Abstract
The paper outlines the role of the two Godrics' (the good and the bad) in the Old English poem "The Battle of Maldon" and analyzes the beatification of Byhrtnoth. It sticks closely to the poem's use of language as a means of deciding that the main crime of Old English literature is anti-heroism. It expands from here, to surmise that this was the prevalent crime because of the payment of Danegeld and the reign of Aethelred.

From the Paper
"Against a consideration of Byrhtnoth, then, I would like to consider the true perpetrators of the crime of anti-heroism in Maldon: Odda's sons, who flee after their lord's death, thus revoking the heroic ideal. I would like to consider first the role of the two Godrics' in the poem. Any reception of either, it must be noted, is moderated by the moral worth that Byrhtnoth instils in the poem. To put it simply, "bad" Godric is ignoble, fleeing on his master's horse, and "good" Godric is virtuous, fighting till the death to avenge his lord. The fact that their names are identical forces one to assume that they are meant as comparative entities in the poem; more than this, there exists an alarming parity in the presentation of each Godric."

Tags:aethelred, danegeld, byrhtnoth, godric

Abstract
A discussion of the parallel between the strength of the Christian influence and the treatment of animals in Old English literature, including examples from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and Marie de France?s "Lanval and Fables".

From the Paper
"Though the selection of Old English material that has been covered in this course is but a small sample of what is available, the works we have covered are some of the most famous and influential from history, and one can make inferences about all Old English works from this sample. Therefore, judging by these works, taken from the Seventh Edition of the Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume One, it appears that the more Christianized a work of Old English literature it is, the less reverence or respect is given to animals, when animals are mentioned at all. In fact, the works can be divided into three categories, each of which treats animals in a different manner. The first category is the oldest of this literature, the truly Germanic tales where the Christian God is rarely mentioned and may have actually been added in by the translator. Unfortunately we have only one representative of this group, Beowulf. The second category is made up of works that were not written for a distinctly religious purpose but certainly have Christian undertones. These include Marie de France's Lanval and Fables, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The third category consists of works that were written specifically for religious purposes or by religious people, such as monks or priests. Those referred to here are An Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede, The Dream of the Rood, and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle."

Tags:christian, religion, influence, characters, warriors

Abstract
This paper explains that, in "Beowulf", the epic verse of heroism and honor, the major and the majority of the minor characters are male with the women even Grendel's Mother, the monster's mother, appearing to be of little consequence; however, in Geoffrey Chaucer's stories, "The Wife of Bath" and "The Miller's Tale", female characters are central to the stories. The author points out that the Wife of Bath is the narrator of the tale and includes her own mini-autobiography before beginning her tale of the knight; the female character in "The Miller's Tale" is the central point of action, the reason the story moves forward. The paper relates that the women in "Beowulf" are portrayed as being either evil or good; whereas, in Chaucer's tales, the women move from being revered, as in "The Wife of Bath" to being instrumental in creating fools of men by using sexual powers.

From the Paper
"Chaucer begins the "Miller's Tale" by describing the social circumstances surrounding the group. The Miller is drunk and some feel it would be best if he simply passed up his chance to speak and let someone else entertain, however the Miller insists and apologizes in advance for anything that he might say. This tale does not paint the female character as one of wisdom and loyalty as in the Wife's tale, but rather as a lusty young maiden, who much resembles the Wife herself. The Miller explains that his tale is about a carpenter, his young wife, a student and a clerk. The student boarded with the carpenter and his wife, and one day while the carpenter was away, the student came forth with his intentions to the wife, who readily accepted."

Tags:instrument, power, centrality, humanistic, focus

Abstract
This paper points out how the Danish Vikings invasion piracy of England in 1066 changed the English language for the better by simplifying and incorporating many Scandinavian words and grammar tools into Old English. The author argues that the changes influenced by the Danish illustrate the English language's ability to change and adapt to other languages, like it continues to do today.

From the Paper
"It was only after several years of Danish piracy did the pirates grow more serious and ambitious. Larger armies began appearing, beginning a conquest that would end in the merger of the two cultures. Before, the English language did not have words to describe these different peoples and their violent ways. Seeing as to how it is difficult to have pleasant relations with pirates, this took time. Eventually, words such as "cnearr (small warship), scTHORNmann (pirate), and b tswegan (boatman, source of Modern English boatswain)" that were "associated with a sea-roving and predatory people" that made their way into English. But this progress was slow - it was not important to take the time to learn an enemy language for casual use. However, the Danes began to dig more firmly into English soil - not to sack and run, but to stay. They had a firm foothold in England after a treaty was signed and England was split into different parts: Wessex and the Danelaw. It might seem that the division would keep the two people segregated, but that was not the case. The Scandinavian language finally started making its way into Old English as the people accepted their co-existence. All seemed well until the piracy began anew - this time by Olaf Tryggvason and Svein, who went up and down the southeast coast and then up certain rivers. In order to keep them away, a tribute began, but before long, they were "marching all over England, murdering and pillaging." The English language could have gone in a completely different direction had the English been able to defeat the Danes. However, they did not and Cnut, the son of Svein, became the new king of England. It was through this new rule the chaos finally ended."

Tags:vikings danes scandinavian, old norse, old english, danish piracy

Abstract
This paper presents an examination of the English language and its origins. The author traces through the three stages of Old English, Middle English, and Modern English and examines the development of language.

From the Paper
"The English Language has been built on the backs of great nations and as these nations rose they brought with them a language that has evolved over many generations and is spoken all over the world. The history of the English language is an extensive and colorful one that has filled the lives of the linguistic scholars who have studied it with many hours of reading material. The English language and its origins will be traced through the three stages of Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. The stages will be studied in order to understand what influences have played a key role in the development of English. Also in this paper a look will be taken at the ways slang, jargon, and Colloquialism continue to the changes that English is even now under going."

Tags:development, english, history, midle, modern, old, language, words

Abstract
This paper discusses phonemes and how they apply to the English language. The author traces changes in this language beginning with Old English and moving through Middle English to present-day English, and provides examples of changes in each. The author also explains why only forty-four out of a possible three hundred phonemes are used in present-day English.

From the Paper
"A phoneme, as defined by Crystal is, "The smallest contrastive unit in the system of a language"(456). There are approximately three hundred phonemes in existence that are shared by the five thousand plus languages of the world. The English language only uses forty-four of the three hundred total phonemes. Some languages require more than forty-four phonemes and some require less in order to function. The truth is that none of the world's languages use the three hundred available phonemes. Languages use only as many as they need in order to be understood. The reason that the English language uses a mere forty-four phonemes is very simple; that is all that it needs. However, the number of phonemes in our language has changed, and it will probably change in the future. It is important to examine the reasons for change and discuss why the number of English phonemes is so limited."

Tags:middle, english

Abstract
The paper describes how invasions from the Germanic tribes of the Jutes, Saxons and Angles, and bloody intertribal fighting, established Old English. The paper also discusses how isolation allowed the language to evolve on its own until the Norman conquest provided a Latin influence on the language. The paper then explains that the English language became a global one as a result of the warfare waged from the Isle of Britain and the British Empire.

From the Paper
"English is often referred to as a "bastard" language due to the fact that it has so many sources. Though technically a Germanic language there is also a heavy Latinate influence that occurred over the millennia of English's spread, beginning in the time that Romans first set foot on the British Isles and continuing through direct and indirect influence from French, Spanish, and other romance languages; so much so that now less than half of the words in the modern English lexicon are actually etymologically rooted in the Germanic family (Marsh, 89). This kind of change is inevitable in any language where the speaking population is not in total isolation, and even then language may still adapt and develop as society changes. The unique history of the British Isles and the subsequent history and influence of the English-speaking world, however, makes the development of English especially volatile and interesting."

Tags:Saxons, Angles, Normans, Latin, German, conquest

Abstract
In Yeats's "When You Are Old," the speaker addresses a woman by telling her to imagine her future based on her past and her relationship with the speaker. This paper analyzes the speaker's attitude toward the woman and how that attitude is conveyed through the poem's form, diction, imagery and tone.

From the Paper
"William Butler Yeats' poem, "When You Are Old," depicts an old woman looking back over her life and regretting having forsaken the love of the poem's speaker. Yeats' careful attention to stylistic elements allows him to incorporate a great deal of meaning into this brief poem. Yeats' narrator addresses the woman many years prior to the scene that he describes, apparently hoping to convince her to avoid this fate by choosing him over her many other suitors. Through a stylistic consistency in which each of the poem's form, diction, imagery, and tone all increase in complexity and venture further into abstraction as the poem proceeds, Yeats conveys the speaker's complicated attitude toward the woman. The end result is a poem which concisely and deftly relates the speaker's desire for the woman while simultaneously expressing his attitude that she is susceptible to flattery and manipulation."

Tags:age, aging, device, diction, english, form, imagery, literature, love, old, poetic, poetry, romantic, tone

Abstract
This paper examines the English Renaissance in terms of the reassessment of the classical heritage. It argues that the defining quality of the English Renaissance is in applying a critical approach to ancient learning as opposed to the fawning attitude of the Italians. Contained within this critical approach is a balancing of the old and the new, so that the new exemplars such as Petrarch, Dante, Aristo and Tasso are sometimes mentioned in the same breath as with the ancients. The paper illustrates this phenomenon through the works of the premier classicist of his age, Ben Jonson. Among these works "Volpone" is singled out for particular consideration. Special emphasis is laid on the characters Sir Politic and Lady Would with regard to how they portray typical attitudes of the English Renaissance.

From the Paper
"The play is essentially a farce, with an abundance of incidence, and with a plethora of unsavoury characters, practicing their wiles on each other and ending up in convoluted situations. There is an explicit and straightforward moral message in the end, because Volpone and all those who covet his wealth end up caught and punished by law. However, there are more subtle readings possible, which concern the conflict between the classical order and the emerging ethos of the times. The setting in Venice is the first significant detail. The city was viewed as the epicentre of the renaissance, and therefore a perfect backdrop in which to present the new fashions. A large number of the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays are set in the prosperous and mercantile cities of Italy, and with the same object of alluding to the emerging trends at home. Jonson is more ambitious, however, and therefore introduces the travelling nobles Sir Politic and Lady Would-be, who exemplify all the abuses of classicism that Jonson would highlight. "

Tags:Elizabethan, Jacobean, Volpone, classical, heritage

Abstract
This paper focuses on how the English tongue was derived from Germanic by examining the similarities between the structure and vocabulary of Old and Middle English and German. It looks at how Anglo-Saxon was an inflected language with a structure that is still retained by modern German speakers, coupled with word gender, past participle formation and the process of compounding. It explores through a literature review of works such as "Beowulf" and the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Seafarer" how the English that we speak today essentially evolved under the influence of many languages and how the Germanic tongue was perhaps one of the most instrumental in its formation.

From the Paper
"On perusal of an Anglo-Saxon text such as Beowulf it would seem that the modern English translation uses far more words. The Germanic influence on Old English meant that it was a synthetic language structured on the inflection of nouns and adjectives for four cases in the singular and four in the plural. Through the inflection of Old English one could distinguish the job a word did in a sentence by its ending, regardless of its position. For example, the difference between the Modern English sentences, (i) the woman saw the man, and (ii) the man saw the woman is a matter of word order."

Tags:beowulf, seafarer, anglo, saxon