Motifs of Death and Exile in the Old English Poem <i>Exodus</i>: Principles of the use of epic narration techniques in the Christian epic
The article deals with the problem of the use of epic narrative techniques in the Old English Christian epic. Epic themes or type-scenes traditionally believed to be the sign of oral epic are analysed in the text of Old English Christian epiс poem Exodus that elaborates the Old Testament plot in a highly allegoric manner. The analysis of the formulaic motifs comprising the themes of death and exile shows their affinity and the change in form and meaning as compared to the texts of heroic epic (especially those viewed as typical for Old English poetry in the works by S. B.Greenfield and P .B.Taylor). The formulas for the status of exile are used not for one man as we see it in heroic poetry, but for the whole nation when it is shown in extreme conditions: coming out of Egypt, in face of the threat of Egyptians on the shore of the Red Sea. Formulas denoting the status of exile also appear in the final part of the poem, referring to all the people before Doom. The motif of way to or in exile is also used for description of Israelites and Egyptians. Although traditional motifs of the theme of death contain the description of movement, the scene of Egyptians’ death in the Red Sea waves underlines the lack of way out for them, which can be viewed as the lack of the possibility for salvation. This additional meaning of this motif can be seen in the Bede’s death song , the text of great importance for the understanding of the Old English Christian poetry. Analysing the epic themes of death and exile in Exodus against the background of the Old English heroic poetry the author of the article comes to the conclusion that they were both transformed formally (as the formulaic form of their motifs was changed) and semantically as they were used for expressing ideas different from those expressed in the heroic poetry.