ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
English 12 – Livaudais
Name _________________________
Anglo-Saxon Poetry Terms
Instructions: On a separate sheet of paper, neatly copy the definition for each of the following terms using the Handbook
of Literary Terms on page 1189 of the textbook or a dictionary.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Epic
Epic hero
metaphor
narrative poem
allegory
6. alliteration
7. caesura
8. kenning
9. understatement
10. elegy
11. foil
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Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Instructions: Read “The Wife’s Lament” below, and answer the questions that follow the poem.
“The Wife’s Lament” –Anonymous
trans. Ann Stanford (from Anglo-Saxon)
I make this song about me full sadly
My own wayfaring. I a woman tell
What griefs I had since I grew up
New or old never more than now.
Ever I know the dark of my exile.
bear the anger of my beloved.
The man sent me out to live in the woods
Under an oak tree in this den in the earth.
Ancient this earth hall. I am all longing.
5
First my lord went out away from his people
Over the wave-tumult. I grieved each dawn
Wondered where my lord my first on earth might be
Then I went forth a friendless exile
To seek service in my sorrow’s need
10
My man’s kinsmen
began to plot
By darkened thought to divide us two
So we most widely in the world’s kingdom
Lived wretchedly and I suffered longing.
My lord commanded me to move my dwelling here. 15
I had few loved ones in this land
Or faithful friends. For this my heart grieves:
That I should find the man well matched to me
Hard of fortune mournful of mind
Hiding his mood thinking of murder.
20
Blithe was our bearing often we vowed
That but death alone would part us two
Naught else. But this is turned round
Now… as if it never were
Our friendship. I must far and near
The valleys are dark the hills high
30
the yard overgrown bitter with briars
A joyless dwelling. Full oft the lack of my lord
Seizes me cruelly here. Friends there are on earth
Living beloved lying in bed
While I at dawn am walking alone
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under the oak tree through these earth halls.
There I may sit the summerlong day
There I can weep over my exile
My many hardships. Hence I may not rest
From this care of heart which belongs to me ever 40
nor all this longing that has caught me in this life.
May that young man be sad-minded always
Hard his heart’s thought while he must wear
A blithe bearing with care in the breast
A crowd of sorrows. May on himself depend
all his world’s joy. Be he outlawed far
In a strange folk-land-- that my beloved sits
Under a rocky cliff rimed with frost
A lord dreary in spirit drenched with water
In a ruined hall. My lord endures
much care of mind. He remembers too often
A happier dwelling. Woe be to them
That for a loved one must wait in longing.
45
50
25
Questions for “The Wife’s Lament”
Instructions: Answer the following question for “The Wife’s Lament” on a separate sheet of paper, using complete
sentences. Cite the line numbers as evidence.
1. What did the wife do after her husband went to sea?
2. What did the husband’s kin do?
3. Why might they have done this?
4. What did the husband do thereafter?
5. Where does the wife now live?
6. What does the wife with her husband to feel?
7. How is this poem an example of an elegy?
8. Do people need other people, or is it possible to live happily alone? How would the speaker of this poem answer that
question?
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
English 12 – Livaudais
Name _________________________
Beowulf Study Questions
Instructions: Read Beowulf on pp. 21-46 of your textbook. Answer the following questions based on the reading, using
separate paper and complete sentences.
Part I
Section 1 “The Monster Grendel”
1. At the beginning of the poem, Hrothgar’s warriors are happy, whereas Grendel is consumed by hatred. What causes
these differences in attitude?
2. What Christian and pagan references are used to describe Grendel?
3. How long does Herot remain empty?
4. How is Beowulf described when he is first introduced?
Section 2 “The Arrival of the Hero”
5. Beowulf says he has come to kill Grendel. What proof does he offer that he is up to the task? Provide specific
examples of what he has done.
6. How does Beowulf intend to fight Grendel?
7. Why will Beowulf fight Grendel this way?
8. In lines 179-189, Beowulf expresses his feelings if fate should not go his way. How does his attitude reflect a true,
Anglo-Saxon attitude about death and fate (wyrd)?
Section 3 “Unferth’s Challenge”
9. What is Unferth’s motive for challenging Beowulf?
10. How does Unferth’s challenge build suspense?
11. What unpardonable offense does Beowulf say Unferth has committed?
12. How does Unferth serve as a foil to Beowulf?
Section 4 “The Battle with Grendel”
13. What does Grendel do when he first arrives at Herot on the first night of Beowulf’s arrival?
14. List two kennings used to describe Grendel in line 432.
15. According to the text, why were the swords of the Geats unable to defeat Grendel?
16. What traits of Beowulf and Grendel raise the fight between them to an epic struggle between two great opposing forces
in the world (HINT: battle between good and evil)?
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Part II
Instructions: Answer the following questions based on the reading, using separate paper and complete sentences.
Section 1 “The Monster’s Mother”
1. A. Who appears to avenge Grendel’s death? B. How does she accomplish this?
2. Explain how lines 610-612, “So fame/Comes to the men who mean to win it/And care about nothing else!” reveal the
pagan aspect of Beowulf’s culture, rather than the Christian aspect.
3. A. Who leaves the scene of this battle? B. Who stays? C. Why the difference?
Section 2 “The Final Battle”
4. What do lines 685-687 reveal about Beowulf’s motivation for wanting to fight the dragon?
5. The turning point of the poem occurs during this battle. What is it?
6. How does the desertion of Beowulf’s warriors heighten the tragic quality of the scene?
7. Who is Wiglaf?
8. Explain how Wiglaf is heroic.
9. Reread the tribute to Beowulf in the last eight lines of the poem. Identify and write down pagan and Christian
influences in the qualities for which the king is praised. Give reasons for your conclusions.