Body, text and self in Old English verse: A study of 'Beowulfian' and 'Cynewulfian' rhetoric

This thesis explores representations of the body in selected Old English poems and considers what these reveal about the individual poets' perceptions of the "self" in relation to society, God and the world at large. I examine the fusion of influences, from Germanic heritage to Latin literary tradition, upon the corporeal rhetoric presented in the chosen works, and make suggestions about the progression of ideas, relative chronology and possible connections between poems and poets, based on the parallels and distinctions in the use of body-imagery that are apparent. The discussion falls into two main parts, the first focussing on Beowulf, the second on Cynewulf and his "tradition".; Chapter 1 ("Macrocosm and Microcosm: the Body and the World in Beowulf") analyses the Beowulf-poet's pervasive use of cosmological imagery, and the intricate system of personification that surrounds the physical action of the narrative.; Chapter 2 ("Allegory and the Body-politic in Beowulf and Judith") concentrates on the depiction of the social body in Beowulf and Judith, examining the allegorical implications of hall-life, the socio-political resonances of dismemberment, and the role of individuals within the community.; Chapter 3 ("The Body and the Self in Cynewulf's 'Signed' Poems") directs attention to Cynewulf's four poems: Elene, Juliana, Christ B and Fates of the Apostles, and explores the poet's self-conscious expression of corporeality, his treatment of Latin legends, and his location of the individual in relation to the material world and the Christian tradition.; Chapter 4 ("The Body and the Text in Two 'Cynewulfian' Poems") focuses on two poems of the "Cynewulfian" group, Guthlac B and Andreas, and investigates the ways in which the theme of physical suffering shapes these texts and the poets' adaptations of their sources.; Whilst each of the poets discussed expresses his notion of the body in his own unique manner, there are many striking linguistic or imagistic parallels among these works. It will be argued here that Cynewulf was familiar with Beowulf, that Guthlac B is closely connected with, if not the creation of, Cynewulf himself, and that the Andreas-poet borrowed from both Beowulf and Cynewulf.