Profesorado Superior de Lenguas Vivas Parcial I - Study Guide

Prof. Susana M. Company - Literature I

Parcial I - Study Guide

THE ANGLO SAXON PERIOD

A - QUICK QUIZ

1. The Old English (OE) period begins approximately in the year _______________________

2. The historical event that marks the end of the OE period is _________________________

3. How many major OE Manuscripts have survived? _________________________________

4. A native speaker could perfectly understand a text in Old English. TF

5. Anglo-Saxons used runes to write their poems and chronicles T-F

6. Christianity arrived in Britain in the year/ century _________________________________

7. Christian monks translated OE poems into Latin TF

8. The system of reciprocity between lord and thanes is called_________________________

9. The term speaker is synonymous with persona TF

10. The Old English period and the Anglo-Saxon period are different historical periods TF

11. The expression Alliterative meter refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in nearby
words TF

12. A relatively short poetic piece in which a single speaker expresses feelings, emotions,
thought processes is called a _________________________________________________

13. In which MS were The Husbands Message and The Wifes Lament found?
_______________________________________________________________________

14. The Husbands Message and The Wifes Lament share the tone of hopelessness T F

15. The meaning of the runes in The Husbands Message is clear TF

B - STUDY GUIDE
I. Explain/define: lyric dramatic monologue1 - folk epic literary epic - alliterative meter verbal
formula narrative formula flyting2 boast foreshadowing understatement (meiosis) & litote3 -
theme - motif protagonist antagonist foil - panegyric4

1
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE: A poem in which a poetic speaker addresses either the reader or an internal
listener at length. It is similar to the SOLILOQUY in theater, in that both a dramatic monologue and a
soliloquy often involve the revelation of the innermost thoughts and feelings of the speaker.
2
FLYTING: A contest of wits and insults between two Germanic warriors. Each tries to demonstrate his
superior vocabulary, cleverness, and bravery. The verbal rivalry between Unferth and Beowulf in Beowulf is
one such example in Anglo-Saxon literature
3
LITOTES (especially popular in Old English poetry): A type of MEIOSIS (i.e., understatement, the opposite of
exaggeration: "I was somewhat worried when the psychopath ran toward me with a chainsaw." [i.e., I was
 Profesorado Superior de Lenguas Vivas Parcial I - Study Guide
Prof. Susana M. Company - Literature I

II. Beowulf
1. What kind of poem is Beowulf?
2. What are its main poetic and thematic features?
3. Beowulf embodies the qualities of character that
were most admired by the people of his time and
place. Reconstruct the code of conduct of an ideal
Anglo-Saxon warrior and king as you see it revealed
in this poem.
4. Describe setting in Beowulf, paying particular
attention to Heorot and Grendels lair.
5. Compare and contrast Beowulfs fight against
Grendel and against his mother. Take into account
setting, weapons, the monsters motives, parallelisms.
6. How does Hrothgar reward Beowulf after the hero
gets rid of Grendel and his mother?
7. Who are Sigemund and Heremod? What do their stories contribute to the text? (their
stories are summarized in your booklet)
8. What is the role of women in the poem? What does Queen Wealhtheow do in the poem?
What is she worried about? What does the story of Hildeburh (summarized in your
booklet) suggest (or foreshadow) about Wealhtheows fate?
9. Compare and contrast the poem and the 2007 film adaptation by Robert Zemeckis.
10. What is Sutton Hoo? What have you learned about it in the BBC documentary In Search of
Beowulf?

III. Anglo Saxon lyric poems

11. Describe The Wanderer/ The Husbands Message/ The Wifes Lament, making
reference to genre, the speakers plight and attitude, setting, themes, motifs and tone.
12. Compare and contrast the husbands in The Husbands Message and The Wifes
Lament.

IV. The Battle of Brunanburh

13. In what important AS document does the poem appear?
14. What is the genre of the poem? What are its main poetic features? Do all
readers agree on the poems genre? (Some readers believe that it is a literary
epic; others, that it is a panegyric)
15. What could have been the political agenda or political intentions of the poet
that composed the poem? (Supporting the Wessex monarchy)

V. Riddles
16. What is the relevance of riddles in Anglo Saxon culture?
17. In which famous manuscript do most A.S. riddles survive?

VI. Salida cultural: Biblioteca Provincial

18. what do you think is the connection between reading and critical thinking?
19. Some people believe that we are what we read. What do you understand by
that statement?

Good Luck!

terrified]) in which the writer uses a statement in the negative to create the effect: "You know, Einstein is not a bad
mathematician." (i.e., Einstein is a good mathematician.). Litotes is recognizable in English by negatives like not,
no, non- and un-.)
4
PANEGYRIC: A speech or poem designed to praise another person or group.
SOURCE: Wheeler, Kip. Literary Vocabulary. http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html