The Dream of the Rood

“The Dream of the Rood” by Anonymous (circa eighth century)

Even though the original Old English reads very differently to the translation, it is useful to study the original to get a sense of the layout and structure of the verse. The caesura or mid-line pause is indicated by several spaces, and readers can see the original contains no stanzaic break. The power of the alliterative verse is also apparent in the Old English original.

“Pearl” by Anonymous (circa 14th century)

“The Pearl” is considered one of the most important works of medieval English verse, and like “Dream of the Rood” is structured as a dream-vision. However, in “The Pearl”—composed roughly six centuries after “Dream of the Rood”—the allegory is more complex, and the Christian subtext is better established. “Pearl” assumes its reader is familiar with the New Testament and includes many deep biblical allusions. The English used in “Pearl,” though still different from the contemporary, is already vastly removed from the Old English of “Dream of the Rood.”

“The Crosse” by George Herbert (1633)

Writing almost 800 years after the anonymous author/s of the “Dream of the Rood,” the great metaphysical poet George Herbert also grapples with the contradictions presented by the symbol of the Christian cross. Herbert addresses the cross as an “uncouth thing” (Line 1) and says, “These contrarieties crush me” (Line 32). The only way to understand the wisdom of the cross is to submit to God’s grace, he concludes. Herbert’s tone positions Christian devotion as a struggle, as opposed to the joyous journey it is in “Dream of the Rood,” showing how the theme of penitential suffering had become more prominent in Christianity by the early modern period.