Vocabulary Flashcards for Beowulf Unit

Vocabulary Study Guide

• Purpose: Create study material for the anchor vocabulary covered in this unit.
• Options for Study Material:
  1. Physical flashcards
  2. Digital platforms: Kahoot, Quizlet, Gimkit, or Blooket Deck
• Grading Note: The created study material will count as a grade.

Flashcard Requirements

Each flashcard must include the following:

1. Word
2. Part of Speech
3. Definition
4. Picture

Anchor Vocabulary Words

1. Kenning
2. Allusion
3. Alliteration
4. Caesura
5. Scop
6. Wyrd
7. Wergild
8. Diphthong
9. Anglo-Saxon
10. Hero’s Journey
11. Epic Poem
12. Symbolism

Vocabulary Definitions

• Kenning (n):

  • A metaphorical compound word or phrase (e.g., "swan-road" for ocean) used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry.

• Allusion (n):

  • An implied or indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance, especially in literature.

• Alliteration (n):

  • The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

• Caesura (n):

  • A pause in a line that is formed by the rhythms of natural speech rather than meter.

• Scop (n):

  • An Old English poet who traveled around the countryside visiting mead halls in medieval times.

• Wyrd (n):

  • A concept in the Old English poem Beowulf; culturally significant to the Anglo-Saxons. It is often translated as fate, destiny, or doom.

• Wergild (n):

  • Money paid to the relatives of a murder victim as compensation for loss, to prevent a blood feud.

• Diphthong (n):

  • A vowel sound where the speaker's tongue changes position while being pronounced, making the sound a combination of two vowels.

• Anglo-Saxon (n):

  • A cultural group that inhabited much of what is now England in the Early Middle Ages, known for speaking Old English; they traced their origins to Germanic settlers from mainland Europe in the 5th century.

• Hero’s Journey (n):

  • A common narrative archetype involving a hero who goes on an adventure, learns a lesson, wins a victory, and returns home transformed.

• Epic Poem (n):

  • A narrative poem that tells the story of a hero and their daring feats.

• Symbolism (n):

  • A tool of figurative language where an image, object, idea, or symbol represents something beyond its literal meaning (e.g., a white dove as a symbol of peace).