What is the theme of The Dream of the Rood?

The major theme of The Dream of the Rood, is the representation of the crucifixion as a battle. Both Christ and the Cross triumph over defeat, they are seen as heroic. In the end, they are both worshiped because of what they signify.

What kind of poem is The Dream of the Rood?

The Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Christian poems in the corpus of Old English literature and an example of the genre of dream poetry. Like most Old English poetry, it is written in alliterative verse. Rood is from the Old English word rod ‘pole’, or more specifically ‘crucifix’.

What is the tone of The Dream of the Rood?

Like much Old English poetry, “The Dream of the Rood” exemplifies an elegiac tonean awareness of the transitory nature of life, human sinfulness and sorrow, and the promised consolation of Heaven, an awareness of the transitory nature of life, human sinfulness and sorrow, and the promised consolation of Heaven.

Who is speaking in The Dream of the Rood?

Synopsis. The poem is set up with the narrator having a dream. In this dream or vision he is speaking to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections: the first part (ll.

When was the dream of the rood written?

The Dream of the Rood is regarded as one of the great religious poems in the history of English Literature. Some critics assume that the poem was written in the late seven or early eight century. In the eight century the poem was first discovered on a Ruthwell cross or runic The word Rood translated from old English to English as crucifix or cross.

Is the poem Dream of the rood alliterative?

Like most Old English poetry, it is written in alliterative verse. Rood is from the Old English word rod ‘pole’, or more specifically ‘crucifix’. Preserved in the 10th century Vercelli Book, the poem may be considerably older, even one of the oldest works of Old English literature.

What happens to the Cross in the dream of the rood?

The son of god, along with the rood Acted with courage and great bravery. The cross also suffered wound with the Christ But when the Jessus went to Heaven, the cross was thrown in a ditch. Later Christians found the Cross and reveres the cross and covered it with silver and gold.

What makes the dream of the Rood a pagan poem?

The pre-Christian or pagan elements are present in the use of a complex, echoing structure, allusions, repetition, verbal parallels, the ambiguity, and wordplay of the Riddles, and the language of heroic poetry and elegy. The most important element of paganism inside the poem is the speaking tree.