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AS Literature
Anglo-Saxon Literature
Question | Answer |
---|---|
"Venerable" means | old, wise, respected |
Venerable Bede today is | Saint Bede |
Bede's parents dropped him off at the monastery at age | 7 |
To explain why he never saw his family again, Bede concocted a story that | his parents were killed by Vikings |
Bede spoke/wrote fluently | 8 languages |
Bede was known as | the greatest scholar of his age |
Bede popularized the usage of | BC/AD historical dating |
Today, BC/AD dating is often referred to as | BCE/CE |
Bede also encouraged this practice when researching a topic: | doublechecking your sources |
The first writer in English we know by name is | Caedmon |
Caedmon was | a laybrother, later a monk, at a monastery |
Caedmon couldn't really | sing |
When it came his turn to entertain like a scop, Caedmon would | run away |
One time Caedmon, rather than sing, escaped to a | stable |
Why did Bede use the word 'stable' instead of 'barn'? | To indicate a miracle was to occur |
In the stable, Caedmon dreamed or had a vision of a person who | told him to sing |
Caedmon told his vision he couldn't | sing |
After much argument, Caedmon discovered he could | sing |
He demonstrated it to the monks who, to ensure it was true, gave him this test: | to make a song about a Bible verse |
Caedmon used his gift of singing to | glorify God |
Anglo-Saxons saw all talents as | gifts from God |
Anglo-Saxons saw Caedmon's death as | a gift from God due to a holy life |
Bede's book | History of the English Church and People |
Bede's book was translated for us to read from the | Latin |
"The Seafarer" was translated for us to read from the | Anglo-Saxon |
How old is "The Seafarer"? | 1200 years old + |
Who wrote "The Seafarer"? | Unknown--part of the oral tradition |
What are the 3 reasons "The Seafarer" was kept for over a millenium? | people don't change, although fashions do; society needs the caution of the elderly & the push of the young to flourish; generations still have trouble communicating |
A direct comparison NOT using "like," "as," or "than" | metaphor |
A comparison using "like," "as," or "than" | simile |
Rhythm | meter |
4 beats in a line | Tetrameter, the Anglo-Saxon rhythm |
Helped scops memorize material | meter and alliteration |
He performed songs, jokes, stories after dinner | a scop |
repeating consonant sounds in lines of poetry | alliteration |
modern definition of a caesura | dramatic pause, emphasizing whatever follows |
giving human characteristics to nonhumans | personification |
a word that, when pronounced, makes the sound it names | onomatopoeia |
a breathing space in a line of poetry | caesura |
how many caesuras did the Anglo-Saxons have in a line of poetry? | 2 |
We've kept the negative form of a word, but the positive form has been dropped | lost positive |
a metaphoric renaming of something, to emphasize it or make it seem more important | kenning |
an important part of AS life | the sea |
how many voices in "The Seafarer"? | 2--the old sailor and the young one |
What is a seafarer? | sailor |
Who wrote BEOWULF? | Unknown author--part of oral tradition |
What was BEOWULF's setting? | 6th century Scandinavia |
What is an epic? | A long narrative told in lofty language about a central hero saving nations, with good v. evil as its theme, and supernatural elements |
The #1 Anglo-Saxon classic | BEOWULF |
BEOWULF is this kind of poem-- | a pagan story with Christian elements added by the monks who wrote it down |
Beowulf | is the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero |
Hrothgar | is the Danish/Jutish king |
Herot | is the mead hall |
English Literature is said to begin with this--and so, in a way, does American literature | BEOWULF |
Wealtheow & the water hag | the only 2 women in BEOWULF |
Beowulf's tribe | Geats (Swedes) |
What is ironic about BEOWULF? | Doesn't mention Britain, and isn't Anglo-Saxon at all, but Jutish |
wine-proud, cold seed, ring-giver, whale road, swan road, wound dew & wave rider are all examples of | kennings |
Written exaggeration | hyperbole |
immediate renaming of a noun or pronoun (offset by commas) | appositives |
jealous of the parties | Grendel's motivation |
How many years did Grendel attack Herot? | 12 |
How many men did he take per night? | 30 |
BEOWULF, "Seafarer," Venerable Bede and the story of Caedmon, "The Wanderer" | you must know the plot and content of all these |
This short technique was used by the scops to remind listeners of information already told in the story--and to avoid interruptions | appositive |
This summarizes "our story thus far"--to help avoid interruptions as the scop tells the tale | reiteration |
The elders of Beowulf's tribe | checked the omens, & told him to go |
All Anglo-Saxon heroes | constantly tested themselves with new challenges |
How many men did Beowulf take with him? | 14 |
"If you can do it, it's not bragging" | the Anglo-Saxon attitude towards heroes |
When Beowulf meets Hrothgar, he gives a | verbal resume |
The purpose of the verbal resume is to | let Hrothgar give him the job of saving the Jutes |
What does Grendel do first the night he comes to Herot? | He eats one of Beowulf's men. |
What does Beowulf vow to do? | Not use weapons, because Grendel doesn't use them |
What does Beowulf ask Hrothgar as a special request? | Let only Beowulf & his men be in Herot that night |
What does Beowulf say about the possibility that he might die? | Send my armor, etc., back home |
What 2 moves does Beowulf put on Grendel first? | Bends back his claw; then crushes both claws in his hands |
What does Beowulf's men do? | They try to help with their swords. |
Why are the men's swords useless? | Grendel has put a spell on all weapons so they cannot hurt him. |
How does Beowulf kill Grendel? | Rips his arm off |
What happens to Grendel's arm? | It is hung up as a war trophy. |
Symbolic of hell, and of being an outcast | the cave where Grendel & his mum live |
Why does Grendel's mother return to Herot? | To claim her son's arm |
What happens when Grendel's mother returns? | She kills the king's friend. |
Beowulf is weaker in his fight with Grendel's mother because | just 50 hours earlier, he had fought and killed Grendel |
Why is Hrunting of no help to Beowulf in the fight with Grendel's mother? | The weapons are magicked against hurting her, too. |
How does Beowulf kill Grendel's mum? | Beheads her |
With what does Beowulf kill Grendel's mum? | with a giant's sword |
What trophies does Beowulf take back up to the Jutes? | Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword |
What happened to the giant's sword blade? | It melted in Grendel's blood. |
What does Beowulf do to the dead Grendel? | He beheads him. |
How do the Geats and Jutes behave at the lakeside? | The Jutes give up on Beowulf; the sad Geats, however, don't. |
Who wrote "The Wanderer"? | Unknown |
"The Wanderer," "The Seafarer," and BEOWULF are all part of the --? | oral tradition |
A man alone, apparently at sea, looking for a gold-lord, friends, family | "The Wanderer" |
Themes of "The Wanderer"? | looking for meaning in our lives & finding a family & friends & career |
Translated from Anglo-Saxon | "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer," and BEOWULF |
Translated from Latin | Bede's story of Caedmon |