Analysis: The Poetic Structure Of Frumceaft

The Poetic Structure of “Frumsceaft” “Frumsceaft” is a song that is written by an uneducated cow-herder who amazingly sang a song in Old English. The cow-herder’s name was Caedmon. He produced “Frumsceaft” after he had left a place where everyone was singing songs. He left the place because he was disappointed in himself because he had not thought of a song to sing. Caedmon was lying in hay in a barn when he had a dream of an angel. The angel gave him a song to sing and told him to go back there. Caedmon went back after writing the song that the angel had told him and sang the song about the beginning of the universe. The poetic structure of “Frumsceaft” parallels the theme of praising God. The theme of praising God is also emphasized through the use of kennings and alliterations. The theme of praising of God in “Frumsceaft” is parallel to the poetic structure because the structure of the poem is parallel to the order and structure of the way God made the Earth. The poetic structure of “Frumsceaft” is very orderly just like the way God built the Earth in “Frumsceaft.” An example of this in “Frumsceaft” is when the speaker says, “ece drihten or onstealde [Eternal Lord, built according to His plan]” (4). This is parallel to the planned structure
One example of where alliteration is used in “Frumsceaft” is when the speaker says, “weorc wuldorfæder, [Work of the Wonder-Father]” (3). Another example of where alliteration is used in “Frumsceaft” is when the speaker says, “heofon to hrofe [Heaven for a roof]” (6). Alliterations are used along with the caesura to organize and give order to the poem just as God uses heaven as a roof for the Earth which brings order and organization to the Earth. The pattern of alliteration and stressed syllables helps listeners memorize the song because it was passed down orally from generation to generation until Bede wrote it down in his