Author's Preface

A preface to my narrative poem 'The Cowherd's Tale'

During the evening hours of a late February day of last year, I was roaming through my college’s library, searching for a means to alleviate the burden of my studies. Venturing into the realm of English literature, my eyes spotted a massive four-volume set titled English Literature: An Illustrated Record. My heart became intrigued by it, and therefore took the first volume back to my seat. That day was my first encounter and eventual acquaintanceship with an Anglo-Saxon poet—the subject of this narrative poem.

Most people are unfamiliar with the legend of Caedmon, one of the earliest documented poets in English literature. He was an illiterate cowherd, who, through the grace of God, received the gift of poetry. His story was recorded in the eighth century by St. Bede the Venerable in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to this account, Caedmon frequented many banquets, but once he saw the harp begin to make its round, he would quietly leave and return home—for he was unskilled in both song and verse. One night a voice came to him in a dream, requesting that he versify the origins of creation. Once this request was heard, Caedmon sang in verse, praising the mightiness of God and the creation of heaven and earth. Following his awakening, Caedmon received monastic vows, and for the rest of his life composed hymns based on sacred history and dogma. 

I came to realize that the legend of Caedmon described, in the language of Christian hagiography, the profound enchantment that the poet undergoes through inspiration. We creative personalities know the feeling: that innermost flame that burns bright; that poetic spirit residing within each of us—one day you are seized by a muse, resulting in a work of art. It was this universal truth that became the focus of my narrative poem. I sought not to subvert the original story—but to enrich it.

After the completion of that spring semester, I vowed that my time would be allocated towards this creative project. I marched forward with great enthusiasm; I seized the idea, and within me a volcano erupted—filling the air with merriment.

I had a burst of creative energy, lasting for about four days, and within that time I composed the entire outline and prose draft to the story. It was my intention to versify the prose draft and publish it during the summer of 2024. By the end of that summer, I achieved my goal in completing the new version. However, after giving the project some distance, along with further educating myself in poetry, I came to the realization that it could be improved. Therefore I scrapped it—commencing with another one.

The original verse-draft was divided into 4 parts, with a total of 287 lines of poetry. During the past several months, as I composed the new version 2.0, I added a ‘prologue’ to the story, which itself became a behemoth, about 243 lines of poetry—closer in size to the original 4 part draft! Therefore I decided to make ‘the prologue’ the first part, revising my outline. 

It must be understood that as of August 5, 2025—only part 1 is complete, the rest have been outlined. I will be diligently working toward the completion of my narrative poem. I want to share each part with you. 

It was my decision to publish the first part because it felt right—I cannot explain the feeling…it just felt right.

Matthew

August 2025