English Literature / Unit 5 ENL 0408 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Middle English Lyrics
Captions available
The idea
Anonymous Middle English lyrics survive from roughly the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries, often song-like with refrains. The Cuckoo Song celebrates spring; others lament unanswered love, mourn the passing of the old in the "where are they" motif, or praise Christ and Mary.
In practice
Short, anonymous, often sung.
Where people slip
Religious lyrics are as common as love lyrics.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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