In the late 800’s King Alfred the Great was a great influence to Anglo Saxon literature because his “military and political success” (Amodio) led to a period of stability where culture and literature thrived, but that period of time did not last very long. The English were fearful of the Vikings coming to attack
in society. Donvain asserts that women weren’t held back by their roles within society, but by the men who assigned them. The author also pointed out that “Anglo-Saxon women within the seventh and eighth century spent their whole lives under the protection of their menfolk” (Donvain 13). As children, these young girls lived with their father’s in halls and were under their protection. When “they came of age and got married, Anglo-Saxon women would then be sent to their husbands household,” since her first loyalty was to her husband, whom she’d obey and respect.
The Anglo-Saxons, descendants of three Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, inhabited Great Britain in the 5th century. The Anglo-Saxon period ran from the 5th century to the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, where they ruled over lands that are today part of England and Wales. During this period, those apart of Anglo-Saxon tribes spoke different dialects, which later became known as Old English. Because of various dialects, literature had developed, which was where the epic poem, Beowulf, came to be. During their time, the Anglo-Saxons valued many things, including poetry but most importantly there tie to their religion and loyalty to one another.
Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status. Concerted cultivation is a parenting style where the parent(s) are fully invested in creating as much opportunity for their child as possible, but results in a child with a sense of entitlement. An example of this would be a parent who places their children in a wide array of extracurricular activities and/or actively speaks to educators about the accommodations their child needs to effectively learn.
Children's Literature is everlastingly framed by variable ideologies; this represented the standards and values of a didactic society in the nineteenth century, which was controlled transcendently by the church. Enforcing religious perspectives on the idealistic family life, gender roles were compulsory in respectability, and a woman's place was inside the home. The nineteenth century was an extremely confusing time, with its firm Victorian qualities, class limits, industrialism and expansionism. It was the time when society was a male dominated society in which women were controlled by the male figures in the society.
“During the 1800s there were few laws in Britain regulating the employment of children. Elizabeth Bentley testified before a parliamentary committee investigating conditions among child laborers in Britain’s textile industry. ”(Document 7) Child labor was among the worst non -laws among factories and business owners. Children were forced to work long hours and as a result never obtained and education. Kids also were treated badly if they didn’t do as they were told.
During the beginning of modern Europe, there were conflicting views on the proper way to view children. Previously in history, the infant mortality rate was very high, so kids were treated more like adults and were often neglected because odds were they would die. There was a resounding view that kids should be treated harshly in order to become strong. Then in the seventeenth century, the idea of being tender and gentle to your kids was introduced. The way in children were brought up was influenced by assumptions made on both old and new schools of thought.
Critically assess the extent of Christian and Latinate influence on Beowulf. When first reading Beowulf it would appear that the Christian references within it superimpose onto the essentially pagan view that makes a huge body of the poem. Therefore, within this assignment, there will be investigations of inconsistencies. Sources clearly show that Beowulf was written by Germanic pagans that had been debauched by some leftist ecclesiastic wordsmith , to the insistence that the author designedly created the Christian allegory along the lines of Book 1 of The Faerie Queen. It is know that Germanic traditions and techniques were used by Anglo-Saxons to frame Christian literature, just as it was with the poet of Beowulf.
Throughout human history, children were thought of as servants, apprentices, or a means to ease workload. Children would work on the family farm or a family business. They could be easily taken advantage of compared to adults. The exploitation of children for labor without concern for their education or welfare was common and even the norm. No special concern about children existed.
Beowulf and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are both narratives in which gender acts as an important theme within their individual communities; both have underlying meanings when it comes to defining what the role men and women in a good community should be. Or in other words, both stories paint a vivid picture of the role of women during the medieval time period, by suggesting that one gender had more power over another. However, these two narratives take alternative paths when expressing their views; Beowulf conveys its message through what is missing, while “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” incorporates satire and uses explicit narrative when telling the experience of a woman that is highly different from other women in her time. Furthermore, another difference that is appealing to the reader’s eyes, besides the way the two narratives reflect to women’s role in medieval times, is that men become the hero in Beowulf, while “the wife”, so a woman, becomes the authority figure in the story of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” I want to first introduce the two main differences between the two narratives and then I will explain how regardless of the differences, both of these narratives’ main goal is to show that women had less power and a good community back that time was male dominated.
These tales give modern historians and literary scholars concrete evidence to examine and understand Anglo Saxon life. In the day of Beowulf, storytelling functioned as principles to allow Anglo Saxon people to share and sculpt their future generations. Storytelling also played a large role in influencing civilians and leaders trust in others and each other. Stories could paint ideas and portraits of certain characteristics, even as either heroic or cowardly so as to manipulate civilians. In Beowulf, we learn the title character was widely respected.
In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the author portrays that children are not completely innocent. Golding’s representation of childhood and adolescence also shows us the attitudes children have towards participating in work. In Lord of the Flies Golding portrays that children are not completely innocent.
The epic poem “Beowulf”, translated by Burton Raffel, focuses on a hero by the name of Beowulf who goes on a quest to rescue King Hrothgar and his people from an egregious monster by the name of Grendel. This Anglo-Saxon tale gives insight into the values and beliefs of the people from whom the story originated. Their war-centered ideology and views on loyalty and courage were the principles that the Anglo-Saxon culture was founded upon. While warfare was a focal point in their lifestyle, it was far from a savage, barbaric state of fighting. Honor and prestige were bestowed upon those who died during battle and selflessness for fellow warriors was a fundamental belief.
Despite its fanciful content, the text of Beowulf provides important insights into the priorities of Anglo-Saxon culture and establishes boasting through the character Unferth as essential aspect of a society’s
A Comparison of Elizabethan England and Modern-Day England The Elizabethan Era is often considered the ‘Golden Age’ or ‘Renaissance’ of English History. It was called Elizabethan simply because it coincided with Queen Elizabeth I’s rule. It was a generation of expansion of ideas and flowering of poetry, music, and literature and it greatly contributed to the theatre field.
