In this article it talks about how “The Dream of the Rood” is a poem representing an Anglo-Saxon Paganistic interpretation of Christ as he died on the cross for our immoralities. Plentiful is seen in the achievement of Christ’s victory, the encounter of good over evil, and the worth of the oak tree and cross. According to the text, the cross and the tree take on a massive quantity of emotions throughout the complete crucifixion. In many beliefs, the tree is seen as a prime representation of devotion. Various such symbols comprise: The Cosmic Tree, the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Death. The Anglo-Saxon Pagan religion is alleged to have heavily …show more content…
“Liturgical Influence in the Dream of the Rood.” PMLA, vol. 34, no. 2, 1919, pp. 233–257. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/457062.
This article mentions how “The Dream of the Rood” successfully exemplifies the mixed culture, ethical code, and spiritual values of its unidentified writer. In the poem, the narrator remembers a vision that he obtained in a dream, where he comes upon the rood on which Christ was crucified. The rood's transcript, filled with references to both Pagan and Christian values, suggests the docile connection he allocated with Christ as that of a lord and thane. Moreover, the crucifixion section is symbolically exemplified as an encounter and hoists both Christ and the rood to the warrior position reminiscent of Anglo-Saxon heroes. This opposing perception of Christ as a selfless victim, yet courageous powerful king, joined with the inconsistent references to Pagan and Christian values prove the unified standpoint of the poet. Within the framework of the poem, the battle between the recent upcoming civilization of ecclesiastical morals and Pagan ritual of fearlessness and conflict is apparent. Through the text there are solid propositions of a lord/ thane affiliation amongst Christ and the rood, where the rood is displayed as a self-sacrificing keeper of Christ. The bond is subtlety proposed when the idealists observe the rood began to hemorrhage on the right side as Christ had, suggesting the devoted linking between lord and thane. This …show more content…
“The Ruthwell Cross, ‘The Dream of the Rood’ and the Vita Contemplativa.” Studies in Philology, vol. 65, no. 1, 1968, pp. 23–43. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4173589
This article puts emphasis on the symbols in the poem as they show their own meaning in apprehension to the clarification about Christianity. The key figure is the tree. One of the crucial points that one came across in the Germanic framework was indeed the Tree becoming of the Cross. The Tree/Cross, itself being a representation of pure brilliance, signifies directness, exposure, and refers to divergences and the greatest bounds of life. The parallel and perpendicular magnitudes, supremacy and immanence, finite with eternal encounter. The symbol itself then bridges the abysmal distance between heaven and earth. In the ancient world trees marked sacred places and each tree was believed to have its lord, ruling spirit or soul. Significant events in the Old Testament take place near holy trees. May be this is one of reasons why Christian used tree as a main substance to make a cross. They believed that tree also could call as immortal. Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, symbols that are reflected and transmuted in the form of the Cross of