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A Written Report in English Literature

This document provides a summary and analysis of Caedmon's Hymn, one of the oldest surviving poems in Old English. It was composed in the 7th century by Caedmon, a herdsman, and focuses on praising God the creator. The summary highlights that the poem uses kennings, metaphors, and alliteration consistent with Old English poetry. It describes God as a powerful ruler and emphasizes his creation of heaven, earth, and humanity.

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Hidaya
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178 views3 pages

A Written Report in English Literature

This document provides a summary and analysis of Caedmon's Hymn, one of the oldest surviving poems in Old English. It was composed in the 7th century by Caedmon, a herdsman, and focuses on praising God the creator. The summary highlights that the poem uses kennings, metaphors, and alliteration consistent with Old English poetry. It describes God as a powerful ruler and emphasizes his creation of heaven, earth, and humanity.

Uploaded by

Hidaya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Written Report

In
English Literature

Submitted by:
Hasan Saga, Hidaya Shakira S.
Ali, Sittie Khuzaima L.
Caedmon’s Hymn

Translation:

 Now we must praise


the kingdom of
heaven’s guardian
 The might of the
Creator and his
purpose.
 The work of the Father Glory and he of each miracle,
 Eternal Lord, established the beginning.
 He first created for the sons of the earth
 Heaven as a roof, holy creator.
 Then the middle earth mankind’s guardian,
 Eternal Lord, afterwards adorned
 The earth with people, the Lord Almighty.

Caedmon’s hymn is one of the three earliest remaining poems in Old English. In
fact, it was composed between 658 and 680 by Caedmon, who was a Celtic herdsman,
and is the oldest recorded Old English poem. The "Hymn" is Caedmon's sole
surviving composition. Unfortunately, all of his poems are lost, but Bede, an English
monk, translated Caedmon’s Hymn from Old English to Latin ad was written in his
Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
Caedmon’s Hymn is about a man who falls asleep after attending a wedding. He
drank so much mean that when he came home he immediately fell asleep. Sleeping,
he dreamt of an angel. Because of this, the morning after, he became very very
religious and wrote a poem about the new revelations he got after waking up from a
dream. As far as the wild night goes, the monastery who owned the man’s cows
invited him of being a monk after hearing about his miracle.

Kennings are used in the poem. In line 1, “heaven-kingdom’s guardian” was


mentioned. In the poem, the heaven was meant as a kingdom as well as a religious
place. In line 2, instead of using the word “thought”, the author wrote it as “mind-
plans”. That the plans of God originate in his mind. In line 3, instead of using God the
author used the term “Glory-Father”. In line 7, “middle-earth” was used. Since our is
in between heaven and hell, hence the term middle. Also in line 7, “mankind’s
Guardian” was used as a term for God. In other words, the kennings are deeper-
meaning words. That instead of using the common and mostly-used words, the author
used more complicated terms.
The 2nd element of a poem was Metaphor. Caedmon portrayed God as a kind of
super-powerful earthly ruler which was seen in some lines in the poem, Lines 1, 5,
and 7-8 have phrases or sentences that compare to God as mighty leader without
specifying the term “God”.
Since the poem was originally written in Old English, it uses musical alliteration.
Lines are organized according to alliteration (when several words begin with the same
sound and stress). That is the 3rd element which is the sound patterns.
The main theme of the poem is that God created the heavens and the earth for the
enjoyment of men. It was clearly stated since God is very much mentioned in the
poem. The breaking point in the poem on why God is the main center of everything
was after the man dreamed of an angel.

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