THE ANGLO SAXON ERA

►Religion was not spiritual ► a means of ensuring success in material things (harvest, victory)

►King was the strongest warriornot hereditary; it depended solely on his ability to win battles and so gain land, treasure, and slaves to give his supporters.

►BATTLE- the favorite pastime

Anglo-Saxons

►Values Loyalty Fighting prowess Courage

►No positive afterlife Straw death Valhalla

►Life ruled by WYRD

Anglo-Saxons

►The Anglo-Saxon idea of “Fate”►What will happen to you has

already been determined by Wyrd

►Three Aspects Past Present Future

►Weird

WYRD

Epic PoetryMost epics share certain

characteristics:►oral tradition

Scops►hero of imposing stature,

national & historical importance

►vast setting, covering great nations, the world or the universe

Epic PoetryMost epics share certain

characteristics:►deeds require

superhuman courage►Supernatural forces-

gods, angels, demons►Elevated style of

writing

Epic Poetrycommon in some but

not all epics:►States the theme of

the work►Appeal to a muse

epic question►In Medias Res (in

the middle of things)

►Considered the greatest single work of Old English literature

►3,000-line folk epic►Hero►Social conditions►Germanic

motives/ideals►Mixture of Pagan &

Christian beliefs Monks did the writing?

BEOWULF

►Repetition of consonant sounds in lines of poetry“Grim and greedy,his grip made ready,Snatched from their sleep with savage fury.”

Alliteration

►A form of figurative language that acts as synonym for a simple noun. They are usually picturesque, metaphorical compounds. “the sea-farer” = ship “whale road”= ocean

Kennings

►A form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite. “He had no cause to love the Jutes.”

“Not bad.”

Litotes