OBU World Lit Exam 1 Poole

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Caesura

Common in Old English poetry, it's a distinct pause between pairs of stressed syllables (ex: Shakespeare's Hamlet, pg. 907 of Beowulf)

Epic

A poem, typically derived from ancient oral tradition, which celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic characters of history or legend (ex: The Odyssey)

Epic Simile

An extended simile that is used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject (ex: The Odyssey... the waves and winds tossing as Odysseus made his journey to Peleus)

Flyting

An extended and verbal exchange between two combatants (usually insults) (ex: Beowulf and Unferth's exchange on pg. 918)

Heirloom Swords

Hrunting, an ancient sword with an iron blade that has never failed its owner in battle and belongs to Unferth, but it was lent to Beowulf to fight Grendel's mother

Homeric Epithet

Homer conveys qualities of someone's character; an adjectival phrase so often repeated in connection with a person or thing that it almost becomes a part of the name (ex: The Odyssey... "wise Penelope", "rosy-fingered dawn", "deathless gods")

Kenning

A metaphorical compound word or phrase (such as swan-road for ocean) used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry (ex: "Ring-giver" in Beowulf)

Litotes

A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (ex: Beowulf pg. 938 "That is no good place" passage)

Manichaeism

An Oriental religion founded about A.D. 250 by a Persian, Mani; sees God and Satan as coeval and engaged in an eternal struggle; the forces of light do endless battle against those of darkness (ex: Augustine's Confessions book V)

Neoplatonism

a school of religious philosophy founded in the 3rd century A.D. and based on the teachings of Plato; believes the world which we experience is only a copy of an ideal reality which lies beyond the material world

Nostos

The journey motif in The Odyssey, including the shift in focus and values necessary for reintegrating into the home

Old English

Language of the Anglo-Saxons spoken from about 650-1100

Original sin

the nature of mankind's sinful condition because of Adam's fall; Augustine emphasized doctrine of original sin (naturally sinful and nothing we can do to save ourselves except through God's grace)

Vulgate

The name of a Latin translation of the Bible developed by Jerome in the 4th century

Wyrd

The principle, power, or agency by which events are predetermined; fate or destiny (ex: Beowulf says "Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.")

Xenia

The rules of hospitality and care for strangers reflect the ancient Greeks' understanding of the ethical virtue (ex: Telemachus welcoming Athena; Aeolus gives wind)

Trojan War

a war, fought around 1200 B.C., in which an army led by Mycenaean kings attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia

Homer

ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)

Roman Empire

an empire established by Augustus in 27 BC and divided in AD 395 into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern or Byzantine Empire

Sutton Hoo

Location of an archeological discovery in Easy Anglia, holding treasures from an ancient ship burial, including swords, jewelry, and fragments of a helmet

Achilles

greek hero of the Trojan war, Iliad hero

Aeolus

god of winds; gives Odysseus bag of winds

Athena

Greek goddess of wisdom and war, helps Odysseus

Calypso

sea goddess who loved Odysseus and held him captive

Cicones

the people from Ismarus in Thrace; the first stop Odysseus and his men make on their way home to Ithaca

Circe

beautiful witch-goddess; transforms Odysseus's men into pigs, Odysseus resists Circe's powers and then becomes her lover

Eurycleia

Odysseus's old nurse; recognizes Odysseus when he returns

and tells Penelope

Eurylochus

a member of Odysseus's loyal crew, foil to odysseus,

skeptical

Hermes

Messenger for the gods, tells calypso to let Odysseus go

Lotus-Eaters

people who feed Odysseus's men lotus plants to make them

forget Ithaca

Odysseus

Endures a long journey from Troy to Ithaca; protagonist

Penelope

wife to Odysseus

The Phaeacians

dancers, close to the gods, honor and save Odysseus

Polyphemus

cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus and ate his men, son of Poseidon

Poseidon

God of the sea, father of Cyclops, hates Odysseus

The Suitors

men who lived in Odysseus's house trying to force Penelope

to pick one for marriage

Telemachus

son of Odysseus

Tiresias

blind prophet who advised Odysseus

Zeus

king of the gods

Plot line of The Odyssey (my best attempt to summarize it)

- Athena visits Telemachus to inform of Odysseus' situation and he kicks suitors out

- Athena pleads Zeus to free Odysseus and he sends Hermes to free from Calypso

- Calypso helps Odysseus build a boat for journey home

- O introduces himself to Phaeacians

- O and men attack Cicones

- Lotus-eaters

- O and men end up on island of the Cyclopes (Polyphemus) and they trap/eat some of the men

- O and men travel to Aeolus and O is gifted wind but his men release it and put them behind on journey

- O and men go to Laestaygonians but only O's ship escapes after some get eaten

- Circe drugs O's men but not O bc of moly from Hermes; they stay w/ her for a year until O convinces her to release them

- They have to go to Hades to get advice from Tiresias

- They arrive home and Penelope tests O but he passes

Why we still read The Odyssey

1. Influence on world literature, especially in the west

2. A sense of ancient Greek culture

3. Human realities faced in any age (horrors of war, difficulty of re-integrating into home during peacetime, tension btwn human aspiration and human limitation aka pride, tension btwn the abilities needed for public success and those needed for family life)

Augustine

(Roman Catholic Church) one of the great fathers of the early Christian church; protagonist

Adeodatus

son of Augustine - gift of God

Constantine

Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)

Cicero

author of the Hortensius, a treatise in defense of the pursuit of philosophy; reading the work at age eighteen, Augustine gets his first urges to give up his indulgent lifestyle and devote himself to the pursuit of truth

The Destroyers

the bullies in school that followed pagan ways

Augustine's lover

the unnamed woman whom Augustine says was the "only woman he ever loved"

Monica

Mother of Augustine

Patricius

Father of Augustine

Plot line of Augustine's Confessions (more of a highlight of important events)

First part was a narrative of his spiritual autobiography and last part was a philosophical meditation on the nature of time

-studied Latin as a child

-steals pears

-encounters Manichaeism and becomes a Manichee

-becomes a teacher of rhetoric

-falls in love with unknown woman

-learns more about Christianity but still cannot fully accept it; Monica arranges his marriage to a Christian girl

-reads books of Platonist philosophy, which deepen his understanding of Christianity and the nature of evil; he finally accepts the truth of Christianity and rejects Manichaeism

-Hearing a voice say, "Take and read," he picks up the Epistles of St. Paul and reads a passage that convinces him to give up his worldly career and devote himself to God

-After his baptism, he sets out for Africa, but is delayed at Ostia, where Monica dies

Aeschere

the right hand man of Hrothgar killed by Grendel's mother; led to Beowulf''s quest for their lair

Beowulf

a great hero who fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon; protagonist

Breca

Beowulf's childhood friend whom he defeated in a swimming

match

The Dragon

terrorizes town after a thief steals from him; killed by

Beowulf with a dagger

Grendel

demon descended from Cain; terrorizes Herot; killed by

Beowulf

Grendel's mother

swamp hag; terrorizes Herot after Grendel is killed;

stops when Beowulf chops her head off

Hrothgar

king of the Danes

Hygelac

king of the Geats

Unferth

one of Hrothgar's warriors; jealous of Beowulf; lent his sword to

Beowulf to fight Grendel's mother

Wealhtheow

Hrothgar's wife, the gracious queen of the Danes

Wiglaf

great warrior; accompanies Beowulf in fight with the dragon and

becomes king after Beowulf dies

Plot line of Beowulf

-battle with Grendel (bc of Grendel's attack on mead-hall, no weapons for either, Grendel drowns, trophies were Grendel's arm and shoulder, Hrothgar gives Beowulf a feast)

-battle with Grendel's mother (revenge for her son, took place in cave under lake where she lives, both uses ancient heirlooms as weapons - Beowulf uses Unferth's sword "Hrunting" that has never failed, trophy was Grendel's mothers head, Hrothgar threw another celebration for Beowulf)

-Beowulf rules Geats for 50 years

-battle with Dragon (bc a thief stole Dragon's goblet, Beowulf used another sword "Naegling" as a weapon to cut through dragon's thick scales, Wiglaf helped Beowulf, Beowulf died from deadly poision from dragon's fangs in his neck, Dragon dies too)

-Beowulf's body buried on a funeral pyre and remains buried in a mound to memorialize a fallen king

Theme of Beowulf

inevitability of death and succession