История литературы / 8. The development of English verse after the Norman Conquest. Fables and lyrics

The Norman conquest of England was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy, later William the Conqueror. Anglo-Saxon, now more usually described as Old English, is incomprehensible to a reader familiar only with modern English. The most significant turning point, from about 1100, is the development of Middle English - differing from Old English in the addition of a French vocabulary after the Norman conquest. French and Germanic influences subsequently compete for the mainstream role in English literature. English verse was influenced by Anglo-Saxon literature & it was reciprocal. We can`t speak of dominating literature, but this influence was felt. It manifested itself in charms=spells, riddles and lyrical poems. Charms – both supernatural and folklore, Christian and pagan, a kind of ritual, shows what you can get from nature and environment, how you can prevent disasters and guard yourself, a kind of instruction. Riddle – serves to attract the reader and to keep suspense up to the very end, a sort of entertainment and a good exercise on logical and creative thinking, starts with general things and then the central object is specified more and more until the image is complete; played important social roles because people gathered together, produced riddles and praised the cleverest. Riddles showed the customs and traditions, attitude to what people were doing and what their aspirations were, reflected nation`s worldview. Typical features-kenning , repeated final lines, specification, defeated expectancy. The last sample of medieval folklore is lyrics. Very few samples have been preserved in manuscripts but those we have are mostly in the form of a song. In many lyrics there is the topic of human life explored and many of the lyrics give you an idea about what happens to nature at different periods of time. (Cuckoo song, 1250 year). To make it a song the poet resorts to numerous refrains thus addressing the bird. As we have the whole picture of sounds here, one of the main devices is also onomatopia because the poet wants to depict the nature in summer. Approximately at the same period in 1250 one more poem was created which produced a sort of breakthrough in English literature. It was a fable “The Owl and the Nightingale”. Obviously the poem had an author but though the name is forgotten the fable is not considered to be anonymous (probably by Alfred the Great). It consists of 2000 lines written in octosyllabic couplets. !!This is the 1^st time when rhyme appears!! (см цитаты) By the time this verse was written the Eng lang became well organized. It assembled what it got from the French lang and organized the borrowings according to its own rules and traditions. Eng acquired the necessary stability. Such fables and ballades allow us to judge what exactly the Eng lang borrowed from French. We may even say that by that time Eng literature became more organized. First and foremost in poetry there appeared rhyme and since now we can see stylistic devices more clearly. The fable “The Owl and the Nightingale” is written in the form of argument. This form was very famous in that period of time. The Owl and the Nightingale argue to each other because both are jealous to each other`s voice. Both characters think that the songs they sing are the best ones. Each participant supports his own point of view.This shows us author’s sympathy for the owl. The world is not ready to recognize the beauty of the owl’s soul. Nightingale insists upon her superiority. The main challenge – gender (owl – masculine, nightingale – feminine, in Russian vice versa). Since the appearance of this fable rhyme always characterizes the Eng poetry. (Piers Plowman – French influence in the title!)