‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates.’ The portcullis in the gate of Cahir Castle, Ireland. The 12th century fortress stands on a river island in the Suir, roughly halfway between Limerick on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland, and Waterford on the east.
Introduction
Cynewulf (possibly the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne) presents the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a choice given to all mankind: what kind of life do we want in the hereafter, and what are we prepared to do in order to obtain it?
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
OPEN, ye gates! Creation’s King would enter his citadel, would lead into the joy of joys a people (they are no small company) snatched from the devil by his Victory. Affinity shall angels and men have for ever after. There is a covenant together between God and man, a spiritual pledge: love, hope of life, all the joys of light.
Listen! We have heard how that holy child, the famous Son of the Measurer,* by his advent restored health to us, who dwell beneath the skies, freed us, and kept us free; that now each man living, while yet he remains here, might choose whether
disgrace of hell, or glory of heaven,
light of lights, or hateful night,
exultant choir, or grief in the shadows,
joy of the Lord, or clamour of devils,
punishment with wrath, or glory with honour,
life, or death,
is what he longs to achieve, while flesh and spirit dwell yet in the world. Glory be to the mighty Trinity, and endless gratitude!
Freely translated from the Old English
Freely translated from the Old English of ‘Christ’, by Cynewulf. For a literal translation, see Anglo-Saxon Poetry.
‘The Measurer’ is a name for God as the one who creates all things and knows all things, based on such passages as Habakkuk 3:6, Isaiah 40:11-12 and 2 Esdras 16:56-59.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
About the Author
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Hate. His. Whether.
2 Everlasting. Here. Snatch.
3 Clamor. Glory. Open.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Lead. 2. Free. 3. Light. 4. Keep. 5. Live. 6. Man. 7. Long.
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1.
Heard.
Herd.
2.
Holy.
Wholly.
3.
Frees.
Freeze.
4.
Gait.
Gate.
5.
Your.
You’re.
Yore.
6.
Hear.
Here.
7.
Weather.
Whether.
8.
Wood.
Would.
9.
There.
Their.
They’re.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
ns (9+8)
ensue. ions. nausea. noes. noise. noose. nose. ones. onus.
aeons. anise. anus. eons. ionise. nous. unease. unis.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
Related Posts
The Cross of Christ speaks, and tells of the amazing transformation from sign of shame to sign of redemption.
Picture: © Olaf Tausch, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted April 3 2016