McNew - English 4 : Vocabulary and Literary Elements List for Beowulf
 The following words can be found in the epic poem Beowulf. You must provide the
following information for the words listed below. When writing the original
sentences, no students should have identical sentences. If this is the case, BOTH
students will receive a zero for that portion of the assignment.
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lair
lament
relish
reparation
plundering
heathen
affliction
solace
boar
sentinel
herald
smith
shroud
furrows
vexed
reprisal
gorges
talon
infamous
writhing
grating
cowering
taut
sinew
purge
rafter
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The definition
Part of speech
Sentence from the text in which the word is used
Pilgrimage
courtier
loathsome
pyre
hoard
jackal
forged
dismal
infest
sluggishly
scabbard
hilt
fetter
flourishing
prosperity
headland
niggardly
imperious
exalted
malice
supple
pagan
cavernous
reproach
scavenging
skulked
gallows
hoary
unsheathed
livid
spit
scruples
jutting
billowing
Some other handy - dandy words you
might
want to know while reading Beowulf.
 Mead=an alcoholic beverage
made
from fermented honey and
water
 Mead hall= large central hall for
eating and drinking
 Thane= a man granted land or
provisions from the king in
return
for military service
 Weregild=a fine paid to the
relatives
of a murdered person to free
the
offender from further
obligations or punishment
 Wyrd=fate
 Barrow=ancient burial site
consisting
of a large mound of earth and
stones
 Linden shield = shield made
from the wood of a linden tree
 The following terms are literary elements found in Beowulf. In your
notebook, you will form a “t” chart. On the left, you will put the term
itself. On the right, you will put TWO examples in the form of a
quotation directly from the text.

Comitatus= commitment of warriors to their leader; bond between them
 Archetype= the perfect model or example
 Alliteration=repetition of initial consonant sounds
 Assonance=repetition of vowel sounds
 Caesura (versification) =pause usually near the middle of a line of verse
 Consonance=repetition of consonant sounds
 Compounding = the combination of two words to make a new word
 Foil=someone or something that serves as a contrast to another
 Kenning= a poetic substitute for a noun, used repeatedly as a memory device
 Evidence of the following themes
 Fortitude and wisdom = Physical bravery was most appreciated when
accompanied by understanding and discernment.
 Glory and treasure = The original audience for the epic wanted glory,
immortality of good frame, to remain alive in human memory across time
and space. Glory is usually connected with heroism in battle or with
generosity. Treasure was the outward manifestation of glory.
 Wyrd and Providence = Providence is the will of God moving in the
affairs of men. There is a plan and meaning behind what happens. Wyrd
is assumed to be a blind force which predetermines the outcome of
everything.
 Loyalty, Vengeance, and Feud = In Anglo-Saxon society order was
maintained by the concept that all free men had a duty to see justice done.
Feuds were often the result of tit-for-tat vengeance.
 Evil and Monsters =
In addition to literal monsters, evil is located
within man himself throughout the epic.
 Evidence of the epic characteristics
 Hero is a person of high social status and often of great historical or l
legendary
importance
 Hero’s actions determine the fate of many people
 Hero performs courageous and sometimes superhuman deeds that reflect
values of the
time
 Plot includes supernatural beings and events
 Setting has a large scale, often involving a long and dangerous journey
through more
than one nation
 Hero delivers long, formal speeches
 Poem uses formal diction, a serious tone, and poetic language
 Poem deals with universal themes such as good and evil or life and death