41 - 62 Flashcards
(19 cards)
What happens in this passage?
This passage emphasises the contrast between the past and the present, both in the positive and negative imagery as well as tense
mondryhten
liege lord
describes a ceremony that has happened more than once due to the adverb hwilum
describes a gift giving ceremony with his retainers, but it is happening in his mind (on mode)
clyppe and cysse
embraces and kisses
double alliteration creates satisfying aural sound, suggesting that this sounds good in content and in pronunciation
told in the subjunctive present, which shows this is not real
geardagum / giefstolas breac
days gone by by used of the throne
giefstolas is a compound which blends the personal dream of the ideal past and the actual past
wineleas guma
friendless man
poetic term characteristic of his exile status - contrasts his dream as he has now woken up
fealwe wegas
tawny waves
the metre demands that the e in wegas should be long, meaning that it is translated as waves rather than waves
brimfuglas
seabirds
this is a hapax legomenon, which emphasises the unknown nature to the exile compared to his lord whom he is familiar with
hreosan hrim and snaw / hagle gemenged
falling frost and snow, mingled with hail
triplet of weather words sets the mood, as the pathetic fallacy characterises the mental state
sorg bid geniwad
sorrow is renewed
half line expression characteristic of OE elegy
reinforces the effects of the wounds of the heart (heortan benne)
repeated five lines later for emphasis
mod geondhweorged
passes through his mind
kinetic imagery suggests that the memory is fleeting
greted gliwstafum
greets them joyfully
double alliteration again creates satisfying aural sound
fleotendra ferd
the companions are replaced by ‘the spirits of the swimming birds’
this is an awkward expression as spirits cannot bring anything
cuda cwidegiedda
familiar spoken utterances
hapax legomenon is confusing and ironic as birds cannot speak - emphasises his isolation
ofer wapema gebind
over binding waves
continuation of the binding metaphor
forpan ic gepencan ne maeg
Therefore I cannot think
This marks the transition from the exile’s personal loss to an explanation of universal sorrow
min ne gesweorce
it is not clear whether the wanderer’s mind does not grow dark or cannot grow dark, but certainly the metaphor suggests a very serious state of mind
eal geondpence
meditate on
poetic compound and hapax legomenon
consolation characterises this as a meditative poem
flet ofgeafon
abandoned the hall
this is periphrasis for ‘they died’, which reaffirms the position of exile
modge magupegnas
brave young retainers
variation of eorla lif
