{"title":"The departure of the hero in a ship: The intertextuality of Beowulf, Cynewulf and Andreas","authors":"F. Leneghan","doi":"10.17811/selim.24.2019.105-132","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article identifies a new Old English poetic motif, ‘The Departure of the Hero in a Ship’, and discusses the implications of its presence in Beowulf, the signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas, a group of texts already linked by shared lexis, imagery and themes. It argues that the Beowulf-poet used this motif to frame his work, foregrounding the question of royal succession. Cynewulf and the Andreas-poet then adapted this Beowulfian motif in a knowing and allusive manner for a new purpose: to glorify the church and to condemn its enemies. Investigation of this motif provides further evidence for the intertextuality of these works.Keywords: Old English poetry; Beowulf, Cynewulf; Andreas; Anglo-Saxon literature","PeriodicalId":44450,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of English Studies","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2019-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of English Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.24.2019.105-132","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
This article identifies a new Old English poetic motif, ‘The Departure of the Hero in a Ship’, and discusses the implications of its presence in Beowulf, the signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas, a group of texts already linked by shared lexis, imagery and themes. It argues that the Beowulf-poet used this motif to frame his work, foregrounding the question of royal succession. Cynewulf and the Andreas-poet then adapted this Beowulfian motif in a knowing and allusive manner for a new purpose: to glorify the church and to condemn its enemies. Investigation of this motif provides further evidence for the intertextuality of these works.Keywords: Old English poetry; Beowulf, Cynewulf; Andreas; Anglo-Saxon literature
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of English Studies (IJES) is a double-blind peer review journal which seeks to reflect the newest research in the general field of English Studies: English Language and Linguistics, Applied English Linguistics, Literature in English and Cultural studies of English-speaking countries. We will give preference to keeping the balance amongst the areas and subareas belonging to English Studies whenever possible.