Dream of the rood

This is one of the earliest christian poems that is also an example of dream poetry. Rood is an old english word for modern english ‘cross’. The theme that i get from reading this poem is that it is a representation of the crucifixion of the unkonwn poet to the rood or the cross. The poet dreams that the rood on which jesus was crucified speaks to him. The poet notices the rood has blood on it from the crucifixion. The rood/ cross recounts the suffering of jesus christ during his crucifixion. The dream of the rood reconciles the non-christian culture with the christian culture during the time this poem was written. There was a battle of the pagans and tge christians. The cross is described as a beacon that means the cross does represent a sense of battle symbolism. Christ takes the title ‘hero’ for taking the great struggle for mankind’s salvation.

This poem was very interesting to read and analyze.