The Ruin

E131520

The Ruin is a melancholic Old English poem reflecting on the crumbling remains of a once-great stone city and the transience of human achievements.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The Ruin canonical 3

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Statements (42)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Old English poem
elegy
literary work
culturalContext Anglo-Saxon Christian culture
describes crumbling remains of a stone city
once-great urban civilization
focusesOn contrast between past splendor and present desolation
genre elegiac poetry
poetry
imagery baths
crumbling masonry
halls
stone walls
towers
language Old English
literaryDevice contrast
personification of ruins
vivid visual description
literaryTradition Old English literature
meter Old English alliterative meter
mood contemplative
somber
period Anglo-Saxon period
philosophicalConcern inevitability of decay
mutability of worldly glory
philosophicalMessage human achievements are temporary
time destroys material glory
reflectsOn destruction of human constructions
power of time over human works
setting ruined stone-built city
subjectMatter passing of a civilization
ruins of a city
theme decay
fate
impermanence
loss
nostalgia for past glory
ruin of cities
time
transience of human achievements
tone melancholic
writtenIn alliterative verse

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Wanderer relatedWork The Ruin
Exeter Book content The Ruin