Beowulf
The reason that Beowulf traveled to Denmark.
What is to help defeat Grendel?
The modern name of the country that the Anglo-Saxons inhabited.
What is Britain?
Identify the cause of the narrator's grief in "The Wife's Lament".
What is the loss of her lord and lover, and eventual isolation?
The definition of a kenning.
What is a compound expression with a metaphorical meaning? (Ex: "whale-road" instead of "sea")
The two religions that dominated Britain during the Anglo-Saxon Age.
What are Christianity and paganism?
Identify TWO themes that you could use to describe Beowulf.
What is death, rebirth, age, etc.?
Describe the nickname that was given to the Anglo-Saxon Age and what that nickname represents.
What is the "Dark Ages," named due to the lack of written information about the time period?
Describe the events that surround "The Father's Lament" section of Beowulf.
What is the death of Herebeald at the hands of Haethcyn?
The definition of alliteration or alliterative verse.
What is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables?
The definition of wyrd.
The Anglo-Saxon concept of fate or destiny.
The name of the man who challenges Beowulf before the fight with Grendel.
Who is Unferth?
Describe the gender dynamics that existed during the Anglo-Saxon age.
Name ONE word that you could use to describe the tone of "The Ruin".
What is wonder, tragic, reflective, etc.?
The definition of caesura.
The language that was associated most with Christianity at the time.
What is Latin?
Name an internal conflict that drives Beowulf's actions.
What is the internal desire for fame and reputation? (among others)
The major event that led to the decline of the Anglo-Saxon Age.
What is the Norman invasion of 1066?
Name THREE themes that connect all of the elegies we have read this semester.
What is isolation, solitude, grief, desperation, etc.?
The definition of an archetype.
What is a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology that is universal to the human experience?
Describe at least ONE way that both Christianity and paganism were demonstrated in "Beowulf".
What is the idea of wyrd and references to a Christian God? (and many more)
Identify the ONE main way that scholars have split up the sections of Beowulf and what effect that has on our understanding of the story.
What is the divide between youth and age, and that it emphasizes Beowulf's progression as a hero to a king?
Describe the social structure of Anglo-Saxon society and what it suggests that they value.
What are the tribal chieftains who rule, and the society made up of farmers, merchants, and builders?
The name of the book where most of the Old English elegies are housed.
Name at least THREE of Joseph Campbell's character archetypes within the hero's journey.
What are hero, mentor, ally, herald, etc.?
Describe the influence that Christianity had on Anglo-Saxon society.
What is the introduction of a common writing system, Christian themes in texts, widespread religious practices, etc.?