Anglo-Saxon Literary Terms

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Anglo-Saxon Literary Terms
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Epic

• A long narrative poem
• On a serious subject
• Written in a grand or elevated style
• Centered on a larger-than-life hero

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Epic Conventions

• A concern with the fate of a nation or people
• A correspondingly large scale, often ranging
  around the world
• The intervention of supernatural figures
• Extended similes, generally called epic similes
• A simile is an explicit comparison of two
  things, usually with the word "as" or "like."
• Long catalogues, whether of ships, characters, or
  places
• Extensive battle scenes
• Begins in medias res

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Caesura

• a pause somewhere in the middle of a verse. Some
  lines have strong (easily recognizable) caesurae,
  which usually coincide with punctuation in the
  line, while others have weak ones.

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Kenning

• a compound poetic phrase substituted for the
  usual name of a person or thing. For example the
  sea in Old English could be called segl-rad
  'sail-road', swan-rad 'swan-road'. In line 10 of
  the epic Beowulf the sea is called the hronrade
  or 'whale-road'

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Epic Boast

• A proclamation of things a character has done or
  will do in the epic

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Archetype

• The word archetype is commonly used to describe
  an original pattern or model from which all other
  things of the same kind are made.

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Comitatus

• An agreement made between a lord and his thanes,
  in which the thanes swear to defend a lord to
  their death, while he provides them with
  protection and a share of his wealth and weapons

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Oral Tradition

• A process by which songs, ballads, folklore, and
  other material are transmitted by word of mouth.
  The tradition of oral transmission predates the
  written record systems of literate society.

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Fate

• The principle or determining cause or will by
  which things in general are believed to come to
  be as they are or events to happen as they do.

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Thane

• A warrior or retainer who follows and fights for
  his lord.

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Mead

• A fermented beverage made of water and honey,
  malt, and yeast

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Pagan

• Paganism is a catch-all term which has come to
  bundle together (by extension from its original
  classical meaning of a non-Christian religion) a
  very broad set of not necessarily compatible
  religious beliefs and practices that are usually,
  but not necessarily, characterized by polytheism

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Alliteration

• Alliteration occurs when the initial sounds of a
  word, beginning either with a consonant or a
  vowel, are repeated in close succession.The
  function of alliteration, like rhyme, might be to
  accentuate the beauty of language in a given
  context, or to unite words or concepts through a
  kind of repetition.

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Ballad

• A short poem that tells a simple story and has a
  repeated refrain. Ballads were originally
  intended to be sung. Early ballads, known as folk
  ballads, were passed down through generations, so
  their authors are often unknown. Later ballads
  composed by known authors are called literary
  ballads.

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Dream Vision

• Also known as Dream Allegory.  A literary
  convention, chiefly of the Middle Ages. In a
  dream vision a story is presented as a literal
  dream of the narrator.

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Ecclesiastical

• Ecclesiastical means pertaining to the Church
  (especially Christianity) as an organized body of
  believers and clergy, with a stress on its
  juridical and institutional structure.

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Epithet

• A word or phrase, often but not always
  disparaging or abusive, that expresses a
  character trait of someone or something.

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Icon

• By extension, icon is also used in the general
  sense of symbol i.e. a name, face, or picture
  that is readily recognized by most people to
  represent some well-known entities or attributes.

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Lament

• A lament is a song or poem expressing grief or
  regret. Many of the oldest and most lasting poems
  in human history have been laments.  It is
  sometimes also called a dirge.

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Motif

• A theme, character type, image, metaphor, or
  other verbal element that recurs throughout a
  single work of literature or occurs in a number
  of different works over a period of time.

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Narrative

• A verse or prose accounting of an event or
  sequence of events, real or invented. The term is
  also used as an adjective in the sense "method of
  narration." For example, in literary criticism,
  the expression "narrative technique" usually
  refers to the way the author structures and
  presents his or her story.

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Scop

• An Anglo-Saxon poet The scop fulfilled  many
  roles in an Anglo Saxon tribe.  Among those
  functions were
• court singer
• tribal historian
• genealogist
• teacher
• composer
• critic
• warrior
• traveler and reporter