Senior English 2
13, December 2018
Anglo Saxon and Medieval Era: Behavioral Aspects
Although the Anglo Saxon and Medieval eras were two distinct and different time periods, they share the same use of literary behaviors in their writing. We can take note on this in examples such as “Beowulf”, a poem based on a fearless warrior who fought against unstoppable monsters written in the Anglo-Saxon era. As well as the tale of “The Wife of Bath” based on a knight who is sparred his life by the queens rehabilitative system. Although the author of Beowulf is unknown, they share similar writing techniques with Geoffrey Chaucer, author of “The Wife of Bath”. We can base this on how both literary pieces focus on describing human behaviors with a sense of humor, an expressive tone, and descriptive characteristics.
While Beowulf reflects many human characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon era, it clearly and strongly demonstrates courage. Courage in Anglo-Saxon societies was admirable and seen as an outstanding feature. Directly from the beginning of the epic poem, Beowulf stands out from the other warriors being quick and ready to leave his people to aid King Hrothgar from the horrifying monster, Grendel. This demonstrates courage seeing how Beowulf was prepared to fight against Grendel the unstoppable monster that fed off of King Hrothgar’s greatest soldiers as seen in the poem, “So Grendel ruled, fought with the righteous, One against many, and won” (Beowulf 1). Throughout the poem, Beowulf, in all three battles proves to be a powerful and successful natural warrior meeting this behavior of courage.
Once arriving to Herot, Beowulf continues to portray courage that even the Danish watcher could sense a fearless persona to him. In the first fight, he encounters the monster Grendel realizing his immunity to human-made weapons. Yet, he does not back down and retreat, instead he fights with his bare hands being able to defeat him, “Grendel Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at His hands. He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder Snapped, muscle and bone split And broke” (Beowulf 11). This same courage continues on to the second battle with Grendel’s mother, “This battle also calls for great strength, particularly strength in swimming, but he also shows the courage to engage in battle in unknown conditions in the monster’s lair” (Maryanow). This is another example of courage and even bravery since Beowulf has to one, battle Grendel’s infuriated mother knowing that Beowulf was the one who killed her son, and two, having to battle with her in unknown territory all under water.
This courage does not stop with the second battle but continues in his last battle with a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf is much older and may no longer have the same strength as his once young self. Still, Beowulf is confident in himself, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought In endless battles. I am old, now, But I will fight again” (Beowulf 18). Even though in this battle Beowulf is killed, he is not defeated with thoughts of fear but instead with a courageous mentality proclaiming to his soldier Wiglaf that he fought with great bravery and that his strengths were not at lost that this was his fate, “For this, this gold, these jewels, Allowed me to bring to my people while breath Still came to my lips. I sold my life For this treasure, and I sold it well” (Beowulf 23). Throughout this composition, it is clear on how the poem unites these tales by similar themes that emerged from the Anglo-Saxon English people.
Moving on to Chaucer, in his Canterbury tales, they reflect human characteristics and ideas in satire and humorous descriptions. For example, the medieval times in which Chaucer lived in, were set and based on conservative mindsets and point of views. When describing the tale “The Wife of Bath” we can take note on how Chaucer wrote this tale with the use of humor, and irony to expose these societal issues. While reading, the author in a way subtly describes how women are foolish in decisions that are made throughout the story, for example in the tale, “She sent a summons to the knight At her convenience, and expressed her will: “You stand, for such is a position still, In no way certain of your life” (Chaucer, pg. 183). This is the first example that demonstrates how foolish it was to let the knight who not only raped an innocent person, but also abused his power set free and allowed to wonder the lands for a year by his lonesome. Another example, “Before this court I ask you then, sir knight, To keep your word and take me for your wife; For well we know that I have saved your life” (Chaucer, pg. 187). This clearly demonstrates a humorous and quite frank, a satire made decision. The foolish lady not only allowed him to be excused of his wrongful deed but also asked him to marry her, knowing quite well of his past unacceptable actions.
Chaucer also demonstrates a sense of irony when writing and describing the desire of all women, knowing that the idea of it would not be acceptable in his society. He centers this as the main point in the tale making it the important phrase which saves the knights life, “A women wants the self-same sovereignty Over her husband as over her lover, And master him, he must not be above her” (Chaucer, Pg. 186). This not only shows the humor in Chaucer’s writing but as well as exposing society seeing on how women in the medieval times were not allowed or accepted to portray a sense of leadership or boldness. This also continues on to the Lady of Bath herself, in her prologue she demonstrates a sense of authority and hardihood, “In which I have been an expert as a wife, Be cautious for making the approach, For I’ll give instances, and more than ten… and please don’t be offended by my views” (Chaucer pg. 180). This describes how the lady of bath is not afraid of any reproaches, that she will continue her tale until she is finished. This can also describe on how she knows her ideas and views in her tale are not accepted by many but yet, she does not let that stop her from giving her tale which demonstrates boldness.
In both Chaucer’s tales and the epic poem of Beowulf, figurative language is a key similarity. They both use a sense of humor and exaggeration with expressive tones on the characters. Beowulf is described as an unstoppable warrior full of pride, being a clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero. Where as in Chaucer’s tales the characters as portrayed by satire made decisions whether they are done by the main characters or flat characters. Both literary pieces can be said to be the start and push into literary techniques that are now frequently used by many authors in our modern English writing.
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