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'Women are conspicuous by their absence in Old English Literature.' Discuss with reference to Beowulf, The wife's lament, and the Battle of Maldon.
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'Women are conspicuous by their absence in Old English Literature.' Discuss with reference to Beowulf, The wife's lament, and the Battle of Maldon. It could be argued that women are indeed present in the minority in surviving Anglo-Saxon poetry, and that therefore, they are made conspicuous through their absence. The fact they may appear less frequently in Old English Literature does not necessarily mean that women were any less significant in society at this time, although this is the conclusion reached by some. It is assumed that women did, in general, have less important and prominent social roles than men at the time, and the power that they did possess tended to be dictated to them by males. This essay will discuss and examine the social roles and position of the women who did appear in Old English Literature, and will look particularly at The Wife's Lament, Beowulf, and The Battle...
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