Kempe and the Rood

"The dream of the Rood" and The Book of Margery Kempe are similar in the fact that they are both based on religious ideals, but, no matter how often both texts mentioned Christ, I noticed more differences than similarities when reading these literary pieces, and these key differences had a major effect on how believable I felt each story came across.

The most glaring difference that I noticed as a reader is sense of sincerity that I found in each text. This difference in sincerity was so obvious to me because of the perspective of the main character. In "Dream of the Rood" I had no problem believing the passion and faith being portrayed through the work. However, in The Book of Margery Kempe, I had a major problem believing the stories, claims of miracles, and experiences described in the life of this woman. I believe that the reason that I have such a difference in belief pertaining to these two passages is basically found in the perspective of the main character. I think that I am able to accept the faith of the Rood because that is exactly what it is, a Rood. As a skeptic, I can better accept a metaphor of faith and religion easier than I can accept claims of actual supernatural experiences. Since The Book of Margery Kempe is an account of what she believed happened in her life, and these things seem highly unlikely, I have a hard time giving it any merit. I do feel obligated to say at this point that, although, I may be majorly skeptical of Margery Kempe and her experiences, thanks to class discussion, I realize that I should give this literary work merit because it is not just an account of events, it is a piece of literature that can be examined for historical content among other things.

Another difference I noticed when reading these  two stories was the writing style. The setting of "The Dream of the Rood" allowed me to imagine the scenes the author painted about the significance of crucifixion of Jesus Christ. However, in Margery Kempe's spiritual autobiography, I could not establish a person experience of what the author was describing because it was not a dream that I could relate to my own imagination, but instead it was a person account that was presented to me for me either accept or deny.

These small difference in the two religious works created a huge change in how I accepted the literature as a reader.