Flashcards on British Literature: Historical Overview
British Literature: Historical Overview – Key Periods & Authors
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English Literature and Its Periods
17 cards
Card 1
Question: What characterized the oral tradition in early English literature (Old English)?
Answer: Much literature was composed orally; scops used alliteration and specific rhythmic patterns to aid memorization and recitation.
Card 2
Question: What do the "heroic code" and comitatus mean in Anglo-Saxon literature?
Answer: The Germanic heroic code emphasized bravery, loyalty to one's lord (comitatus), the importance of a good reputation, and vengeance.
Card 3
Question: What was the dominant poetic form in Old English, and what characterized it?
Answer: Alliterative verse, which links lines by repeating initial consonant sounds instead of end rhymes.
Card 4
Question: What religious influences are present in Anglo-Saxon literature?
Answer: A blend of pagan Germanic beliefs (e.g., wyrd/fate) and Christian faith, often intertwined within the same works.
Card 5
Question: What are the main themes of elegies like The Wanderer and The Seafarer?
Answer: Melancholy, loss, exile, the transience of life, and the decay of past glories; often using the metaphor of a solitary seafarer.
Card 6
Question: What are kennings, and provide an example from the content?
Answer: Formal stylistic compounds — compound metaphorical expressions used in place of a simple noun; e.g., "whale-road" for the sea, "ring-giver" for a king
Card 7
Question: What is the most significant work of Old English literature, and what does it describe?
Answer: Beowulf – an epic poem of ~3000 lines about a Geat who battles Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon; it embodies the heroic code and a blend of pag
Card 8
Question: What is Cædmon's Hymn?
Answer: The oldest recorded English poem (nine lines), a praise to God attributed to the herdsman Cædmon.
Card 9
Question: What is The Dream of the Rood, and what makes it unique?
Answer: A religious poem where the speaker describes a dream of the Cross (Rood), which itself speaks and narrates the story of the Crucifixion from its own p
Card 10
Question: What does the Exeter Book manuscript contain?
Answer: An anthology containing various poems, including elegies like The Wanderer, religious verses, and famous Old English riddles.