book seems a little sparse and is strictly aimed at the beginner and only recommends the more accessible Modern English translations and secondary literature, but does list all the important editions of original language Old English texts.

An highly readable introduction that is aimed squarely at the beginner, but will also be read by more advanced readers who just want to hear what Donoghue has to say on Old English literature.

[Fred Grogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to Anglo Saxon life in written ideals & accounts of personal life

The Vow
The Hall
The Miracle
The Pulpit
The Scholar
Each section lays out cornerstones notions of AS history/culture and the events and persons that exemplified them. The section on The Miracle covers the story of Caedmon, the stable hand miraculously gifted with poetry one night according to Bede. The Vow examines legal cases (swearings, vows) and the idea of receiving satisfaction for grievances, among other ideas making up AS law.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

(read in part as library book on reading list)

I loved how this book explored language and literature together and gave me a really good flavour of some of the literary conventions of the period. it kind of weirdly went in guns blazing to fine details which was a bit jarring but so interesting nonetheless. I love old english ahhhh

[Emily Corne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most helpful aspect of the text is the extracts and quotations from period texts - beauty literature such as The Seafarer or the riddles as examined in the last chapter really broke up the more historic/contextual content of the book, helping the text move forwards and stay relevant to the topic of Old English Literature.