Part 1: Anglo-Saxon form and style
Be able to define, identify, and distinguish from one another the following literary devices:
*Underlined words are most often confused on the tests.
Part 2: Three poems of exile
Use the statements/questions below as well as textbook questions and your quiz to study.
“The Seafarer”
1. This poem is an elegy, (define elegy) , discovered in the collection of manuscripts called The .
2. Is this a firsthand account of the poem’s speaker or a story he is telling about someone else?
3. The speaker is constantly drawn to , despite the .
This would be what form of exile?
4. How does the speaker describe the sea in lines 5-27? What imagery is used and what senses are evoked? Does this imagery suggest a theme of isolation or belonging?
5. How does this description of the sea throughout the poem relate to that of cities in lines 28-29 and in lines 48-49?
6. The speaker compares the relationship of man and the sea to . This is most evident in lines .
7. The speaker misses about the former days of his culture in lines .
8. How would one earn a place in Heaven according to the seafarer? (List qualities of this kind of person.)
“The Wander”
1. This poem is also an elegy written in the 700’s or earlier and found in the same manuscripts as the above poem. These were most likely compiled by during the reign of .
2. There are two “speakers” in the poem.
Speaker 1 is
Speaker 2 is
He is in . He has experienced a total collapse of his world.
His has died and he must go in search of . Describe this. What does he miss? What is he feeling?
3. Lines 12-20 describe the ideal Anglo-Saxon man as: .
4. In lines 41-55, what does the wanderer imagine?
5. What mood is evoked by lines 75-87? What imagery is used?
6. Lines 111-115 are spoken by . According to these lines, a good man must and seek strength from .
“The Wife’s Lament”
1. This elegiac poem was also part of the same manuscript collections as the previous two poems. It is unique because the main speaker is a .
2. In the first stanza, the speaker begins to recount the “hardships” and “grief” (ll 2, 5) of her past and present. This begins when her husband .
3. While this is going on (above) her husband’s kinsmen do what when she goes to “take up my abode here” (16)?
4. What does her husband then order her to do?
5. How does the wife now feel about her husband?
6. Reread lines 30-34. What does this imagery suggest?
Beowulf
Use the statements/questions below as well as textbook questions and your quiz to study.
1. This is an epic poem, (define epic poem) a , about a century Scandinavian hero that marked the beginning of literature when it was written down in the century. It was originally composed in O E (also known as - ) and sung by the traveling poet “entertainers” known as .
“The Monster Grendel” – Books 1-3
2. The man-eating monster in the story is .
3. He is a descendent of .
4. King of the Danes is and his mead-hall is .
5. What is going on in this section that “stirred” (16) the monster?
6. What action does the monster take? (Give details, including things like how many men he could eat at once!)
7. How long does the monster terrorize, and why do none of the Danish king’s men challenge the monster? Or do they?
8. Why does the monster not touch the king’s throne (meaning those associated with the throne)?
9. Noting the underlined portion of this quote, what is meant when the scop states that the monster kept “. . . the bloody feud / Alive, seeking no peace, offering / No truce, accepting no settlement, no price / In gold or land, and paying the living / For one crive only with another. No one / Waited for reparation from his plundering claws:” (68-73)? (Hint: I gave you the ancient term “wergild” when discussing this.)
10. Reread the end of Book 2 (85-103). Describe the various ways the Danes try to ‘solve’ the Grendel problem. Describe how the poet captures the desperation the Danes felt at this point.
11. What words describe the sorrow of the Danes in lines 104-108?
12. Who comes to the aid of the Danes, and how does he learn about their problem? What made the helper(s) decide to come? (Be specific. You may have to look back in Book 2, lines 64-66 for part of this answer.)
“The Arrival of the Hero” – Books 4-5
13. When the Geats first arrive, who do they first meet and what transpires (ll 125-134)?
14. What is significant about the meeting between Beowulf and Hrothgar?
15. Describe Beowulf’s boast about why he’s there and what he plans to do?
“Unferth’s Challenge” – Books 6-7
16. Describe what happens between Beowulf and Unferth? Why does this “challenge” start (235-39)? What is significant about the way it ends (especially 311-335)?
17. What aspect(s) of Anglo-Saxon culture are seen in lines 344-391? What epic convention(s) are seen in this section?
“The Battle with Grendel” – Books 8-11
18. What is Grendel’s first thought when he arrives at Herot on the night the Geats have arrived?
19. How does the scop refer to Grendel in line 432 (both kennings!)?
20. What surprises Grendel?
21. How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?
22. Does Grendel immediately die? Explain.
23. What does Beowulf do at the close of Book 9 (514-517)?
24. Recall the differences between the safe, joyous Herot and the description from Hrothgar of the place where the monsters live. Summarize how their home is described and the mood Hrothgar’s words create in lines 545-569.
25. What does Hrothgar ask of Beowulf in this monologue?
“The Monster’s Mother” – Books 12-13
26. What is the name of the sword Beowulf uses in the battle against Grendel’s mother?
27. What exaggerations of normal, human physical capabilities are described in this section? Why is this important to this genre?
28. Describe the battle sequentially in your own words.
29. What does Beowulf use to defeat Grendel’s mother?
30. Why is the supernatural brought into this battle? How is this different than the manner in which Beowulf defeats Grendel?
31. Recall the difference between the Danes and the Geats as they wait on shore for Beowulf’s return from the lake, as I related to you in class. What important traits do we see from the Geats? (We mentioned two.)
32. In the note at the top of p. 43, what does Beowulf return to Hrothgar, and what does he get in return?
“The Final Battle” – Books 14-17
1. What is the nature of Beowulf’s boast? (How is it alike and/or different from his earlier boast?)
2. How is this battle different from the previous battles?
3. What happens to Beowulf during the battle?
4. What happens with his men while he is fighting? Why?
5. What role does Wiglaf play, and how is he later rewarded?
6. Why does Wiglaf go into the dragon’s lair to retrieve the treasure that the dragon had been hoarding?
7. Who does Beowulf thank for the treasure in Book 16, and why is this significant?
8. What does Beowulf ask of Wiglaf?
9. What happens to the treasure that Beowulf and Wiglaf had won? Is this what Beowulf said to do with it?
10. What are the traits for which Beowulf is remembered?