2. ►Religion was not spiritual
► a means of ensuring success in
material things (harvest, victory)
►King was the strongest warrior
 not 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

3. ►Values
 Loyalty
 Fighting prowess
 Courage
►No positive afterlife
 Straw death
 Valhalla
►Life ruled by WYRD

4. ►The Anglo-Saxon idea of “Fate”
►What will happen to you has already
been determined by Wyrd
►Three Aspects
 Past
 Present
 Future
►Weird

5. Most epics share certain
characteristics:
►oral tradition
 Scops
►hero of imposing stature,
national & historical
importance
►vast setting, covering
great nations, the world or the
universe

6. Most epics share certain
characteristics:
►deeds require
superhuman courage
►Supernatural forces-
gods, angels, demons
►Elevated style of
writing

7. common 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)

8. ► 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?

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

10. ►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

11. ►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.”