Old English Literature: An Introduction

Lecture 2
English 2105 -- British Literature: Beginnings to 1700
Professor Timothy H. Wilson
Department of English, University of Ottawa

A core course in the English Undergraduate Program at the University of Ottawa -- Summer 2020.

This is the second lecture: covering the historical and social context of Old English Literature as well as close readings of both "The Dream of the Rood" and "The Wanderer".

Time Codes:

0:00 – Introduction
1:56 – Outline of Lecture
3:45 – Historical Context: Roman Britain
10:38 – Historical Context: Anglo-Saxons
19:12 – History of the English Language
27:02 – Anglo-Saxon Poetry
30:57 – Literary Genres
32:39 – Introduction to the Structure of “The Dream of the Rood”
36:35 – Models of Heroism: Christian and Warrior
45:51 – Reading the text of “The Dream of the Rood”
56:36 – Dialogue with Students
1:01:27 – “The Wanderer” as Elegy
1:09:06 – “The Wanderer” and the Ubi Sunt Motif
1:14:52 – The Structure of “The Wanderer”
1:17:32 – Reading the text of “The Wanderer”
1:26:24 – Question on the Final Exam

Professor Wilson's Web site -- The Western Canon: https://sites.google.com/site/unterge...

ENG 2105 Course Web Site: https://sites.google.com/site/unterge...

Lecture Slides (PDF): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uhJJ...