04 OE literature.pdf

ISTORY ISTORY OF OF ENGLISH
ENGLISH
LECTURE 4
Old English:
literature
Lei ZHU
Shanghai International Studies University

1 Introduction
• Teaching and learning
(Latin literacy and medical
knowledge)
• Keeping a record
(lawcodes and histories)
• Spreading the word
(the Bible)
• Example and exhortation
(religious writings)
• Telling tales
(stories)
• Reflection and lament
(observations on life)

1 Introduction

1 Introduction

1 Introduction

1 Introduction

1 Introduction

1 Introduction

2 Verse
• Rhythm (节奏)
• Meter (格律)
• Scansion / scanning (格律分析)
Foot (音步)
number on each line
monometer (一步)
dimeter (二步)
trimeter (三步)
tetrameter (四步)
pentameter (五步)
hexameter (六步)
heptameter (七步)
octameter (八步)

| | |
I wandered lonely as a cloud
| | |
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
| | |
When all at once I saw a crowd,
| | |
A host, of golden daffodils;
tetrameter
(四步)

2 Verse
• Rhythm (节奏)
• Meter (格律)
• Scansion / scanning (格律分析)
Foot (音步)
number on each line
monometer (一步)
dimeter (二步)
trimeter (三步)
tetrameter (四步)
pentameter (五步)
hexameter (六步)
heptameter (七步)
octameter (八步)
type
iamb (抑扬)
trochee (扬抑)
pyrrhic (抑抑)
spondee (扬扬)
anapaest (扬扬抑)
dactyl (扬抑抑)
……

x _ | x _ |x _|x _
I wandered lonely as a cloud
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
When all at once I saw a crowd,
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
A host, of golden daffodils;
iambic
tetrameter
(四步抑扬格)

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? 能否把你比作夏日的璀璨?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: 你却比炎夏更可爱温存;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 狂风摧残五月花蕊娇妍,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. 夏天匆匆离去毫不停顿。
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 苍天明眸有时过于灼热,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; 金色脸容往往蒙上阴翳;
And every fair from fair sometime declines, 一切优美形象不免褪色,
By chance, or natures changing course untrimmed: 偶然摧残或自然地老去。
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, 而你如仲夏繁茂不凋谢,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; 秀雅风姿将永远翩翩;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, 死神无法逼你气息奄奄,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st, 你将永生于不朽诗篇。
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, 只要人能呼吸眼不盲,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 这诗和你将千秋流芳。
iambic pentameter (五步抑扬格)

_ ××|_ × ×| _ × ×| _ ××| _ ××| _ _
_ _ | _ _ | _ × ×|_ _|_ × × | _ _
_ × × | _ × ×| _ × ×| _ ×× | _ × × | _ _
_ × ×|_ × ×|_ ××| _ ×× | _ × × | _ _
_ _ | _ × ×|_ _ | _ × ×|_ × × | _ _
提丢斯的勇猛的儿子,你何必问我的家世?
正如树叶荣枯,人类的世代也如此。
秋风将枯叶撒落一地,春天来到
林中又会萌发许多新的绿叶,
人类也是如此,一代出生一代凋零。
—— The Iliad (6:145-149)
dactylic hexameter
(heroic hexameter)
(六步长短短格,即六步英雄格)
_ ××| _ ××| _ ××| _ ××| _ ××| _ _
( “_ ××” 可由 “_ _”替代 )

Old English meter
Every line has 2 half-lines / verses,
separated by a pause / caesura.
caesura
Every verse has 2 accented
syllables called “beats” or
“lifts”. The other syllables are
unaccented or have
secondary accents.
rād and rǣdde, rincum tǣchte
rode and counselled, soldiers taught
The Battle of Maldon, l. 18
caesura
hrēran mid hondum hrīmcealde sǣ,
stir with hands ice-cold sea
The Wanderer, l. 4

Old English meter
5 types
a half-line / verse
A: / X ( X X X X ) / X
B: ( X X X X ) X / X ( X ) /
C: ( X X X X X ) X / / X
D: / ( X X X ) / \ X
/ ( X X X ) / X \
E: / \ X ( X ) /
Falling-falling: Anna angry
Rising-rising: And Byrhtnoth bold
Clashing: In keen conflict
Falling by stages: Ding down strongly
Broken fall: Deal death to all
Fall and rise: Each one with edge

2 Verse
• Rhythm (节奏)
• Meter (格律)
• Scansion / scanning (格律分析)
Foot (音步)
Rhyme (尾韵)

x _ | x _ |x _|x _
I wandered lonely as a cloud
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
When all at once I saw a crowd,
x _ | x _ | x _ | x _
A host, of golden daffodils;
A
B
A
B

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? 能否把你比作夏日的璀璨?
A
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: 你却比炎夏更可爱温存;
B
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 狂风摧残五月花蕊娇妍, A
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. 夏天匆匆离去毫不停顿。 B
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 苍天明眸有时过于灼热, C
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; 金色脸容往往蒙上阴翳; D
And every fair from fair sometime declines, 一切优美形象不免褪色,
C
By chance, or natures changing course untrimmed: 偶然摧残或自然地老去。
D
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, 而你如仲夏繁茂不凋谢,
E
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; 秀雅风姿将永远翩翩;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, 死神无法逼你气息奄奄,
F
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st, 你将永生于不朽诗篇。
E
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, 只要人能呼吸眼不盲, F
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 这诗和你将千秋流芳。 G
G

2 Verse
• Rhythm (节奏)
• Meter (格律)
• Scansion / scanning (格律分析)
Foot (音步)
Rhyme (尾韵)
Alliteration (头韵)
pride and prejudice
sense and sensibility
Les Maures et la mer montent jusques au port

Old English meter
One of the 2 accented syllables
in the 1st verse must alliterate
with the 1st accented syllable
of the 2nd verse.
rād and rǣdde, rincum tǣchte
rode and counselled, soldiers taught
The Battle of Maldon, l. 18
hrēran mid hondum hrīmcealde sǣ,
stir with hands ice-cold sea
The Wanderer, l. 4

Old English meter
Sende ðā se sǣrinc sūðerne gār,
sent then the warrior southern spear
The Battle of Maldon, l. 134
Stōdon stædefæste; stihte hī Byrhtnōð,
stood steadfast urged them Birhtnoth
The Battle of Maldon, l. 127
ēce dryhten ōr onstealde
eternal Lord beginning established
Cædmon’s Hymn, l. 4

2 Verse
Beowulf
• Earliest epic poem in English
• Story setting: Denmark and Geatland
(southern Sweden)
6th- 10th centuries
• Authorship: probably started orally after c.520
modified by later generations after conversion
written down in the early 700’s
surviving copy made in c.1000
• Language: West Saxon, with Anglian/Mercian
characteristics

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Hwæt! Wē Gār-Dena in gēardagum,
spear-Danes’ year-days (days of yore)
þēodcyninga, þrym gefrūnon,
nation-kings’ glory heard
hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon.
how then princes valour performed
Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaþena þrēatum,
Often Shield Sheaf’s-son enemy’s crowd
monegum mǣgþum, meodosetla oftēah, 5
many nations mead-benches deprived
egsode eorlas. Syððan ǣrest wearð
terrified warriors After first became
fēasceaft funden, hē þæs frōfre gebād,
destitute found for-that consolation experienced
wēox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þāh,
grew clouds honours though
oðþæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymbsittendra
until each of-those neighbouring(-nations)
ofer hronrāde hȳran scolde, 10
over whale-road hear (=obey) should (=must)
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs gōd cyning!
tribute yield
So. The Spear-Danes in days
gone by
and the kings who ruled them had
courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’
heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson,
scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches,
rampaging among foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had
come far.
A foundling to start with, he would
flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his
worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the
outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to
yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was
one good king.
Translated by Seamus Heaney

Hwæt! Wē Gār-Dena in gēardagum,
spear-Danes’ year-days (days of yore)
þēodcyninga, þrym gefrūnon,
nation-kings’ glory heard
hū ðā æþelingas ellen fremedon.
how then princes valour performed
Oft Scyld Scēfing sceaþena þrēatum,
Often Shield Sheaf’s-son enemy’s crowd
monegum mǣgþum, meodosetla oftēah, 5
many nations mead-benches deprived
egsode eorlas. Syððan ǣrest wearð
terrified warriors After first became
fēasceaft funden, hē þæs frōfre gebād,
destitute found for-that consolation experienced
wēox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þāh,
grew clouds honours though
oðþæt him ǣghwylc þāra ymbsittendra
until each of-those neighbouring(-nations)
ofer hronrāde hȳran scolde, 10
over whale-road hear (=obey) should (=must)
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs gōd cyning!
tribute yield
听哪,
谁不知丹麦王公当年的荣耀,
首领们如何各逞英豪!
多少次,向敌军丛中
“麦束之子”希尔德夺来酒宴的宝座。
威镇众酋,他本是孤苦零丁
一个弃婴,自己蠃来的后福。
飞云渺渺,他
一天天长大,受人敬重,
直至鲸鱼之路四邻的部族
纷纷向他俯首纳贡:
好一个大王!
(冯象译)

Kennings (metaphoric expressions)
• Sea
hronrād (whale-road)
seġl-rād (sail-road)
hwæl-weġ (whale-way)
swan-rād (swan-road)
• Sun
heofon-candel (sky-candle)
heofones ġim (sky’s jewel)

Hie dygel lond
warigeað, wulfhleoþu, windige næssas,
frecne fengelad, ðær fyrgenstream
under næssa genipu niþer gewiteð,
flod under foldan. Nis þæt feor heonon
milgemearces þæt se mere standeð;
ofer þæm hongiað hrinde bearwas,
wudu wyrtum fæst wæter oferhelmað.
þær mæg nihta gehwæm niðwundor seon,
fyr on flode. No þæs frod leofað
gumena bearna, þæt þone grund wite;
ðeah þe hæðstapa hundum geswenced,
heorot hornum trum, holtwudu sece,
feorran geflymed, ær he feorh seleð,
aldor on ofre, ær he in wille
hafelan hydan. Nis þæt heoru stow!
þonon yðgeblond up astigeð
won to wolcnum, þonne wind styreþ,
lað gewidru, oðþæt lyft drysmaþ,
roderas reotað.
ll. 1357-1376

Hie dygel lond
secret land
warigeað, wulfhleoþu, windige næssas,
occupy wolf-shelter windy headlands
frecne fengelad, ðær fyrgenstream
dangerous marsh-paths mountain-stream
under næssa genipu niþer gewiteð,
headlands mists downwards departs
flod under foldan. Nis þæt feor heonon
flood ground not-is far from-here
milgemearces þæt se mere standeð;
measure-by-miles
ofer þæm hongiað hrinde bearwas,
hang frosty groves
wudu wyrtum fæst wæter oferhelmað.
wood roots steady overshadow
þær mæg nihta gehwæm niðwundor seon,
may night every earful-wonder see
fyr on flode. No þæs frod leofað
fire wise lives
gumena bearna, þæt þone grund wite;
men’s sons ground know
They inhabit uncharted country, the
retreat of wolves: windy cliffs and
dangerous fen paths, where a mountain
stream goes down under the misty
bluffs and the flood runs under the earth.
It is not many miles from here that the
mere stands. Over it hang frosty groves,
the firmly rooted wood shadowing the
water. Every night a fearful wonder can
be seen there: fire on the water. There
is no man alive who knows the bottom
of that mere.
他们居住在神秘的处所,狼的老巢,
那里是招风的绝域,险恶的沼泽地,
山涧流水在雾霭中向下奔泻,
进入地下,形成一股洪流。
论路程那里并不遥远,
不久即见一个小湖出现眼前;
湖边长着经霜的灌木、树丛,
扎根坚固而向水面延伸。
每到夜晚,湖上就冒出火光,
那景象真让人胆颤心惊。
芸芸众生中没有任何智者,
能将黑湖深处的奥秘探明。

ðeah þe hæðstapa hundum geswenced,
though heath-walker(=stag) hounds harassed
heorot hornum trum, holtwudu sece,
stag horns strong forest-trees seek
feorran geflymed, ær he feorh seleð,
from-afar put-to-flight before life gives
aldor on ofre, ær he in wille
life river-bank rather-than
hafelan hydan. Nis þæt heoru stow!
head hide safe place
þonon yðgeblond up astigeð
from-there surge ascend
won to wolcnum, þonne wind styreþ,
dark clouds when stirs
lað gewidru, oðþæt lyft drysmaþ,
hateful storms until air become-gloomy
roderas reotað.
skies weep
Although the antlered hart, when
pursued by hounds and driven far over
the heath, may seek out the forest, still
he will sooner give up his life on the
bank than jump in to save his head.
That is not a safe place. There surging
water rises up dark towards the clouds
when wind stirs up hateful storms, until
the air becomes gloomy and the
heavens weep.
任何野兽或长角的雄鹿,既便被猎狗追赶,
跑进这片灌木,也会远远逃走,
宁可让性命丧失在沙洲,
也不愿投入湖中寻求庇护。
这里的确不是一个好处所!
湖中浊浪翻腾,黑雾直升云端,
天空变得朦胧阴沉,
整个世界为之恸哭失声!

The Sutton Hoo ship burial

Great buckle
Shoulder clasp
Purse lid

3 Prose
• Religious
Translations of the Bible
Homilies, sermons, hagiographies
• Secular
Laws
Histories
Stories
etc.

Þyslic me is gesewen, þu cyning, þis andwearde lif
manna on eorðan to wiðmetenesse þære tide, þe us
uncuð is: swylc swa þu æt swæsendum sitte mid
þinum ealdormannum & þegnum on wintertide, &
sie fyr onælæd & þin heall gewyrmed, & hit rine &
sniwe & styrme ute; cume an spearwa & hrædlice
þæt hus þurhfleo, cume þurh oþre duru in þurh
oþre ut gewite.
O king, this present life of men on earth, in comparison with
the time that is unknown to us, seems to me as if you were
sitting feasting with your chief men and followers in wintertime
and a fire was kindled and your hall warmed and it rained and
it snowed and it stormed outside; and there came a sparrow
and swiftly flew through the house, and it came in through
one door and out through another.

Hwæt, he on þa tid, þe he inne bið, ne bið hrinen
mid þy storme þæs wintres; ac þæt bið an eagan
bryhtm & þæt læsste fæc, ac he sona of wintra on
þone winter eft cymeð. Swa þonne þis monna lif to
medmiclum fæce ætyweð; hwæt þær foregange,
oððe hwæt þær æfterfylige, we ne cunnun. For ðon
gif þeos lar owiht cuðlicre & gerisenlicre brenge,
þæs weorþe is þæt we þære fylgen.
Bede: Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Now during the time that it is inside, it is not touched with the
storm of winter, but that is for a twinkling of an eye and the
smallest moment of time, but it immediately goes from winter
into winter again. So then this life of man appears for but a
little while; what goes before or what comes after, we know
not. So, if this new doctrine reports anything more certain or
apt, it deserves to be followed.