An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism by Lewis E. NicholsonReview by: G. L. BrookThe Modern Language Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 452-453Published by: Modern Humanities Research AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3723258 .

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the elaborate classical style of Johnson and Gibbon and in the freer romantic style of Walpole and Sterne. All three styles - central, classical, and romantic - are continued in the modern period, but the last is today mainly confined to lower- grade fiction and advertising.

In the final chapter of Part I the author remarks that 'a full comparison of word order in Old English and modern English lies outside the scope of this study; it is a task that has not yet been attempted'. This last statement would have been valid twenty years ago, but much competent research has been done in this field since I945. The results of this research are adequately summarized not only in Quirk and Wrenn's Old English Grammar (I955) to which reference is made, but also in Norman Davis's admirable revision of Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer (I953), in G. L. Brook's Introduction to Old English (1955), and, yet more recently and more fully, in Bruce Mitchell's Guide to Old English (I965). Old English syntax was indeed well organized, but it was fairly flexible. Even the simple principle that the verb holds second place and that consequently subject-verb inversion must occur when an adjunct precedes - Ofdune feoll regn, Doun cam the reyn (Chaucer), Down came the rain (pop song) - was never so strict in Old English as it is in present-day German. The no less important principle that the verb (an auxiliary following an infinitive or participle) should come at the end of a dependent clause was likewise not a hard and fast rule; but it persisted far into Middle English and it is worth noticing when it does appear. For instance, '3ef 1u wel woldest' in the Life of St Katherine (p. 48), 'that in this wood wonneth' in Seinte Marharete (p. 49), and 'if they any have' in John Gaytryge's Sermon (p. 50).

A few other small points may here be noted. As a prosodic feature, stress should be clearly distinguished from emphasis and 'semantic importance' (p. I5). Auxiliary verbs should not be classed with pronouns, prepositions, particles, and conjunctions as lightly-stressed forms in Old English: they often bore heavy stress. According to Leechdoms, betony grows on gefripedum stowum 'in sheltered (not shady) places' (p. 36). Applied to Orosius's History, the epithet compendious is unauthentic and meaningless (p. 39). For 'the parish-priest. .. at han cure under Criste' read 'parish priests' (p. 46). For Ayenbit read Ayenbite (p. 5'). The statement that French 'au regart de produces as to' is obviously a slip. As to may well have been influenced by quant a, but this is not certain (see J.E.D., s.v. as, adv. 33) (p. 52). Bishop Reginald Pecock did not 'invent agenseie (contradict)'. This compound had been used long before by Robert Mannyng of Brunne and it had also appeared in the Wycliffite Bible (e.g. Luke xxI.I5) translating Vulgate contradicere (p. 67). From the words 'for which the N.E.D. can find no earlier record' than Elyot's Governour (p. 76) one must delete mediocrity since (with less hasty reading) it will be found there duly recorded under Sense 4 'moderate fortune or condition in life' from the earliest translation of De imitatione Christi (c. I450) and also under Sense Ib 'golden mediocrity = golden mean' from More's Picus (c. 151o). LONDON SIMEON POTTER

An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. Edited by LEWIS E. NICHOLSON. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. I963. xii 4- 386 pp. $2.50.

In one of the essays included in the present volume, Professor J. R. R. Tolkien summarizes the 'conflicting babel' of many generations of critics of Beowulf in a series of phrases, some of them dispassionate, others astringent. To the latter group belong the opinions that the poem is 'the confused product of a committee of muddle-headed and probably beer-bemused Anglo-Saxons' and that it is 'a work of genius, rare and surprising in the period, though the genius seems to have been

the elaborate classical style of Johnson and Gibbon and in the freer romantic style of Walpole and Sterne. All three styles - central, classical, and romantic - are continued in the modern period, but the last is today mainly confined to lower- grade fiction and advertising.

In the final chapter of Part I the author remarks that 'a full comparison of word order in Old English and modern English lies outside the scope of this study; it is a task that has not yet been attempted'. This last statement would have been valid twenty years ago, but much competent research has been done in this field since I945. The results of this research are adequately summarized not only in Quirk and Wrenn's Old English Grammar (I955) to which reference is made, but also in Norman Davis's admirable revision of Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer (I953), in G. L. Brook's Introduction to Old English (1955), and, yet more recently and more fully, in Bruce Mitchell's Guide to Old English (I965). Old English syntax was indeed well organized, but it was fairly flexible. Even the simple principle that the verb holds second place and that consequently subject-verb inversion must occur when an adjunct precedes - Ofdune feoll regn, Doun cam the reyn (Chaucer), Down came the rain (pop song) - was never so strict in Old English as it is in present-day German. The no less important principle that the verb (an auxiliary following an infinitive or participle) should come at the end of a dependent clause was likewise not a hard and fast rule; but it persisted far into Middle English and it is worth noticing when it does appear. For instance, '3ef 1u wel woldest' in the Life of St Katherine (p. 48), 'that in this wood wonneth' in Seinte Marharete (p. 49), and 'if they any have' in John Gaytryge's Sermon (p. 50).

A few other small points may here be noted. As a prosodic feature, stress should be clearly distinguished from emphasis and 'semantic importance' (p. I5). Auxiliary verbs should not be classed with pronouns, prepositions, particles, and conjunctions as lightly-stressed forms in Old English: they often bore heavy stress. According to Leechdoms, betony grows on gefripedum stowum 'in sheltered (not shady) places' (p. 36). Applied to Orosius's History, the epithet compendious is unauthentic and meaningless (p. 39). For 'the parish-priest. .. at han cure under Criste' read 'parish priests' (p. 46). For Ayenbit read Ayenbite (p. 5'). The statement that French 'au regart de produces as to' is obviously a slip. As to may well have been influenced by quant a, but this is not certain (see J.E.D., s.v. as, adv. 33) (p. 52). Bishop Reginald Pecock did not 'invent agenseie (contradict)'. This compound had been used long before by Robert Mannyng of Brunne and it had also appeared in the Wycliffite Bible (e.g. Luke xxI.I5) translating Vulgate contradicere (p. 67). From the words 'for which the N.E.D. can find no earlier record' than Elyot's Governour (p. 76) one must delete mediocrity since (with less hasty reading) it will be found there duly recorded under Sense 4 'moderate fortune or condition in life' from the earliest translation of De imitatione Christi (c. I450) and also under Sense Ib 'golden mediocrity = golden mean' from More's Picus (c. 151o). LONDON SIMEON POTTER

An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. Edited by LEWIS E. NICHOLSON. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. I963. xii 4- 386 pp. $2.50.

In one of the essays included in the present volume, Professor J. R. R. Tolkien summarizes the 'conflicting babel' of many generations of critics of Beowulf in a series of phrases, some of them dispassionate, others astringent. To the latter group belong the opinions that the poem is 'the confused product of a committee of muddle-headed and probably beer-bemused Anglo-Saxons' and that it is 'a work of genius, rare and surprising in the period, though the genius seems to have been

Reviews Reviews 452 452

This content downloaded from 91.220.202.97 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:32:04 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

shown principally in doing something much better left undone'. The wide range of conflicting opinions makes an anthology of Beowulf criticism particularly welcome. Two of the eighteen essays included are works of outstanding importance, which have marked turning points in the criticism of Old English poetry: J. R. R. Tolkien's British Academy lecture 'Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics' and Francis P. Magoun Jr.'s article from Speculum 'The Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry'. The other essays, mainly by American scholars, seem to stress the religious aspect of the poem. The subjects include 'The Religious Principle in Beowulf', 'Beowulf and Christian Allegory: An Interpretation of Unferth', 'Beowulf and the Liturgy', 'Beowulf--An Allegory of Salvation?', and 'Patristics and Old English Literature: Notes on Some Poems'. One misses extracts from the work of some of the great critics of Beowulf, such as W. P. Ker and R. W. Chambers, and one may doubt the soundness of the reason given for their exclusion: that their contributions have been published in book form and are easy to acquire. Inaccessibility is a relative term. Useful as this anthology is likely to be, it would have been even more useful to students if the sole criteria for selection had been the importance of the opinions expressed and the willingness of the owners of copyright to give permission for inclusion. The book seems to be intended for readers so general that they cannot read Beowulf in the original, for the editor has provided translations of the quotations from Old English, as well as those from Latin and Old Norse. Publication in paperback form has made a low price possible, and the book is likely to be popular with students, who can be relied upon to use it selectively. G. L. BROOK MANCHESTER

Early Middle English Verse and Prose. Edited by J. A. W. BENNETT and G. V. SMITHERS. With a Glossary by NORMAN DAVIS. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

1966. lviii + 620 pp. 42s. K. Sisam's excellent Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose needs a companion volume for the earlier literature, and this one meets the requirements adequately enough. It is designed more particularly 'to serve the purposes of readers whose main interest is in English literature', though it is hoped that it will also meet the requirements of specialists in early Middle English. Both will find in the introduc- tion a good general account which places the literature in its European setting, and will probably wish that its nine pages could have been extended. But they will find the following forty-page description of the language rather heavy going, and only the student who has some acquaintance with modern theories will be able to make much use of it. For the beginner it contains too many technical terms which are not always adequately defined, and it is unlikely that he will gain much from the occasional quotation of Dutch forms, or from the use of Zulu ngizomshaya as an example of synthesis. This section could have been made a good deal more straightforward for the beginner, without losing its value for the more advanced student. Sometimes the editors have been unnecessarily pedantic, as in the reference to St Wilfrith of Ripon (p. 386), and one wonders how many of the readers will be able to make use of the quotations in Latin and Old French. The selection of texts, each with a useful introduction, has been well carried out, and if on the whole it is the usual ones that appear, these after all are those which give the best general impression of the literature. Perhaps there is rather more than necessary of the Ormulum, the lyrics O P Q R were hardly worthwhile, and it is doubtful whether both Dame Sirith and the De Clerico et Puella should have been included. But amongst the nineteen texts in the volume are substantial extracts

shown principally in doing something much better left undone'. The wide range of conflicting opinions makes an anthology of Beowulf criticism particularly welcome. Two of the eighteen essays included are works of outstanding importance, which have marked turning points in the criticism of Old English poetry: J. R. R. Tolkien's British Academy lecture 'Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics' and Francis P. Magoun Jr.'s article from Speculum 'The Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry'. The other essays, mainly by American scholars, seem to stress the religious aspect of the poem. The subjects include 'The Religious Principle in Beowulf', 'Beowulf and Christian Allegory: An Interpretation of Unferth', 'Beowulf and the Liturgy', 'Beowulf--An Allegory of Salvation?', and 'Patristics and Old English Literature: Notes on Some Poems'. One misses extracts from the work of some of the great critics of Beowulf, such as W. P. Ker and R. W. Chambers, and one may doubt the soundness of the reason given for their exclusion: that their contributions have been published in book form and are easy to acquire. Inaccessibility is a relative term. Useful as this anthology is likely to be, it would have been even more useful to students if the sole criteria for selection had been the importance of the opinions expressed and the willingness of the owners of copyright to give permission for inclusion. The book seems to be intended for readers so general that they cannot read Beowulf in the original, for the editor has provided translations of the quotations from Old English, as well as those from Latin and Old Norse. Publication in paperback form has made a low price possible, and the book is likely to be popular with students, who can be relied upon to use it selectively. G. L. BROOK MANCHESTER

Early Middle English Verse and Prose. Edited by J. A. W. BENNETT and G. V. SMITHERS. With a Glossary by NORMAN DAVIS. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

1966. lviii + 620 pp. 42s. K. Sisam's excellent Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose needs a companion volume for the earlier literature, and this one meets the requirements adequately enough. It is designed more particularly 'to serve the purposes of readers whose main interest is in English literature', though it is hoped that it will also meet the requirements of specialists in early Middle English. Both will find in the introduc- tion a good general account which places the literature in its European setting, and will probably wish that its nine pages could have been extended. But they will find the following forty-page description of the language rather heavy going, and only the student who has some acquaintance with modern theories will be able to make much use of it. For the beginner it contains too many technical terms which are not always adequately defined, and it is unlikely that he will gain much from the occasional quotation of Dutch forms, or from the use of Zulu ngizomshaya as an example of synthesis. This section could have been made a good deal more straightforward for the beginner, without losing its value for the more advanced student. Sometimes the editors have been unnecessarily pedantic, as in the reference to St Wilfrith of Ripon (p. 386), and one wonders how many of the readers will be able to make use of the quotations in Latin and Old French. The selection of texts, each with a useful introduction, has been well carried out, and if on the whole it is the usual ones that appear, these after all are those which give the best general impression of the literature. Perhaps there is rather more than necessary of the Ormulum, the lyrics O P Q R were hardly worthwhile, and it is doubtful whether both Dame Sirith and the De Clerico et Puella should have been included. But amongst the nineteen texts in the volume are substantial extracts

Reviews Reviews 453 453

This content downloaded from 91.220.202.97 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:32:04 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions