Anglo-Saxon literature: The Dream of the Rood
【key words】:
Prosopopoiea;
Triple salvation: the dreamer’s renewed hope, the salvation of the Cross, and the revival of Jesus;
The paradoxical code of heroism: heroic and passive Jesus and the loyal but sinful Cross
The Dream of the Rood is the finest of a rather large number religious poems in Old English. However, compared with Cædom’s Hymn which is the earliest of the extant Old English poems and the only biographic information about any Old English poet, neither its author or its date of composition is known. Though it appears in the ten-century Vercelli Book, the manuscript may not antedate the poem because some passages from the Rood’s speech were carved in runes on the famous Ruthwell Cross early in the eighth century. The precise relation of the poem to this cross is, however, uncertain.
The poem unrolls in three phases. In the first part, the poet dreams of a cross suddenly changing from a splendidly shining tree to a bleeding instrument for punishment. Then, the Rood tells his agony story of being hewed from a tree to a cross, and it bears Christ’s crucification as a slayer; it is not long,however, before the God of Host’s death that the Rood is decked and honored. It warns people of the Doomsday but it adds that those who “bear on the breast the best of the tokens” shall dwell with the Lord in the heaven. Last but not least, the dreamer prays to the tree his eagerness and loyalty to the life in the divine kingdom. Finally, his hope is renewed by the Harrowing of Hell.
With regard to the technical merits, the poem is composed in the Germanic tradition. Poetic language flows throughout the poem by means of figure of speech. For example, “beacon” is a substitution for “the splendid tree”, which is metonymy. It reveals that the dreamer is deeply impressed by the glorious tree, and he admires it to a deep extent. A riveting effect is further achieved by the kenning when tomb becomes “earth-house”, and body is called “fair house”. Both of the compounds, on one hand, compete each other sharply, suggesting the gloomy death and the vigorous life; on the other hand, they both keep with the idea of “house”, which indicating that the body provides a house for the soul, while a tomb serves as a good place for the soul to slumber in. Additionally, litotes plays an ironic role as well when “lonely” is replaced with “with small company”. It foregrounds the poor situation of Christ that his believers as well as belief die away with his body. Apposition is another diplomacy employed to enhance the structure quality. Jehovah or Jesus is referred to in fifteen epithets as, “God Almighty”, “Mighty King”, “Lord of the Heaven”, “God of Hosts”, “Heaven’s Lord”, “Wielder of Triumphs”, “the great Prince”, “God’s Son”, “the Lord of Glory”, “the ruler of Heaven”, “Almighty God”, “the King of Glory”, “High Father”, “the Son”, and “Ruler”. It is notable that the inanimate Rood is able to speak to the dreamer by virtue of prosopopoeia. The soliloquy of the Rood enriches the plot development of the narrative poem. The story that Jesus is crucified and buried by the warriors servers as the complication, while the poem reaches its crisis when the Rood is dug out and is honored. The falling action is the Rood’s warning of Doomsday and his urgency to convert people into Christianity. The first narration especially narrows down the gap between the text and the readers. It seems that the dreamer as well as the readers are listening to the Rood’s account on his recollection and sermon.
From the thematic perspective, Jesus is depicted as “the strong and stouthearted young Hero”, showing the combination of heroism of Germanic tradition and the sacrifice idea of Christianity. But the main concern of this poem is to honor the Almighty God, the God’s Son, and the spirits in trinity. The dreamer feels sad, lonely and sin-stained for the double humiliation people make upon the tree and Jesus; at the denouement of the poem, however, his hope is “renewed with joy and bliss” because he believes that he may be saved as the patriarchs and prophets are released from Hell by the Lord. For the Rood, it is innocent at first, then it is singled out by human beings to be guilty, but at the end, it steps into glory and grace through the God’ s almightiness. As a whole, the dreamer experiences a spiritual salvation, while the Rood receives both physical and mental evolution like the Son’s Mother Mary as he mentioned. But what justifies the improvement of the Rood, outside of heavenly power? We may build a chain from human beings to Jesus, and to the Rood. The Son goes to crucification for people’s sins, and then, the Rood bears the sins of killing Jesus. As the cross is inhumane, its gives an end to the chain of sacrifice. Therefore, if the Rood is saved, all the others will be led to the God’s kingdom subsequently. That is the reason why the cross is sacred and cherished, serving as “the best of the tokens”, through which people are recognized as God’s citizens. Furthermore, we may consider the Rood as the tree of life in Eden which revives Jesus. Last but not least, Christ and the Cross both act, paradoxically, in keeping with, and diametrically opposed to the code of heroic action: Chris is heroic and passive, while the Cross is loyal to its Lord, yet must participate in his death.
References:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, vol. A, the Middle Ages, p27-29
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浔山 转发了这篇日记 2021-06-21 11:52:20
