The Palace-Beowulf style
People made not know about Beowulf. It is the oldest poem of Anglo-Saxon literature. Years ago, I had an assignment to write a short poem in the style of Beowulf so I wrote Palace. It was the hardest poem that I ever wrote. It even freaks me out.
Palace Ⓒ by Donna Rae Lands
Journey by the Thames! Once, twice and thrice|| Seaward on to what is beyond|| Current paths of the ole’ traveled River Rhines|| Crosses within the hearts of Christ||Marked once, twice, and thrice||Secrets, Yes! Hidden yonder||Bogs beneath troubled feet of longing wander||Long tis frozen -in heirs of the tempest song|| The handsome stag-troubled, tis he||Silly men of old only saw their warriors flag. Indeed!||Sparkling gems in the rough||Justifiable never enough||What is found in thee||Purple violets of Destiny’s seed||God’s greatest- conquers all|| Always the Rock of Peter and never the stone of Paul||Nor that of either Saul||Mon Palais De La Nouveaute||Not heard by dark knights deaf ears in their blind pursuit||Aromas to the blind man- red as a rose||Lilly Valleys fairest of all scents|| Paradise of glory in the vortex throws||All good and innocent spirits seen to and forever sent.
A bit of history about Beowulf.
“Out of the 30,000 lines of literature left from the Anglo-Saxon period, almost 4,000 lines are preserved in the text of Beowulf, the epic poem of the hero with the strength of 30 men in each arm. It is a story of the supernatural as well as a record of Anglo-Saxon history. Because there was little literacy and few books in Medieval England, scops were the key to recording history. They upheld the history of England since the very beginning, along with the ancestry of her first settlers.
Beowulf takes place in 6th century Denmark and Sweden. The Geats (Beowulf’s tribe) inhabited the southern part of Sweden) and Hrothgar and his glorious mead-hall Heorot were from the Danish island, Sjaelland. Some historical digressions in the epic poem take place in other parts of Sweden, but also Denmark, Germany, Poland and “the Low Countries.”
The first part of Beowulf takes place in Heorot, King Hrothgar’s glorious mead hall. At the time this poem took place, research proves that the Danes held their throne on Sjaelland Island at Lejre. Archeologists who have worked there have discovered a number of magnificent halls that were built around the 500s and onward, any of which could have been Heorot.
Although there is no knowledge that Beowulf was a true man, there is certainly a great deal of Germanic history incorporated in the poem. Whether Beowulf was real or not, his character fit seamlessly into the context of his society and family tree.
Many of the characters were real: The Geat king, Hygelac, Hrothgar, Ongentheow, Haethcyn, Onela and Heardred. Also, the Ravenswood battle which took place in 510AD is true.
The Composition of the Poem
Although, much that is written about the creation of the story of Beowulf is speculation, it is known that the only manuscript that remains is from circa 1000AD. Although this work is venerated today, in Medieval England, it was viewed in much different light. Monster stories were quite common at that time; along with Beowulf, several prose works with supernatural characters were compiled in the manuscript. Also a poem “Judith” was found.
The author of Beowulf is a mystery, as most poets of the Anglo-Saxon period are. He might have been a court poet, or a monastic poet. Depending on the Christian interpretation of the poem, it could be either.”
Here is the link about Beowulf: http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf20004d/History.html
About Post Author
