Key Terms Flashcards
Old English
Germanic language;
- inflected (things at the end of the word [i.e. ‘s’ or ‘ed’] give you information about how they function grammatically
- I.E. Cædmon’s Hymn
Alliteration
Repetition of a sound at the beginning of a word;
- explains the existence of many words to describe one singular thing [like sword] –> so that the poem might continue to follow a certain pattern
- I.E. Cædmon’s Hymn uses vowels at the beginning of words to alliterate with other vowels
Survey
The act of looking at something as a whole
- we do so to understand the history/traditions of literature, to understand literature’s relationship to history
Tradition
Denotes the inherited past which is available for the writer to study and learn from
- every writer in some way modifies or influences a tradition
- tradition is a LIVING OBJECT not a dead, fixed static unit
Scop
Old English word for poet
- possibly a professional role
- most are unnamed
PROBLEM: we have little evidence from Anglo-Saxon England that they actually existed
- I.E. Beowulf describing the delivery of the poems by the scop in the poem itself
Close Reading
Treat the text as all you need
- pay close attention to particular details
- avoid paraphrasing, plot summary, and generalizations
Interlace
A term borrowed from Art History; describes an interwoven or braided pattern often formed in to an endless knot
- I.E. how some scholars refer to the structure of Beowulf as the story overlaps in areas but is essentially made up of one thing
- Beowulf as a weakling or hero? (first he says his journey was planned and supported, then described as Hygleac doubting Beowulf but he still left abruptly, then we find out that Hygleac had NO faith in him and is basically like OOOOOOH SHIIIIT U ALIVE?!)
Elegy
Short Old English poem about exile and longing
- done in monologues by no named speakers (which encompasses the idea of generic suffer that exists hand in hand with life)
- begins with a personal introduction and a gnomic / universal end
Ubi Sunt
“Where are they” or “Where have they gone?”
- the opening words of a number of Medieval Latin poems; they now are used to classify a particular kind of poem that dwells on and laments the transitory nature of life and beauty
Middle English
Comes from a weakening connection between England and France; less of a reason to learn French so English becomes a legal language
Estates Satire
Meant to describe all members of the states in a joking or critical manner through negative stereotypes
- also attempted to find solutions for the problems of each state
- Oratores / Bellatores / Laboratores
- I.E. the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales
Fabliau
Short humorous tale usually about bodies and bodily functions
- supposed to be about lower class characters
- usually set in the real world and present day
- usually written in simple style but is misleading because in order for the joke to work it has to be carefully crafted
- I.E. The Miller’s Tale
Quite
To respond; to answer
- it can also mean to repay or get back at
- I.E. in the literal sense it can mean to respond or answer and that could be what the host means but it can also mean to repay or get back at and in a way the Miller answers with a sort of getting back action to the Knights tale (not one of nobility or honor)
Courtly Love
An illegitimate love (woman might be married to someone else like the Miller’s tale) between a woman of higher status and a male lover (man humbles himself in front of an unobtainable woman)
- supposedly supposed to be ennobling (the man will learn to be a better man through the actions of pursuing this woman)
- POINT ISN’T TO HAVE SEX YO
Gloss
To gloss is to comment on, interpret, explain, paraphrase
- to obscure the truth of a matter or falsify a statement
- I.E. Jenkin to the Wife of Bath: even though he beats her, she forgives him because he can sweet talk her so well
