 |
|
Runes on the Ruthwell Cross c. 750 AD |
| |
|
|
|
There are 16 critical essays on Dream of the Rood.
Critical Essays on Dream of the Rood

from source:

Critical Essay by John V. Fleming
12,390 words, approx. 41 pages
 Below, Fleming examines the characters, language, and themes of The Dream of the Rood, calling the poem "a carved celebration of the monastic ideals" of English Benedictinism.
from source:

Critical Essay by Louis H. Leiter
10,733 words, approx. 36 pages
 In this essay, Leiter studies the transformation of the poem's three characters: Christ, the Cross, and the Dreamer.
from source:

Critical Essay by Rosemary Woolf
7,411 words, approx. 25 pages
 In the following essay, Woolf assesses The Dream of the Rood 's emphasis on Christ's supremacy and suffering, stating that the poet "reflected exactly the doctrinal pattern of thought of his time. '
from source:

Critical Essay by Faith H. Patten
7,041 words, approx. 24 pages
 Here, Patten explores the analogies between the Dreamer and the Cross, the Cross and Christ, and Christ and the Dreamer. She also analyzes the allegorical and historical aspects of The Dream of the Rood.
from source:

Critical Essay by Monica Brzezinski
5,592 words, approx. 19 pages
 Below, Brzezinski contends that the last few lines of The Dream of the Rood refer to the Last Judgment rather than to the Harrowing of Hell.
from source:

Critical Essay by Howard R. Patch
5,262 words, approx. 18 pages
 In the following essay, Patch explores parallels between The Dream of the Rood and church liturgical texts "in order to gain a further knowledge of the poet's working method and to assist in reproducing a sense of the connotativeness of the poem."
from source:

Critical Essay by Edward B. Irving, Jr.
5,042 words, approx. 17 pages
 In the following essay, Irving describes the treatment of the Crucifixion from the perspectives of the poem's two main characters, the Dreamer and the Rood.
from source:

Critical Essay by J. A. Burrow
4,933 words, approx. 16 pages
 In the following essay, first published in 1959 in Neophilologus, Burrow contrasts the emphasis and detail in The Dream of the Rood with that in several Middle English Crucifixion lyrics.
from source:

Critical Essay by Margaret Schlauch
3,667 words, approx. 12 pages
 Here, Schlauch praises the poet's unique use of prosopopoeia (discourse by inanimate objects), stating that he "was not following a literary tradition concerning the Rood; he was making an innovation with the originality of genius."
from source:

Critical Essay by Carol Jean Wolf
3,232 words, approx. 11 pages
 In the following essay, Wolf examines the poet's 'presentation of the Crucifixion as a battle" in The Dream of the Rood, focusing on theme and diction.
from source:

Critical Essay by Charles W. Kennedy
2,690 words, approx. 9 pages
 In the following excerpt, Kennedy discusses glorification of the Cross in The Dream of the Rood, attributing to the poem 'pre-eminent distinction as a superb lyric presentation of a religious adoration which finds its symbol in the Cross. '
from source:

Critical Essay by John Canuteson
2,512 words, approx. 8 pages
 In the following essay, Canuteson compares the Crucifixion as portrayed in The Dream of the Rood with the Biblical descriptions of Christ's second coming.
from source:

Critical Essay by Stopford A. Brooke
2,087 words, approx. 7 pages
 Brooke was an Anglo-Irish clergyman, poet, critic, and educator whose Primer of English Literature (1876) was popular with generations of students. In the excerpt below, he contends that Cynewulf, who is often credited as the author of The Dream of the Rood, wrote the epic poem as "his farewell to earth."
from source:

from source:

from source:

Critical Essay by Stanley B. Greenfield
1,707 words, approx. 6 pages
 In the following excerpt, Greenfield centers on the prominent role of Christ in The Dream of the Rood, emphasizing "the poem's double stress on the triumphant and suffering Christ. '

 View More Articles on Dream of the Rood
|