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OEL-ťaháky-TEST 1 (oel-tahaky-test_1.doc)

BEOWULF

Autor: Boewulf is an Old English heroic epic, of anonymous authorship - the author of Beowulf is unknown

Čas: Beowulf is an epic poem composed somewhere between the middle of the 7th century and the end of 10th century a.d., about four centuries before the Norman Conquest, composed in Anglo – Saxon Old English.  It is the most important poem in Old English and the first poem found on English territory.

Postavy: Grendel, Grendel´s mother, Beowulf, Hrothgar, Wiglaf, Wealhtheow, Higlac, Edgetho, Scyld Scefing, Cain, Abel, The clans of the Danes and the Geats                                                                                        Plot: poem Beowulf begins with this legacy of kin-murder and revenge. In Denmark, an evil monster, Grendel, who is ritually ravaging his kingdom, torments King Hrothgar. Currently, the monster breaks into the castle and eats as many of Hrothgar's men as he can stomach each night. Beowulf, a noted and respected warrior from Geatland, arrives with a ship of his warriors to assist King Hrothgar in stopping Grendel. King Hrothgar accepts Beowulf's pledge to kill Grendel. That night, Grendel comes to the castle and kills some of the men, devouring them. Beowulf meets Grendel, and a battle ensues--Beowulf uses no weapon against Grendel, and fighting barehanded, rips off his arm. Grendel escapes, but when he returns to his underwater lair, he dies. King Hrothgar is utterly grateful to Beowulf for killing Grendel. Grendel's arm is hung in the battlehall as a trophy of his bravery and the victory of mankind over monster. The danger has not passed; Grendel's mother has become enraged by her son's death. She comes late one night to King Hrothgar's battlehall, grabs one man, eat him, and flees. She also retrieves her son's arm, which had been hanging in the hall as a trophy. Hrothgar is anxious and upset, and calls on Beowulf to aid them once again, offering him much gold and treasure, as well as alliance with his people, for doing battle with Grendel's mother. Beowulf travels with his men to the evil fiery lake where Grendel's mother lives. Beowulf makes a great speech about bravery, citing that God will look after him in his deed, and leaps into the lake wearing armor and carrying a great sword. Beowulf swims down through the lake for many hours, finally coming upon Grendel's mother. They fight for a brief time, Grendel's mother batters Beowulf around, but is unable to harm him through the armor. Beowulf finds his sword to be useless against Grendel's mother, and she swims to her underwater battlehall with him in tow. There, they continue to fight, until Beowulf takes a giant sword off the wall of the battlehall and cuts off her head, killing her. The sword is a magic sword, created by ancient monsters and giants at the beginning of creation. He swims to where Grendel's arm is located and finds the dead Grendel, whose head he decapitates as well, and takes with him as a trophy. Beowulf swims back through the fiery lake to his men who are waiting for him. Hrothgar's men have already left, sure of Beowulf's defeat. Beowulf's men rejoice, and Beowulf goes back to Hrothgar's battlehall. Hrothgar names him as one of their friends and rewards him with gold and important advice about being a king. Beowulf and his men leave on their ship to go back to Geatland and King Higlac. Beowulf gives his King all the treasure and great weapons he received. Higlac rewards him with a great sword. Higlac rules a long time, but eventually is killed in battle. His sons rule and are killed as well, and after this, Beowulf is crowned as King of Geatland. He rules long and well. Then, when he is an older man, a runaway slave comes upon a hidden tower in Geatland. An evil dragon lives in the tower, and guards a mighty golden treasure. The dragon had found the treasure many centuries ago, when it was left to be buried with an ancient king, whose people had died out. The slave steals a golden cup from the tower, awakening and enraging the dragon. The dragon leaves its tower, and the next night begins to ravage the kingdom, burning down villages, people, and Beowulf's castle. Beowulf hears of the horror and vows to once again rid the land of a fiend. He meets the dragon during the day, with many of his warriors by his side. He fights the dragon, but is losing, because he is an old man. His weaponry is melting, and the dragon is burning him up. One of his fellow warriors and men, Wiglaf, runs in to distract the dragon. He brings his shield up to distract the dragon, while Beowulf takes his sword, and with the last of his strength, wounds the dragon. He then slits the dragon down his middle, cutting him in two. But with this victory comes Beowulf's death. The dragon has wounded him, and his poisonous venom is killing the brave Beowulf. Beowulf is dying, and Wiglaf cleans his lord and brings him jewels from the dragon's lair, as his lord has asked. All the rest of Beowulf's men have run away, fleeing when the dragon began to beat Beowulf. Beowulf leaves his kingdom's rule to Wiglaf, giving him his rings and mail. Beowulf dies. Wiglaf calls to the men that fled, telling them that they were cowards and from this moment on will be banished from Geatland. Then he sends a messenger to the rest of Beowulf's warriors to tell them of Beowulf's death. Beowulf is burnt and his ashes buried in the Dragon's tower. There the jewels are left forevermore. And as Beowulf asked, the tower is built up high and tall, and named Beowulf's tower, so that sailors on the sea may always see the tower as a guide and know of the great Beowulf.

LANGLAND

Čo napísal:

The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman

O čom:

Langland wrote The Vision of Piers the Ploughman. It was written by a poor man to describe the sorrows of the poor ones. In this work Langland criticised the fact that people prefer the false treasures of this world to the true pleasure of heaven. Being compared to Chaucer, we can say that his characters are not as real as Chaucer’s.

ELISABETHAN DRAMA

Charakteristika:

1. was the most popular genre in English literature
2. Queen Elizabeth: the patron of drama writers
3. contrast:
4. in medieval drama were miracles and mystery plays
5. renaissance drama – undidactical, it has secular theme and conflicts between characters, non-allegorical, played in streets, squares and houses

Elizabethan theatres: two kinds:  Outdoor or „public“ / Indoor or „private“

The three most important in London: The Globe, The Fortune, The Swan

Renaissance drama was written in blank verse or prose.

There were some interludes (short nonallegorical plays) – had secular character/themes; some think that were played during breaks.

THOMAS KYD - The Spanish Tragedy

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE - Tamburlaine the Great, The Jew of Malta, Dr. Faustus, Edward the Second

Drama is the most important genre in English literature and especially in the period of Renaissance where its great development can be seen. Generally speaking comedies are considered to be better constructed that tragedies.

WYATT

Jeho sonety:

1. he brought the sonnet to English literature
2. was influenced by Italian verse forms
3. work: They flee from me (the narrator is in prison)

Wyatt´s and Surrey´s works are published in compilation work called Songs and Sonnets.

Thomas Wyatt is famous for introducing sonnets into English poetry. He translated several works of Petrarch but also edited, produced several of his own. Wyatt experimented with songs, epigrams and satires. Wyatt admired Geoffrey Chaucer and his vocabulary reflects Chaucer’s. His best known poems are those which deal with romantic love.

Ako vznikli sonety:

Sonnets were introduced by Thomas Wyatt in the early 16th century. His sonnets and sonnets of his contemporaries, like Earl of Surrey, were mainly translations form the Italian and French. Wyatt introduced the sonnet, but it was Earls of Surrey who gave the rhyme, scheme, rhythm and division into quatrains (štvorveršie).

In the following years, William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Samuel Daniel and many others wrote their sonnets. Majority of them were inspired by the Italian tradition and they treated mainly the poet’s love for women.

In the 17th century sonnet was adopted for other purposes – religious once. John Milton and John Donne produced sonnets and they used them as a meditative poem. The fashion of sonnets went out with the restoration and hardly any sonnets were written between 1670s and the time of William Wordsworth. Later on sonnets came back with the French revolution.

It was soon after the introduction of the Italian sonnet, when English sonnets began to be developed fully in native form. Poets who produced their sonnets were Sir Philip Sidney, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel and, of course. William Shakespeare.

The form is often named after Shakespeare, not because he was the first on to write in this form, but because he became its first and most famous practitioner.

The form consists of 3x4 + couplet (14 lines). A couplet generally introduced an unexpected sharp turn called a Volta. The rhyme scheme was ABAB CDCD EFEF GG – were GG is the couplet.

Sonnets were written in iambic pentameter which means there are 10 syllables in each line and every other syllable is naturally stressed.

SPENCER

Čo napísal: he started to write pastoral poetry (main characters are shepherds)

The Shepherd´s calendar - consisting of 12 books, written in the form of discussions between shepherds and praise of Queen Elizabeth

The Faerie Queen - unfinished, author´s greatest work. celebrates the Tudor Monarchy and Elisabeth I. It was in this work that Spenser invented the Spenserian Stanza.  

Epithalamion - the most admired of its type in English language

Spenserian Sonnet: Its scheme is ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. In Spenserian sonnet there does not appear to be a requirement that the initial octave set up a problem which the closing sestet (8+6=14 lines) answers. Instead of it the form is treated as 3 quatrains connected by rhyme and followed by a couplet.

5 TALES:

The General Prologue, The Knight's Prologue and Tale, The Miller's Prologue and Tale, The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale, The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, The Franklin's Prologue and Tale, The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale, The Friar's Prologue and Tale, The Prioress' Prologue and Tale, The Monk's Prologue and Tale,  The Summoner's Prologue and Tale