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Anglo-Saxon Lyric Poetry Study Guide
What is an elegy?
The three lyric poems that we read are known as elegies. Using your own
words, please tell me what the speaker was mourning and explain.
“The Seafarer”
“The Wanderer”
“The Wife’s Lament”
Give two kennings; write the noun it symbolizes and the poem from which
it comes.
Give at least three details of Anglo-Saxon culture that we learned from
these poems. Explain with support from the Poems.
Choose one poem and, using your own words, explain the theme “fate”.
Choose one poem and, using your own words, explain the theme of “exile”.
The Wanderer
Why is the wanderer sad?
What are the qualities of a wise and brave man according to the wanderer?
Give an example of alliteration
The poem asserts that people should "Treat all the world as the world
deserves", but never with:
What role do fate and free will play in this poem?
Elegies are incredibly sad and somber. However, the ending of The
Wanderer possesses a different tone. What message is present at the end of
the poem? Why does it deviate from the tone of the elegy?
The Seafarer
In the opening five lines, how does the speaker describe his voyages? List
five descriptive words or phrases that he uses to describe his voyages.
How does the speaker in “The Seafarer” feel about life at sea? How do they
change with the seasons?
What does the Seafarer compare his home to?
Who is the speaker in The Seafarer?
What is the speaker's final message in The Seafarer?
There has been much debate over the number of speakers in “The
Seafarer.” Some critics believe that a second person begins to speak at line
64, and others believe that there is only one speaker throughout the poem.
Which interpretation do you believe is more accurate, and why?
The Wife’s Lament
What initiated the wife's exile in "The Wife's Lament"?
The Wife's in-laws __________ the wife to a literal hole in the ground or
cave.
The Wife's lord refers to her __________.The purpose of a caesura in a
line of Anglo-Saxon poetry is to __________________.
What does she wish for her husband?
What does she mean when she says “Woe be it to them who abide in
longing!”
How is this poem similar to “The Seafarer” and “The Wanderer”?