ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -This Old English poem, ‘The Dream of the Rood’ survives in the Vercelli Book. The Vercelli Book dates back to the late 10th century.

Detailed explanation-2: -Themes in ‘The Dream of the Rood’ The themes that emerged in this poem are heroism, honor, courage, life and death, good and evil, Christian religious aspects, and pagan symbols.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Dream of the Rood is one of the 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.

Detailed explanation-4: -The poem itself shows the contrast between the Pagan religion and Christianity and the overlap of religious symbols between them. It follows the crucifixion of Jesus and the dreamer’s journey to finding faith. The rood is seen as the backbone of the crucifixion and is depicted as being praised more than Christ.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Dream of the Rood is one of the earliest Old English religious poems, and dates back to somewhere between the eighth and tenth centuries. It is a poem about a dream in which a cross tells his story and the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. This dream vision poem was popular throughout the medieval era.