Isaac Atayero
Mr. John Campion
A.P. English language
10/3/2011
During the time that the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Dream of The Rood, comes to being there were Christian monks inhabiting the land of the Anglo - Saxon and in attempt to convert the heathen to Christianity the monks tampered with the poems of the Anglo-Saxons and insert Christian themes in them. One of the Christian influenced motifs in this poem is the oneness between Christ and man. Another motif present in this poem is the presence of light versus darkness. A third christian influence present in the poem is the separation from left and right. A very Christian motif from The Dream of The Rood is the pathetic fallacy that happens to the hero later in the poem.
In The Dream of The Rood, the Christian monks influence the poem by inserting a motif of oneness between Christ and man in the poem. In the poem , Jesus is represented as a “young hero”, who is very courageous, “determined and brave” and he dies in order “to make men’s souls eternally free”. The poem is an account of his cross, which in essence becomes one with Christ, who is crucified on him. The cross’ relationship with the “lord of the world” can be compared with the oneness with Christ and man. The church, essentially man, is called the Bride of Christ because of Christ’s sacrifice for his bride because in Christianity the husband and the bride are to come together to be one . The cross witnesses that “ we were both reviled, we two together. I was drenched with the blood that gushed from that hero’s side as His holy spirit swept to Heaven”. The oneness between the cross and the hero crucified on the cross is an obvious motif placed in the poem by the Christian monks inhabiting the land of Anglo - Saxon at the time .
In The Dream of The Rood ,the Christian monks’ insertion of the presence of light versus darkness is an example of Christian influence in an Anglo- Saxon poem. Light is an important symbol in Christianity and it is inserted in this poem by the monks also. The hero is chronicled as a “shining cross wrapped in light”, an obvious influence from the monks. The Rood also goes on to say that “ It was a tree of victory ad splendor”. Just like light is a symbol of purity and holiness, darkness symbolizes the exact opposite , impurity and sin. Men have a temptation to sin and this causes them to be “tainted ulcered with sin” and make them dark. Ideals such as light equaling good and darkness meaning sin are rooted firmly in the thread of Christian culture. It is very likely that these ideals are a result of Christian monks trying to convert the heathen to their religion.
In The Dream of The Rood , the Christian monks strategically place the separation of left from right as a motif in the poem. In Christianity, the right side is very important as Jesus, the son of God, sits to the right of the father . As in Christianity, the right side is significant in this poem for The Rood writes “gloriously wrapped in gleaming stones and through the gold i saw the stains of its ancient agony when blood spilled out on its right- hand side”.The selection of the right- hand side from the left- hand side is not random or irrelevant motif. This motif is a reminder that there is a heavy influence of Christianity in this poem and it also signifies the connection between Christ and the hero of the poem. These comparisons are no coincidence and they are definitely not accidental, what they are conscious insertions by monks in an attempt to convert the Anglo- Saxons to Christianity.
In The Dream of The Rood, the Christian monks place an influence upon the poem by inserting the motif of pathetic fallacy in the poem . Pathetic fallacy, a theme that reoccurs throughout the Bible, is when a tragedy befalls a good man and nature begins to rebel to signify mourning of the good person. This happens to multiple characters in the Bible, including Jesus when he dies for the sake of humanity. When the young hero in the poem dies for his fellow men all of “creation wept, bewailed his death”. Examples of creation’s rebellion range from when “clouds rolled from the darkness to cover over the corpse’ to ‘the shinning splendor a livid shadow dropped from Heaven”. These acts of pathetic fallacy only happen when an almighty powerful individual figure as great as Christ . This motif is probably the most important because it outlines the importance of Christ as a heavenly figure . This is also another brilliant Christian theme brilliantly inserted by the Christian monks into this poem as an endeavour to transpose the Anglo- Saxons into Christianity.
The Christian monks who wrote down this Anglo- Saxon poem considered it as away to drop their ideals into the Anglo- Saxon’s culture and influence their decision to convert to Christianity. The monks did this by inserting various motifs including the oneness between Christ and man. They also cut-in the ideal of light meaning against darkness’ significance in the poem. The monks brilliantly slip in the motif of separating left from right . Pathetic fallacy is probably the most important installation of the Christian monks in the poem because it suggests the importance of Christ as a spiritual figure. With these themes, the Christian monks influence The Dream of the Rood greatly and place a permanent Christian influence on the Anglo- Saxon poem.
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