English Literature – Semester 1 – Midterm Exam – Review – Flashcards

an Anglo-Saxon poet who travels from court to court and performs in mead halls

a break/pause in a line of poetry, dictated, usually by the natural rhythm of the language (Grendel gongan godes yrre baer)

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (out from the marsh, from the foot of misty)

another poetic device that was used y the oral poet (hell-forged hands)

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning (Beowulf represents "good", Grendel represents "bad")

a. hero, generally male of noble birth or high position b. character traits reflect important ideals of his society c. perform courageous deeds d. actions determine fate of a nations or group of people e. setting is vast in scope f. uses formal diction and serious tone g. major characteristics often deliver long, formal speeches h. plot complicated by supernatural being/events i. poems reflect timeless values j. poem focuses on universal themes

a poem of serious reflection

narrative song, story

he wrote Morte d' Arthur

father of English Literature

"allegorical" drama (stories about virtue/vice)

stories from the Bible

lives of saints

the writers attitude

stating facts about a personality directly

revealing personality through details of Chaucer's physical description, speech, thoughts, feelings, actions, and through other characters as they relate to the character

contrast between expectation and reality

repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry

basic repeated sequence of meter composed of two or more accented or unaccented syllables

most common metrical pattern in English imprecisely

same as couplet, but meter is iambic pentameter