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Beowulf, Day 2 Lines 1-188. ImportantTerms. scop : an Old English poet or storyteller kinship : a social relationship thane : a warrior heroic code : governed the Anglo-Saxon culture wergild : man-price
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ImportantTerms • scop: an Old English poet or storyteller • kinship: a social relationship • thane: a warrior • heroic code: governed the Anglo-Saxon culture • wergild: man-price • wyrd: Old English, means something like fate (although their conception of it is different than ours)
Characteristics of Old English Poetry • kenning: an Old English poetic device in which a compound poetic phrase is substituted for the usual name of a person or thing • Examples: whale-road (line 10), ring-giver (line 36), sea-rider • litotes: an ironic understatement, also a common feature of Old English poetry. Pronounced "LIE-TA-TEES." • Example: “no less bountifully” (line 43) • alliteration: the occurrence in a phrase or line of poetry of two or more words having the same initial sound. In OE poetry, alliteration is the principal poetic device. • caesura: a pause in a line of poetry. • metonymy: a figure of speech in which one thing is used to designate something with which it is commonly associated, for example, using "bottle" for "liquor." • synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to designate a whole, for example, using "keel" for "ship."
Important Passages • 64-85: What kind of King is Hrothgar? • Heorot (69-79); his generosity (72, “God-given goods”; 80, “doled out rings”) • 86-98: Who is Grendel? • Why does Grendel resent the Ring-Danes? • 88: “It harrowed him to hear the din…” • 106: Grendel descended from Cain (wyrd and wergild) • 156: Grendel and wergild
Important Passages • 194-209: pay close attention to the way Beowulf is introduced • 258-285: Beowulf speaks • 440-455: Beowulf speaks again • Fate, wyrd: 440-1 and 455
For tomorrow, read what we didn’t get through in class today and also read lines 662-835 • Complete Beowulf homework assignment • also be sure and do Vocabulary Unit 4, S&A