Pangur Ban (Anglo-Saxon Period)

Although Pangur Ban is an Anglo-Saxon poem, it does not reflect any Anglo-Saxon tradition; on the contrary, it mirrors Irish tradition. In fact, it shows Celtic values. Even though, this poem seems to be a simple comparison between the activities of a cat with the ones of its master, it not only proposes the idea of equilibrium between human beings and nature, but also suggests that writer’s inspiration comes by chance.

First of all, on the second stanza, the speaker shows one of the values of the Celtics, respect for nature. When he says “Pangur bears me no ill will/He too plies his simple skill”, he is demonstrating that nature and human beings can live in complete harmony if they respect each other. The speaker expresses that since the cat has not unfriendly feelings to his owner, the later should accept the activities of the other. This is a matter of tolerance, which is reinforced on the third stanza when the speaker says that they share the same space, and enjoy themselves doing what they like to. Moreover, this sense of respect and tolerance can be also applied to human relationships because the bond depicted in the poem is telling us that the incorporation of those values in people’s life will improve everyone’s productivity.

Besides the incorporations of values in every person’s life, the poem is telling us that writers get their inspiration by chance. In fact, on the fourth stanza, the speaker emphasizes this thought when he says, “Oftentimes a mouse will stray/In the hero Pangur’s way;” in this case the speaker is sarcastic because he labels the cat as a hero although is the mouse the one that makes a mistake for taking a route that will put him in danger. The same happens to the writer when he says, “Oftentimes my keen thought set /Takes a meaning in its net.” In this case, the speaker states that he has to spend hours trying to write about a specific issue, but his ideas will come by chance, and not because he has the knowledge about a specific concept. The notion that a writer has to spend a lot of time in the writing task in order to get what he wants to write about is exemplified in the first stanza when he says “Hunting words I still all night.” Moreover, this is closely related to the last two lines of the poem, “I get wisdom day and night/Turning darkness into light”, meaning that the process of writing is a tough task that requires lots of time; this task will even take since night until morning as is depicted in the last line of the poem.

Besides the fact that the poem describes the way in which the cat preys a mouse, and the way the writer obtains his ideas almost as accidental deeds, it also shows that the writer takes as an example the cat because of the patience depicted by the animal while he waits until a mouse takes the wrong route and becomes an easy object to prey. This is a way to say to the writer that he should be patient because at any moment he will obtain what he is looking for. This notion of taking the cat as an example is also a method to demonstrate that the more a person does something, the more he becomes an expert; it is as the old saying goes “practice makes the master.”

By Pamela Regidor