Representations of the natural world in Old English poetry / / Jennifer Neville [[electronic resource]]

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910778870403321
• Autore: Neville Jennifer <1968->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 1999
• ISBN: 1-107-11601-5; 0-521-03053-6; 1-280-16192-2; 0-511-11720-5; 0-511-14981-6; 0-511-30985-6; 0-511-48337-6; 0-511-05137-9
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (x, 224 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)
• Collana: Cambridge studies in Anglo-Saxon England ; ; 27
• Disciplina: 829/.1
• Soggetti: English poetry - Old English, ca. 450-1100 - History and criticism; Nature in literature
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-216) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Introduction: defining the natural world -- Defining and confining humanity -- Constructing society: outside and inside, powerlessness and control -- Standing outside, standing out: defining the individual -- Representing God; power in and against nature -- Enclosing the natural world: knowledge and writing -- Conclusion.
• Sommario/riassunto: This book examines descriptions of the natural world in a wide range of Old English poetry. Jennifer Neville describes the physical conditions experienced by the Anglo-Saxons - the animals, diseases, landscapes, seas and weather with which they had to contend. She argues that poetic descriptions of these elements were not a reflection of the existing physical conditions but a literary device used by Anglo-Saxons to define more important issues: the state of humanity, the creation and maintenance of society, the power of individuals, the relationship between God and creation and the power of writing to control information. Examples of contemporary literature in other languages ; are used to provide a sense of Old English poetry's particular approach, which incorporated elements from Germanic, Christian and classical sources. The result of this approach was not a consistent cosmological scheme but a rather contradictory vision which reveals much about how the Anglo-Saxons viewed themselves.