I tried to match the alliterative
styles that were represented by the Anglo-Saxons, but found it difficult to
translate from Modern English to Old English, hence I have left it in modern
English. Poems of this style
were meant more to be recited aloud than read, please keep this in mind as you
try to form the meter.
I started my research
by looking at Alisoun MacCoul of Elephane’s pages. She pretty much tells the reader to “just go for it.” I have not included the poem pages between
that I went through. Some examples
would be “Selected Poems, with the “Letter to the Poetess Casia”; “Croatian Poetry in the Middle Ages”; “Love is a Sad Sickness”; Brian O’Roarke,
“My Chosen Darling”; and of course, Beouwolf.
From here I went to “Readings of Old English Poetry”. A lovely website with audio clips and 3
examples. This is where I got the idea
for ‘This too shall pass’ – as would have been done in “these times”, I liked
the idea so I used it.
In Winter I stand and watch
You who have stolen that from me
Which I would have given freely
This too shall pass
Cold nor heat can touch that
Which
Has stopped beating at the
thought of
A desire that burns to the quick
This too shall pass
Life left the World to Darkness
My soul imprisoned, Helle
condemned
Payne for lack of you beside me
This too shall pass
Not a day passes that I
Think not of him
Fight well My Lord, for you fight
for My Honor
Written by
Lady Tammarrion de Sidana on 02-19-02
2 Interesting Sources
(that are still on the web as of 10/5/04):
Old English Literature and Culture on the World
Wide Web http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/english/E_Old.html
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