dr. aaron j kleist, aka dr. vonk - biola...

BEOWULF: THE HERO, THE MONSTERS, AND THE CULTURAL TEXT

Studies in Major Authors (ENGL 440), Fall 2006

Dr. Aaron J Kleist, aka Dr. Vonk Email:

Extension:

Office:

[email protected]

x 5581

SH 216

Office

Hours:

T/Th 9.30am–12.30pm and 4.30–6.00pm;

W 9.30–12.30 and 1.30–3pm

BY EMAIL APPOINTMENT

ITA†: Ms. Michael Dinsmoor Email: [email protected]

†Illustrious Teaching Assistant. Ita in Latin means “thus” or “so”: when assistance in pedagogical skullduggery is required, therefore, ‘tis the Vonkian ITA who (in Jean-Luc’s terminology) makes it so.

Required Texts:

Anonymous, Beowulf, trans. Seamus Heaney (Norton, 2001) [ISBN: 0393975800]

Clark-Hall, J. R. and Herbert T. Meritt, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (U of Toronto P, 1984)

[ISBN: 0802065481]

Hasenfratz, Robert, and Thomas Jambeck, Reading Old English: An Introduction (West Virginia

University, 2005) [ISBN: 1933202017]

Jack, George, ed., Beowulf: A Student Edition (Oxford, 1994) [ISBN: 0198710445]

PROPOSED SCHEDULE (subject to change in the event of blizzards, locust plagues, or alien invasion):

Wk Date Readings Wk Date Readings

T Aug 22 Summer’s End (Walawa!) T Sept 26 Cumulative Quiz; Principal Parts of

Weak Verbs; Syncopated & Irregular

Weak I Verbs [Hasen/Jam ch. 3];

Heaney 2463-2711a; VENDETTA ENDS

1

Th Aug 24 Introduction; Formation of Tribes

6

Th Sept 28 Review of Weak I Verbs; Weak II-III

Verbs [Hasen/Jam ch. 3]; Heaney

2711b-2945

T Aug 29 Prounciation and Strong Nouns

[Hasenfratz/Jambeck ch. 1-2]);

Beowulf in translation: Heaney lines 1-

188; Character Quiz

T Oct 3 Cumulative Quiz; Preterit-Present

Verbs; Contract Verbs [Hasen/Jam ch.

4]; Heaney 2946-3182

2

Th Aug 31 n-Stems; Strong & Weak Adjectives;

Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

[Hasen/Jam ch. 3 & 6]; Heaney 189-

661; TRIAL BY VENDETTA BEGINS

7

Th Oct 5 ILL Requests & Edible Offerings Due

TRIAL BY VOICE (Duel of the Scops;

Duel of the Flyting; Duel of the Boast)

[TRIAL BY FIRE / SWORDSMITHING TBA]

T Sept 5 Cumulative Quiz; Adverbs

(Comparative & Superlative); Personal

& Demonstrative Pronouns [Hasen/Jam

ch. 6-7]; Heaney 662-923

T Oct 10 Translation Due;

Presentation 1: Scyld Scefing; the

building of Heorot; Grendel attacks

(Jack lines 1-188).

3

Th Sept 7 Preterit & Present Endings for Strong &

Weak Verbs; bēon/wesan; Heaney 924-

1250

8

Th Oct 12 Translation Due Presentation 2: The coast warden’s

challenge; arrival at Heorot (189-398).

T Sept 12 Cumulative Quiz; Parsing Verbs;

Principal Parts; Strong Verbs 1-2

[Hasen/Jam ch. 8]; Heaney 1251-1724a

T Oct 17 Translation Due Presentation 3: Boasting; Unferth

(399-661).

4

Th Sept 14 Strong Verbs 3 [Hasen/Jam ch. 8];

Heaney 1724b-1976

9

Th Oct 19 Torrey Conference

T Sept 19 Cumulative Quiz; Strong Verbs 4-5

[Hasen/Jam ch. 8-9]; Heaney 1977-2220

T Oct 24 Translation Due Presentation 4: The fight with

Grendel; Sigemund and Heremod

(662-924).

TRIAL BY COMBAT (Champion vs

Champion and Tribe vs Tribe)

5

Th Sept 21 Strong Verbs 6-7 [Hasen/Jam ch. 9];

Principal Parts Assignment; Heaney

2221-2462

10

Th Oct 26 Translation Due Presentation 5: Finnsburg (lines 924-

1250 and The Fight at Finnsburh, pp.

212-16).

Kleist, Beowulf (Fall 2006) 2

T Oct 31 Translation Due Presentation 6: Revenge for Grendel

(1251-1491).

T Nov 21 Translation Due Presentation 11: More Swedish

trouble; the fight with the dragon;

Wiglaf to the rescue (2463-2711a).

11

Th Nov 2 Translation Due Presentation 7: The contest with

Grendel’s mother; Hrothgar’s “Sermon”

(1492-1724a).

14

Th Nov 23 Thanksgiving

T Nov 7 Translation Due Presentation 8: The Sermon concludes;

the journey home; [Mod]thryth[o]

(1724b-1976).

T Nov 28 Translation Due Presentation 12: The hoard is opened;

the hero is history; gloomy news for

Geats (2711b-2945).

12

Th Nov 9 Research Paper Logical Outline Due Annotated Edition Due TRIAL BY WATER (Beowulf and Breca;

Beowulf and the Mere-Monsters; Viking

Longship Warfare)

15

Th Nov 30 Research Paper Due Conclusion (2946-3182)

T Nov 14 Paleography Tutorial Presentation 9: Beowulf recounts his

exploits; 50 years pass; the badly

damaged folio (1977-2220).

T Dec 5 Beowulf Filming 13

Th Nov 16 Translation Due Presentation 10: The dragon appears; an

ill-advised raid on Frisia; some

unpleasantness with the Scylfings;

Herebeald and Haethcyn (2221-2462).

16

Th Dec 7

17 TBA Student Film Screenings &

Anglo-Saxon Feast!

STRATEGIC GOALS: This course will seek to hone skills and qualities crucial to your work at Biola, to your

professional lives hereafter, and to your development as cultured, thoughtful human beings. It aims among other

things to help you grow in your ability . . .

EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES (What’s our goal? What do we want to learn?)

METHODS FOR

AUGMENTING ABILITY (How are we going to do it?)

METHODS FOR

ASSESSING LEARNING (How will we know

if we achieved our goal?)

• to think critically about a text (or, put another way:)

• to read a text closely so as to identify subtle nuances of

language and lines of reasoning;

• to relate individual passages to larger themes in the work as

a whole;

• to express your analysis through well-planned logical

arguments supported by textual evidence;

• to evaluate the strengths and weakness of your arguments;

class discussion,

formal & informal

presentations, and

writing assignments

In-Class Contributions;

Individual Presentation;

Annotated Edition;

Research Paper

• to understand Old English texts in their original language;

• to gain the mental agility, acumen, and cultural sensitivity

that comes from secondary-language learning;

• to be disciplined in your time management;

rigorous study of

grammar &

vocabulary;

translation

Quizzes; Translations

• to contribute effectively to and work in harmony with a

team;

• to lead discussion in such a way that you engage students’

minds, involve them actively in the learning process, help

them remember key aspects of your analysis, and make the

experience enjoyable;

small-group

assignments &

preparation for

presentation

Individual Presentation;

Handout


• to situate (i.e., to view or understand) a work in its cultural

context;

• to understand and to appreciate Anglo-Saxon and Germanic

ways of life;

• to identify blatant or subtle tensions between divergent

values (e.g., Christian and pagan) in a text;

• to gain deeper insight into human nature and the human

condition through contrasting (or complementary)

narratorial perspectives;

corporate study and

discussion of cultural

& historical

background

In-Class Contributions;

Research Paper

• to reconstruct and read a work from its original

manuscript(s);

• to edit a work for print, judging when emendation is

necessary;

• to view a text not simply as a printed work but as the

product of paleographic study and textual editing;

examination of

facsimiles & digital

manuscript images;

editing workshop

Translations;

Mini-Editions;

Annotated Edition;

Research Paper

• to become familiar with the history of scholarship and the

ongoing scholarly dialogue on key textual issues;

• to examine a text not in isolation but in light of said

dialogue;

• to contribute to the current scholarly dialogue;

independent

research;

articles for class

Presentation Handout;

Presentation;

Annotated Edition;

Research Paper

• to develop your love of literature The Trials;

Anglo-Saxon Feast

Continuing self-assessment [5-10-15 years on, ask: Are you

still reading, and if so, what?

Where are you using the skills

learned in this discipline?]

In addition, the course will seek

• to engage your minds and to involve you actively in the learning process;

• to provide you with appropriate ongoing feedback about your performance;

• to use your assessments of the course to improve my curricular approach and pedagogy;

• to challenge you to set high expectations of yourself and to achieve them by God’s grace;

• to encourage vivacious discussion and driven, self-motivated study through activities that

bond the class together and make learning fun; and in consequence

• to have a ball exploring Beowulf.

The extent to which you grow in these areas will be measured by a variety of methods, including both written

and oral assignments, formal and informal presentations, and individual as well as group-based exercises. Your

final grade will be comprised of the following:

Grade Distribution Grading Scale

In-Class Contributions 20% A+ 97.5 – 100 C 75– 77.99

Participation in the Trials 10% A 94 – 97.49 C- 72– 74.99

Quizzes 10% A- 90 – 93.99 D+ 69– 71.99

Translations & Editions 15% B+ 87 – 89.99 D 66– 68.99

Individual Presentation 25% B 84 – 86.99 D- 64– 65.99

Handout 10% B- 81 – 83.99 F 0– 63.99

Presentation 15% C+ 78 – 80.99

Bibliographic Beowulf Project 30%

Annotated Edition 10%

Logical Outline P/F

Research Paper 20%


A BIT OF PERSPECTIVE ON OUR ENDEAVOR

This course represents an investment on your part. It’s not simply a matter of money or of time (“You mean I’m

spending half a year of my life doing this?!”), though you are, of course, pursuing a degree—a worthy goal that

will pay dividends in the Life Hereafter (after Biola, that is). Rather, this course is an investment by you in your

mind, your character, your beliefs, your understanding of the world. My job is to give you as many

opportunities as possible to grow in such areas through corporate and individual exploration of the subject

matter at hand: the textual, ideological, and cultural world of Beowulf.

Hmmm—actually, that sentence bears unpacking a bit. The growth I want to foster in you, first of all, is

multifold: growth in your ability to think critically—that is, to trace a logical argument (whether on the page or

on the screen) and understand the ramifications of its nuances; growth in your maturity of character, expressed

through a commitment to and perseverance in giving your best effort to the Kingdom work at hand: your study;

growth in your appreciation for what makes a work of language and of visual art great. I want you to leave this

course with a keener ability and a sharpened appetite for evaluating the world around you. We are made in the

image of a highly-skilled Creator. It is our privilege and duty as Christians—one of the prime reasons we were

made—to recognize and be drawn to and to fill our lives with good craftsmanship. As the man says, if your eyes

are good, your whole body will be full of light. This course, like all your other courses, God willing, is about

helping your eyes to see well.

Now, where were we? “Opportunities to grow through corporate and individual exploration.” Alright; the

necessity for individual exploration seems clear enough—you’re not (one hopes) paying someone else to take

classes for you, after all—but what’s the benefit of striving in a corporate context? Two reasons at least come to

mind: vocational, relational, and sensational. Vocational, first of all: whether it is your destiny (search your

feelings, Luke) to pursue a high-power career in the world of international business, preside over congressional

appropriations committees, serve on elder or school boards, or wrangle preschoolers with other patient

pedagogues (teachers, to wit), few traits will serve you as well as the ability to work effectively in teams. Be

warned: teams are usually made up of people. This means that your glory may be stolen, your genius o’ercast,

your gentle and longsuffering nature put to the test by moody, ignorant, lazy team members who lack your

virtuous traits (though clearly, such could never happen in our class). In practical terms, therefore, corporate

endeavor is good preparation for the World. Second, there’s the relational aspect. We few, we happy few, will

be bound together mysteriously in these months ahead as together we face the Slings and Arrows of Outrageous

Fortune (i.e., those nefarious twins, Too Much to Do and Too Little Time to Do It). If persevere we do,

exhorting each other on, then all these blessings shall be ours: camaraderie, unity, shared purpose, striving, and

satisfaction in success. ‘Tis (as Hamlet says) a consummation most devoutly to be wished. And finally, there’s

the sensational. I’ve never incorporated assassination-games, sword-smithying, and Viking longboat warfare

into an exploration of Beowulf before, and may never do the class this way again. For all the work involved,

however, with God’s help it has the potential to be enormously rewarding—at least if the enrolment roster is

any indication.

So, that’s “growth” and “corporate exploration” talked about. We also might mention “the subject matter at

hand: the textual, ideological, and cultural world of Beowulf.” Why would this one anonymous work, surviving

in a single, battered copy, have particular potential for producing the growth we seek? To put it crudely, why

wouldn’t your time be better spent studying the Bible and/or Business? Actually, I hope you’re doing both those

things: earnestly seeking the Lord through his Word and consciously equipping yourself for your vocational

future. (The Guild of English Scholars, if you’re not already aware of it, can help you do the latter.) As human

beings, however, and as people engaged in the discipline of literature in particular, we innately recognize the

importance of Story in our lives. Stories—the best stories, at any rate—captivate, convey philosophical depths,

capture and illumine aspects of the world deeply familiar to us but which we might not have recognized before.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that Christ’s parables provide some of his most profound teachings, or that the

attention of young and old is riveted by a sentence that begins “Once upon a time.” In an age of burgeoning


books, however, why should Beowulf be singled out as a masterpiece of this craft? It’s not an easy question to

answer, but there are a few elements to which I’d point by way of response. First, it’s a gripping story. Even

without the raw elements of the tale itself: the desolation wrought by the monstrous kin of Cain, the vengeance

wreaked by his unnatural mother, the fury of the dragon that inspired Tolkien’s Smaug. Even without the

paradox of the protagonist: his past obscurity and his audacious boasts, his unearthly triumphs as warrior and

his fatal flaws as king. Even without the glamour of battle and the allure of fabulous beasts—still you have a

text that for over a millennium has tantalized readers with its enigmatic complexity. One is challenged, for

example, by the single manuscript in which Beowulf survives: charred by fire, with edges eroded and letters

legible only through ultraviolet light, it contains passages whose interpretation has been cause for violent

debate. Even where readings are clear, one must wrestle with such vexing questions as the text’s origin and

theology: a possibly-eighth-century Germanic tale copied likely in a tenth-century English monastery, Beowulf

interweaves Christian and pagan elements with such subtlety that some have seen it either as an elaborate

allegory or a parasitic corruption of an earlier tradition. Above all, perhaps, there are the age-old questions of

human existence which this ancient work addresses: What qualities should characterize the ideal man? For what

goals should he strive? When does perseverance against all odds turn from heroism into folly? In the end,

whether it be due to the riveting nature of its storytelling, its perplexing manuscript context, its ambiguous

testimony to competing cultural values, or its ability to capture fundamental truths of the human experience in

arrestingly-elegant language, the result is a work that more than any other written in England prior to Chaucer—

a period comprising, temporally speaking, the first half of English literature—down through time has dominated

the literary landscape. And that’s why we’re studying it.

One last feature of this sentence so burdensome of explanation: “as many opportunities as possible.” It’s not

simply a Norton edition of this text which we’ll be reading. We’ll be learning Old English to discover the work

in the original—seeing it, if you will, in color, not black-and-white. We’ll be analyzing in detail cutting-edge

digital reproductions of the problematic manuscript, experiencing first-hand the challenges that separate the

modern reader from this unique work. We’ll be exploring in depth scholarly debates surrounding Beowulf, and

crafting careful analyses that engage the contemporary discourse. We’ll be going beyond the classroom to learn

skills central to Anglo-Saxon life: rhetorical wordplay, poetic storytelling, the forging and wielding of swords,

and so forth. We’ll be producing a three-minute film of Beowulf entirely in Old English. And we’ll be

celebrating our achievements with some amazing Old English food.

This is why I say that the course is an investment: you will determine, by how much you invest, how great will

be your returns. And how will I know (if she real-ly loves me? I say a prayer with ev-ar-ree heartbe—ahhh,

make that) if you are miserly or bounteous in your investment, yea verily? Behold the following:

1. IN-CLASS CONTRIBUTIONS: I place great value on earnest, enthusiastic engagement of texts. Some of the

greatest joy I’ll have in class, in fact, will be in hearing your insights and seeing your minds at work. One of our

goals, as we’ve seen, is to involve you actively in the learning process rather than simply deluge you with

information; to that end, your comments and analysis will provide much of the meat of our textual repasts.

Ne’er fear: it’s not as though you have to give stunningly brilliant observations on the first day. Critical analysis

is like a muscle which one trains and that grows stronger with exercise. I will be watching, however, to see if

you’re applying your grey cells to the material, and evaluating to what extent you enrich our dialogue with your

conclusions.

1.1. ATTENDANCE: The astute observer will note that a student’s in-class contributions are immeasurably

assisted by said student actually coming to class (though there are occasions one is tempted to think otherwise).

Plan on being here. This is a three-hour course meeting twice a week, so you have two skips, and in the chaos of

the semester you may well use them. For every class you miss thereafter, it will cost you a third of a letter

grade. The results are devastating; plan not to experience them. Similarly, I expect you to be prompt: entering

class after I am seated will cost a third of a skip. On the other hand, if something extraordinary comes up, please

let me know. I’ve needed to attend a funeral before, been smitten by the plague, or have found myself pursued

by voracious hoards of half-crazed Visigoths. We can talk. Conversely, if you haven’t used your skips by the


end of the semester, I shall notice: not a few who were teetering just short of a higher grade have found that

their diligent attendance made the difference.

1.2. PARTICIPATION IN THE TRIALS: The world of Beowulf is a fascinating one, but distanced from us by culture

as well as language. For the variety of activities seeking to engage the former through blood-pumping, hands-on

ways, see [6.] THE TRIALS and particularly [6.1.5.] VENDETTA/TRIAL PARTICIPATION below.

2. QUIZZES: In the first half of the semester, we’ll be working hard at language acquisition, getting you familiar

with the heady language of England a thousand years and more ago. Beowulf is a text rich in nuance and

multifarious shades of meaning that can only be appreciated through examination of the original. Such study

will lead us inexorably to . . .

3. TRANSLATIONS & EDITIONS: the final part of the semester we’ll be putting your new-found skills to use,

examining major sections of the text in Old English. In addition, following paleography and editing workshops,

you’ll be asked to reconstruct one or more passages from facsimiles (photographs of manuscripts) or high-

quality digital manuscript images and then edit these passages as if for publication. I should warn you now: it

won’t be an easy task. There is only one manuscript copy of Beowulf in existence, and it was heavily damaged

by a fire in 1731, shriveled into a contracted mass by the heat and judged by at least one Keeper of Manuscripts

to be “perfectly useless to the [British] Museum in every sense of the word.” Up for the challenge?

4. INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION: Studies over the last decade have shown that few traits are as valued by

employers as the ability to lead effectively and to communicate clearly your ideas. At one point during the

semester, therefore, you will take the assigned reading and lead the class through it, using whatever means you

think appropriate. Remember the four-fold goal above: to engage your classmates’ minds, to involve them

actively in the learning process, to help them remember key aspects of your corporate analysis, and to make the

experience enjoyable. Take each of these objectives seriously, and your presentation should be the stronger as a

result.

Above all, I will be evaluating the extent to which you identify key issues and passages in the reading, help us

comprehend and wrestle with those issues, and inform our understanding of the text through your own

conclusions and those of other scholars. In addition to the presentation proper—your organization, professional

demeanor, insight, thoroughness, time management, sensitivity (and firmness) in fostering and directing class

discussion, and so forth—I will assess your written preparation for the presentation (your notes, for example,

from articles related to relevant subjects) as well as your handout. You need reflect only on this syllabus to

grasp the importance I place on such material.

Remember: while I’m not emphasizing creativity for this project as much as for some of my other classes, you

certainly don’t have to be dull about it. I’ve seen Beowulf retold as an episode in “Brothers Grimm’s Violent

Tales for Children”; I’ve found myself in a wake—that is (ahem) a Sombre Funeral—for the misunderstood

warrior; I’ve even seen the text’s intricate family relationships and internecine strife examined through “Danish

Dating (and Other Ways to Avoid Those Awkward Blood-Feuds).” Just be sure that whatever creativity you

employ facilitates rather than distracts from our textual analysis.

In planning your presentation, it might be helpful to consider these evaluations of your predecessors:

Sample Words of Praise: • “From the time you began, we were left in no doubt but that you had material to cover and a plan to

pursue. . . . The class knew what was expected of them and felt that you knew where you were going.”

• “The speeches [in your skit] were appropriate, were delivered with feeling, and did a good job of

incorporating passages from the text into your dialogue. You dealt with important issues in the text,

worked well as a team, divided responsibilities evenly, dressed in keeping with the event, and had a

helpful order of ceremony to guide the audience.”

• “You outlined your plan of action, . . . gave helpful historical background, . . . and got people to think


more closely about various aspects of the text, asking for their interpretation of various passages.”

• “Throughout the above, you did an excellent job of including the class and fostering discussion: you

punctuated your talk with questions, you called people by name (or learned those names you didn’t

know), and you assigned passages to various folk for them to read and to analyze.”

• “The most important weakness of the presentation might have been your failure to involve the class in

the learning process, save that you forced the groups to demonstrate what they learned in answering the

various riddles before allowing them to move to subsequent stages. At the end of the presentation,

moreover, you asked the groups to further show what they learned by summarizing their experience at

the various stages.”

• “All the above was characterized by a superb interplay of instruction and discussion: you displayed a

deft hand in encouraging even the shy to contribute, praising answers when given while not shying from

re-directing misguided responses. You got people to think about the issues at hand without losing

control of the discussion, and summed it all up with humor.”

Sample Words of Counsel: • “While the presentation convinced me that you understood the material, I’m not sure to what extent it

helped the rest of the class understand the material.”

• “Your creativity was both your strength and your downfall: for some scenes, while you created

fascinating characters, you left the audience wondering what the point of the episode was. What

precisely did you want us to learn from the skit? The presentation also lacked unity: you presented us

with a series of seemingly-unrelated episodes which left us not a little dizzy. . . . Your overarching goal

should be to help us to identify, to understand, and to remember what is important in the section at

hand.”

• “You might think a bit more about how you could help the class remember the key points of your

presentation: what do you want them to take away with them? A handout might be helpful in this regard,

providing that you make use of it in class and don’t expect your fellows to just go home and read it on

their own.”

• “Emphasizing your main points and making clear transitions from one topic to another may have helped

the class follow your arguments.”

• “Consider how to work your audience into the learning process: rather than simply giving them your

conclusions, how can you get them to come to those conclusions (or other insightful ones) themselves?”

• “Asking after each point ‘Does anyone have any questions?’ is not, as you experienced, the best way to

elicit participation save from self-motivated extroverts. How do you get the quiet people involved? Call

people by name, if nothing else. Granted, you did ask specific questions at times, but you were all too

ready to fill the silence with your own commentary. At some point, you’ve got to talk less and get them

to talk more. Creatively involving people is key to getting them to internalize information.”

• “You had a considerable amount of material to cover, ran over time, and thus were not able to spend as

much time including less-talkative members of the audience.”

• “Rather than leading us firmly through a clearly-defined set of points, it seemed as though you were

making your way spontaneously through a sea of assorted facts, and the class was left a bit at sea as a

result. Since you were pressed for time, it might have been better for you to concentrate our attention on

fewer points which you then explored in more detail, including the class more in the analysis of those

points and ‘lecturing’ less. I do understand: it’s not an easy thing to do.”

4.1. PRESENTATION HANDOUT: You will have to be extremely well-disciplined, as you will have between 40–45

minutes—not a whit more or less—to present all your information. To encourage your efforts in this regard,

you will be required to have a handout—a handout which will be worth nearly as much as the presentation

itself. Make no mistake: crafting an effective handout is an art. It should summarize diverse data, enable your

audience to grasp the thrust of your argument at a glance, and help them remember your main points thereafter.

If you have any doubts about the importance I place on these time-intensive creations, simply consider the

material in your hand.


Handouts will be graded as follows:

A. Analytical Content

1. Passages/Scenes Considered (5 points)

• Does the handout accurately reflect the contents of the presentation?

• Is there a clear connection between the passages/scenes treated in the handout and those analyzed in

the presentation?

• Do the examples treated in the handout proceed in the same order as those in the presentation?

2. Summary of Points (35 points)

Does the handout clearly summarize the student’s points regarding:

• the context of the passages/scenes examined

• difficult vocabulary or other complexities in the passages

• the significance of the passages/scenes: how they further the plot, give us insight into characters,

reflect themes or patterns elsewhere in the work, and so forth

3. Conclusions (10 points)

• Does the handout present the audience with a manageable list of points to remember?

• How does the handout help the audience remember those points?

B. Format

1. Clarity and Style (10 points)

• Does the handout clearly present the analysis of each example?

• Is the layout and style of the handout crisp, professional, and aesthetically crafted, or has it been

thrown together in haste on an old manual typewriter?

2. Logical flow (10 points)

• Did the student’s treatment of examples flow in a logical order?

• Did he provide clear transitions between his points, or did his comments seem to dart about at random?

• In treating his examples, did the student build a case or draw some overall conclusions about the

director’s approach to the play at hand?

3. Organization (10 points)

• Is the information on the handout squooshed together or organized into clearly-identifiable logical

sections?

• Does the format allow the reader easily to follow the progression of the student’s argument?

4. Audience Engagement (5 points)

• Does the handout require the audience to fill in key bits of information in the course of the

presentation, or otherwise encourage them to pay attention and stay awake?

• Does the handout use humor or otherwise unexpected elements to engage the audience and keep them

interested in the presentation?

4. Creativity (15 points)

• Does the handout incorporate visual elements such as pictures, diagrams, or screen-captures that help

to illustrate the student’s points and guide the audience to key scenes or aspects of scenes to which

they should pay particular attention?

• Is the overall concept for the handout original, hip, cool, suave, far out, or positively pulchritudinous

(dude)?

(100 points total)

4.2. TIMETABLE & RESEARCH: While you will have the chance to choose the section of Beowulf on which you

will present, you should do so quite soon in the semester: you will likely need to rely heavily on interlibrary

loan for your secondary resources (journal articles and/or books pertaining to your subject), and these will take

some time to arrive. As a rule, you should concentrate on more recent works (printed, say, in the last ten years),

as older material may well have been superseded by later scholarship. In addition, you should avoid basing your

formal papers on internet sources unless they derive from refereed (scholar-approved) journals or other


established printed work. It’s a matter of perceived academic credibility: you want your readers to have no

doubt but that you are working from the most reputable of sources.

Where do I go to find credible sources, you ask?

• Bibliographies of scholarly studies of Beowulf (and oh yes, such studies are numerous) include:

o Short, Douglas D., Beowulf Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Garland, 1980);

o Hasenfratz, Robert J., Beowulf Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography, 1979-1990 (New York:

Garland, 1993);

o The Old English Newsletter, published for the Old English Division of the Modern Language

Association of America; it provides an annual bibliography of scholarly publications on Old English

language and literature (now online at http://www.oenewsletter.org/OENDB/login.php), and

includes an annotated “Year’s Work in Old English”;

o Anglo-Saxon England, the premier journal for Anglo-Saxon studies, published by Cambridge

University Press, includes an annual bibliography of scholarship in Anglo-Saxon studies;

o Greenfield, Stanley B. and Fred C. Robinson, A Bibliography of Publications on Old English

Literature, from the Beginnings Through 1972 (Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1980) covers

literature prior to the OEN and ASE bibliographies.

• Through the Biola Library website at http://www.biola.edu/admin/library/DataBase.cfm, we have access

to three key databases about which you should know:

o An invaluable resource for research in the humanities in general is the Modern Language

Association’s Bibliography. At the Library’s database page, scroll down to MLA International

Bibliography, which will take you to FirstSearch; under “Jump to Advanced Search: Select a

Database,” choose MLA.

o From the Library’s database page, also check out the Literature Resource Center. Search for

Beowulf (or a more specific term), click on the “Literary Criticism” tab, and peruse articles online.

o For books as opposed to articles, try the WorldCat database, also found in FirstSearch.

• And finally, check out the back of Heaney’s translation and Jack’s edition of Beowulf: helpful

bibliographies may be found therein.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHIC BEOWULF PROJECT: Flowing from your research above, this semester will also provide you

the opportunity to engage and to contribute to the current scholarly dialogue on Beowulf. In keeping with our

textual focus, however, rather than examining themes, cultural elements, or theological/philosophical ideas in

the work as a whole—all subjects we’ll discuss in depth in class—this paper will call you to focus on problems

posed by a particular set of lines in the poem. You may wish to explore the debate over that problematic reading

[Mod]thryth[o] (cruel queen or misunderstood quality?); examine the so-called “palimpsest page” and its

enormous ramifications regarding Beowulf’s date; attempt to reconstruct a passage damaged by boiling steam,

knives, and fire; or what have you. We’ll encounter any number of intriguing dilemnas posed by the manuscript

and/or text in the course of our reading; keep your eye out for a bit of the story that particularly interests you.

5.1. ANNOTATED EDITION: The first phase of your research will be to collect some twenty articles that address

aspects of the lines you have chosen. You’ll then produce summaries of these articles—or rather, the points they

make about your passage—which you’ll reproduce in conjunction with a critical edition of the Old English text.

We’ll talk further about what a critical edition entails—I’ll give you part of a text I’m editing for a National

Endowment for the Humanities project, for example—but in general, you’ll need to account for problems in the

manuscript (such as letters or words that have been lost), show how other editions or translations have

addressed these problems, and then offer your own reconstruction of the passage, providing a convincing case

for your solutions. In the process, you’ll be wrestling with a fundamental issue that confronts all crafters of

critical editions: how to pack all the information you want to convey into the limitations of a page. Do you

surround the critical text with your annotations? Put your commentary into the margin? Make use of a multi-

layered apparatus for variant readings? Place translation and original text on facing pages, with additional notes

relegated to an appendix? Take a stab at it, and see how best you can balance content and clarity.


5.3. RESEARCH PAPER: Once the Annotated Edition is complete—in other words, once the evidence related to

your passage has been assembled and organized—you’ll seek to argue a cautious, precise, narrow thesis that

rises from, reacts to, and interprets that evidence. I will gladly discuss ideas for your thesis with you

individually during the semester; two tools to help refine the thrust and scope of your argument, include:

5.3.1. GUIDELINES FOR LOGICAL ARGUMENTATION, GRAMMAR, AND MECHANICS (see the Appendix below);

5.3.2. LOGICAL OUTLINE: To make sure you have the chance to get feedback on your paper-proposal, three

weeks before the deadline you will submit a logical outline in which you set out your thesis, main points, and

the evidence (direct quotations and summaries from your research) which you’ll use to support your argument.

The outline may flow as follows:

Introductory Paragraph

Summary of Main Points

Thesis Statement

First Main Point

Textual Evidence A (quotation or summary)

Commentary on Textual Evidence A (tell me how it furthers your argument)

Textual Evidence B (quotation or summary)

Commentary on Textual Evidence B

Textual Evidence C (quotation or summary)

Commentary on Textual Evidence C

Second Main Point . . .

Third Main Point . . .

Conclusion (recapitulation of main points and thesis)

If the logic of the paper is weak at certain points, or if the thesis is a bit murky overall, this outline

should reveal such things and help us to plot a solution before the Day of Reckoning comes.

NOTE: The Logical Outline and the Annotated Edition will be due in close proximity (indeed, as it

stands, they are booked for the same day). One reason for such scheduling is to encourage you to be

thinking through your evidence and making connections as you compile your Edition; it will, however,

mean a considerable amount of work if you haven’t been disciplined beforehand. Don’t leave any of this

until the last minute, eez whatta eyem sayin to yooz.

6. THE TRIALS

On the first day of class, Wyrd—Implacable Fate or Divine Providence, a concept of key import in Beowulf—

shall determine your division into three Germanic Tribes. These will be your families, your battle-shields, the

keepers of your honor, your kith and kin. Loyalty to your Ring-Giver and comitatus—the circle of thanes or

warriors that surround him—will result in glory; treachery will bring ignominious, lasting shame. Like Beowulf

himself, you will be given the opportunity to prove your worth and to bring your tribe renown in a series of

insidious trials, as so:

6.1. TRIAL BY VENDETTA

The world of Beowulf is populated by a complex series of kings, queens, warriors, and wives belonging to

various Germanic tribes, the tensions between which are a convoluted but essential ingredient of the story. One

could simply be required to sit down and memorize lists of names, of course, but another approach seems both

more appealing and more in keeping with the spirit of this warrior culture: the blood feud.

The goal of Vendetta is to kill off the members of the other two tribes by correctly identifying them; this is done

by posing a series of carefully-worded and precise questions that can be answered Yes or No (or, on rare

occasions, “Yes and No”). Questions and answers should be posted to the class’ Bubbs folder (under “Dr.


Kleist” in the English Department folder): questions must be submitted electronically by noon prior to any

given class; answers must be posted within 24 hours thereafter. As you know, Bubbs includes a time stamp on

every post, so it will be clear if these deadlines are not met, and penalties will be assessed accordingly (see

[6.1.5.] VENDETTA/TRIAL PARTICIPATION below). Such a measure isn’t intended as a cudgel, but simply as a

goad to keep the game moving: a team’s progress, after all, depends on a swift interchange of information.

NOTE: Questions and accusations cannot be posted until 24 hours after the previous round ends. In

Round one, for example, all questions must be submitted by noon on Thursday 31 August. Individuals

have until noon on Wednesday 1 September to answer. At 12.01pm on Wednesday, the next round’s

questions or accusations may be posted.

All characters will be assigned numbers to hide their true identities; in the subject-line of your message,

therefore, you should note the author and intended recipient of the query: “A5 question for C8” and “B3 answer

to C1” would thus indicate an exchange between the fourth member of the York Faction and the thirteenth

member of the Lancaster Faction. Messages lacking this author/recipient information will be declared void

and not counted. Why? First, for clarity’s sake: every person will be scanning for his or her mail. In a game

where hundreds of questions and answers will be exchanged, clarity is crucial. Second, because of strategy: if

A6 persistently goes after B9, it may be in the interests of B9 (and his Tribe) to try to take A6 out. The shrewd

team will spread their questions around: if they suspect B9 of being a Ring Giver or a Shadow Warrior (and

thus worth extra points [see below]), a Tribe may all target B9 without making any one of them becoming a

target himself. Make sense?

When you’re confident of the identity of a particular person, you need to post a message with the subject line

“ACCUSATION!” In as flowery, witty, and insulting language as possible, accuse your opponent of being a

particular member of another tribe. If you are right, your opponent dies, and your team will gain the wergeld, or

life value, assigned to that person. However, tread carefully, for a false accusation will result in your own death

and the transference of your own wergeld to the other team.

NOTE: Given the complex alliances of certain figures during this period, it is not inconceivable that the

same character could be found in multiple tribes. Now, were you to find yourself with a doppelganger or

evil twin in the enemy camp, clearly that twin would be responsible for any treacherous behavior your

character might have historically committed against the True and Noble Bloodline to which you belong:

your classmates can thus embrace you while casting condemnation (along with you) on your other,

nefarious half. However, were you inadvisably to unmask and thus assassinate your evil opposite, you

yourself would die in the process. This is another place where Tribes are useful: let one of your

colleagues plunge the dagger in.

TECHNICAL NOTE: If one is the recipient of an assassination-attempt, he must respond both to the

accusation and to any other questions that might (for whatever reason) have been posed to him. If the

accusation against him is accurate and he dies, his own accusations (if accurate) still bring about the

death of his adversaries: it’s as though he slays his enemies even in the act of being slain (even as the

soldiers of Joab and Abner, plunging their daggers into one another). To be specific: as long as (1) a

correctly-accused character gives up the ghost (i.e., acknowledges the accuracy of the accusation) in the

24-hour period following the round in which the accusation was made, AND (2) the character makes his

accusation before giving up the ghost, THEN a character may accuse ONE opponent with his dying

breath. Such a ruling seeks both to acknowledge the potential potency of one’s final, heroic efforts—to

which Beowulf can well attest—and to avoid random wounds caused by wild flailing rigor mortis.

6.1.1. IDENTITIES, WERGELDS, RING-GIVERS, & SHADOW WARRIORS Each member of the class will be given both primary and secondary identities; each Tribe therefore is playing

eight characters that must be unmasked. Individuals’ primary identity must be discovered before their secondary


identity may be explored; opponents must therefore confine their questions to the former before seeking to

uncover the latter.

Each character is assigned a wergeld (literally, “man-money”), or life-value, which is retained by the player’s

Tribe if that character is alive at game’s end, and which is won by an opposing Tribe if the character is correctly

identified (and thus assassinated). Individuals’ secondary identities are often more obscure than their primary

ones, but are worth getting to, as they are worth twice as much—500 rather than 250 points, for example.

Each Tribe will have a Ring-Giver, who will be responsible for rewarding faithful and exemplary service to the

Tribe throughout the semester in verbal and concrete ways. All due honor and ceremony may attend the Ring-

Giver, as his thanes judge it commensurate with his or her merit. The Ring-Giver will be a primary rather than a

secondary identity, and his wergeld will be worth double that of his companions—500 rather than 250 points.

Each Tribe will also have a Shadow Warrior, an individual whose secondary identity may prove slightly more

difficult to identify than that of his companions. The Shadow Warrior’s wergeld is likewise double—1000

rather than 500 points. Find and exterminate him.

6.1.2. BONUSES & POINTS Bonus points are awarded in the following manner:

+ 500 for correctly identifying a character after 1 question

+ 400 for correctly identifying a character after 2 questions




NOTE: No player amasses individual points; rather, he scores points for his Tribe and for his class. (This means,

for example, that if you don’t want to identify someone on the opposing team—being, perhaps, that evil

character’s virtuous twin—someone else in your Tribe can make the identification without you losing points.)

If the class feels that the other team is getting close to identifying a major player in the game—their Ring Giver

or Shadow Warrior, for example—they may purchase an exemption or temporary immunity for that character

using the class treasury. Exemptions are limited periods of time where no questions may be asked of and no

accusations made towards a particular person. The cost of the exemption is directly related to the worth of the

character and the length of the exemption. To wit:

One-Turn Exemptions COST Two-Turn Exemptions COST Three-Turn Exemptions COST

250-wergeld character 75 250-wergeld character 125 250-wergeld character 200

500-wergeld character 150 500-wergeld character 275 500-wergeld character 400

1000-wergeld character 300 1000-wergeld character 550 1000-wergeld

character1000-wergeld

800

The Tribe treasury is the combined worth of all players currently alive on your team, plus any wergeld and

bonus points accrued by identifying members of the opposite team. The only person who may authorize use of

the class treasury is the Ring-Giver. If the Ring-Giver wishes to buy an exemption, he or she must e-mail our

Illustrious Teaching Assistant, Ms. Michael Dinsmoor ([email protected]) and request the

exemption be made.

STRATEGY NOTE: The class may spend more points than are in the treasury at a given point; at the end of the

game, however, any points they have spent do count against them. In other words, if early in the round the

class buys an exemption for 550 points, but at the round’s end only has 250 points in the treasury (most of

the class having been killed off), the class’ final score is – 300 points. Conversely, however, if the class

spends 300 points on a 1000-wergeld character who survives, the class is up 700 points. Choose wisely.


6.1.3. VENDETTA TIMETABLE

Th Aug 31 Round 1 Th Sept 14 Round 5

T Sept 5 Round 2 T Sept 19 Round 6

Th Sept 7 Round 3 Th Sept 21 Round 7

T Sept 12 Round 4 T Sept 26 Round 8

6.1.4. ADDITIONAL TRIALS However bloody this Trial by Vendetta may be, the quest for Tribal Supremacy is by no means over. Three

more Trials await, interspersed over the course of the remaining weeks of the semester. First, you will be

required to prove your prowess in the TRIAL BY VOICE. This Trial will comprise three challenges, in which at

least one team member must compete: the Duel of the Scops (or Bards), the Duel of the Flyting (verbal word-

combat), and the Duel of the Boast. All three areas, as we will see, test skills indispensable to the world of

Beowulf. Second, there is the TRIAL BY COMBAT, involving both selected Champions from each group and pan-

Tribal mayhem. By way of preparation, an Anglo-Saxon Warfare Workshop will introduce you to different

martial methodologies of Germanic tribes. Finally, there is the TRIAL BY WATER, which will replicate such

formidable struggles as that between Beowulf and Breca, Beowulf and the Mere-Monsters, and Viking

Longship Warfare.

At semester’s end, the Tribe scoring highest will be awarded tribute, honor, and the Ultimate Viking Trophy at

an Anglo-Saxon Feast celebrating the triumphs and travails of all participants.

6.1.5. VENDETTA/TRIAL PARTICIPATION

Success in the these Trials will require decided investment: in the Vendetta, for example, you will be required to

know thyself (yea verily) and know the character, actions, and affiliations of a fairly wide web of allies and

enemies. In terms of your grade, however, the requirements are simple: First, in the Vendetta, individuals must

pose sixteen questions—no more and no less—to members of the sculldugerous Other Tribes. Questions must

be submitted electronically prior to any given class, with a maximum of two questions being permitted per

class session. Should you be assassinated during a phase of the game, you will still be expected to help your

Tribe informally by brainstorming about the identify of enemy characters, but you will no longer be allowed to

pose questions to the other class; in terms of your grade, therefore, should you be slain, you will be treated as

though you had fulfilled your quota of sixteen questions.

Second, individuals must answer within 24 hours any questions directed at them. Questions are to be answered

Yes, No, or Yes and No, the last only being used when absolutely necessary. Please note: you will be held

accountable for the accuracy of your answers. Tribes may challenge answers given by members of the opposite

class if they feel themselves to have been misled. Individuals may defend their reasoning behind an answer; if

the challenge is upheld, however, so that an individual’s answer is deemed inaccurate or otherwise

inappropriate, it will be ruled void and treated as if it had never been submitted—with the appropriate penalty

being leveled in consequence.

Reward for posing and answering all questions on time, and for participating in the other Trials: an A (94%) for

this portion of your grade.

Penalty for failing to pose or answer questions on time: – 3% (from 94%) for each question not submitted

within the requisite period. As with absences, should emergencies arise, not to worry: just talk to me (preferably

in advance). Your excuse, however, should be a good one, as the smooth running of these contests depends on

your active and timely participation.


Looking forward to delving with you into the world of heroes, dragons, and monsters that is Beowulf, I remain

So—interested in babysitting?

Your servant,

Dr. Vonk

Gra

tuit

ou

s F

amil

y P

ictu

res.

(B

e w

arn

ed:

ther

e m

ay b

e m

ore

!)

MAP I: The World of Beowulf MAP II: Modern Political Boundaries


ADVICE FOR TRANSLATION

1. Work through your passage sentence by sentence.1

2. Identify the major parts of each sentence, starting with the subject and the verb.

3. To distinguish the subject from other nouns like direct and indirect objects, look at the case of each word.

Thus, in the sentence “The boy hit the ball with the bat into the neighbor’s window”

—”the boy” is the subject or agent of the action (nominative);

—”the ball” is the direct object of the action (accusative);

—”the window” is the indirect object of the action (dative);

—”the bat” is the instrument by which the action is accomplished (instrumentive);

—”the neighbor” is the owner or possessor of the window (genitive).

In general terms, then,

—genitives are translated using “of” or “ ‘s “

(“Hoces dohtor” = “Hoc’s daughter” or “the daughter of Hoc” [Beowulf 1076])

—datives are translated using “to” or “for”;

(“Fin Hengeste benemde” = “Finn declared to Hengest” [Beowulf 1096])

—instrumentals are translated using “in” or “with”;

(“sorge mændon” = “they spoke with sorrow” [Beowulf 1149])

—nominatives and accusatives are translated straightforwardly

(“scyld scefte oncwyð” = “shield answers shaft”, that is, the shields deflect oncoming arrows

[Fragment 7])

4. This said, watch out for verbs that “take” strange cases—in other words, that require the word associated with

them to use a case that you wouldn’t expect. For example:

—we might expect “neosian” (to go TO [somewhere]) to take a dative (e.g., “[to go] TO the ship”), but

it doesn’t; it takes a genitive: “wica neosian” (“to go to [their] homes” [Beowulf 1125])

—we might expect “befeallen” (“deprived OF”) to take a genitive, but it takes a dative instead:

“freondum befeallen” (“deprived of friends” [Beowulf 1125])

—we might expect “forwyrnan” (“to refuse”) to take an accusative (e.g., “to refuse the request”), but it

takes a genitive instead: “he ne forwyrnde woroldrædenne” (“he did not refuse the world’s-law”

[Beowulf 1142])

5. Prepositions, too, take specific cases:

—mid (“with, among”) can take the accusative, instrumentive, or (as here) dative case

(“þæs wæron MID EOTENUM ecge cuðe” = “the edges of it were well-known AMONG THE

JUTES” [Beowulf 1145])

—æt (“at, by, in, on, with”) usually takes the dative case

(“Ne gefrægn ic nǽfre wurþlicor ÆT wera HILDE” = “Never have I heard of worthier men IN

BATTLE”[Fragment 37])

—þurh (“through, by means of, with”) takes the dative, genitive, or (as here) accusative case

(“ne ÞURH INWITSEARO æfre gemænden” = “nor should they ever complain WITH ARTFUL

INTRIGUE” [“inwitsearo” being a neuter with no ending in the accusative] [Beowulf 1101])

6. Word-order, especially in poetry (as in our texts), is by no means as important as it is in Modern English.

While for us, “the dog ate his food” is not quite the same as “the food ate his dog,” in Old English it can

be phrased either way—you just distinguish the subject from the object by their cases.

Thus, you might find the verb (for example) at the beginning 1 (You might keep in mind that nearly all the punctuation you see is not in the manuscripts and has been added by editors, so that one

might debate where a particular sentence ends and the next begins, but that’s an issue we’ll address later in the semester.)


Wand to wolcnum wælfyra mæst

(“The greatest of funeral flames curled to the clouds” [Beowulf 1119])

or at the end

sume on wæle crungon

(“Some [typical Old English understatement; = MANY] fell in the slaughter” [Beowulf 1113])

7. Old English, and especially Old English poetry, loves apposition, that is, multiple references to the same

person, thing, or event in varied terms: “The Sea-farer, noble of birth, frigid of limbs, sat in his boat, the

sea-scythe, breaker of waves, stout voyage-companion, and composed this verse, wrestling with words,

because he was bored stiff and couldn’t think of anything better to do.”

Don’t worry if there is lots of repetition, or gaps between phrases referring to the same

person/thing/event.

Gewiton him ða wigend wica neosian

The warriors departed to go to their dwellings,

freondum befeallen, Frysland geseon,

bereft of their friends, to see Friesland,

hamas ond heaburh.

[their] homes and strong-hold. (Beowulf 1125-7a)

Here, “wigend” (warriors) are further described as “freondum befeallen” (bereft of their friends); they

depart “neosian” (to go) and “geseon” (to see) Friesland, that is, their “hamas ond heaburh” (homes and

strong-hold).

And that, I think, is plenty for the moment.


PRONUNCIATION

VOWELS OE example CONSONANTS

a like MoE (Modern English)

aha or not

habban (to have) ċ

c

like MoE chalk (before e and i)

like MoE call (before a, o, u, and y)

ā like MoE aha or father stān (stone) cg like MoE bridge

æ like MoE hat æt (at/near/in/upon) ff like MoE father

ǽ like MoE bad or airy dǽd (deed/act) ġ like MoE yield (before e and i)

e like MoE met stelan (to steal) g like MoE good (before a, o, u, and y)

ē like MoE fate dēman (to judge) g like German sagen (after/between a, o, u)

i like MoE bit biton (they bit) h like MoE hand (initially before vowels)

ī like MoE machine bītan (to bite/cut) h like German ich (before consonants and

o like MoE cough or audacious holpen (helped) after vowels)

ō like MoE note dōm (judgement) ng like MoE finger

u like MoE pull full (full/complete) r strongly trilled with tip of tongue

ū like MoE doom tūn (field/village) sc like MoE ship

y like French tu or

German müssen

fyllan (to fill) ss

þþ,

like MoE soon

like MoE thin

ý like French ruse or

German kühn

týnan (to enclose/

to trouble)

ðð

DIPHTHONGS2 Voiceless Voiced

ea (æ + a) like MoE hat + father healp (he helped) Consonants Consonants

ēa (ǽ + a) like MoE airy + father bēam (tree) Initially, finally, and Between vowels, or

eo (e + o) like MoE met + poetic weorc (work) before voiceless between vowels and

ēo (ē + o) like MoE fate + poetic bēodan (to

command)

f

consonants

like MoE father

voiced consonants

like MoE over

ie3 (i + e) like MoE bit + father ieldran (ancestor) s like MoE soon like MoE prize

īe (ī + e) like MoE machine +

father

hīeran (to hear/

to obey)

þ, ð like MoE thin like MoE then

DECLENSIONS Parse: Gender, Number, Case

STRONG MASCULINE DECLENSION (includes nearly all masculine nouns which end in a consonant or –e)

Paradigms of sē stān (the stone), sē dæġ (the day), sē engel (the angel), and sē ende (the end)

Singular Endings Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

sē ðone

ðæs

ðǽm (þam)

ðý (þon, þē)

stān

stān

stānes

stāne

stāne

dæġ dæġ dæġes

dæġe

dæġe

engel

engel

engles

engle

engle

ende

ende

endes

ende

ende

—

—

-es

-e

-e

-e

-e

-es

-e

-e

Plural Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

ðā ðāra

ðǽm (ðām)

stānas

stāna

stānum

dagas

daga

dagum

englas

engla

englum

endas

enda

endum

-as

-a

-um

-as

-a

-um

Note: articles agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case; articles can either mean the or that.

2 The diphthongs io and īo occur chiefly in Early West Saxon (EWS; c. 900 A.D.), and are usually represented in Late West Saxon

(LWS; c. 1000 A.D.) by eo and ēo. 3 The diphthongs ie and īe occur chiefly in EWS, and are usually represented in LWS by y or i, and ý or i.


STRONG NEUTER DECLENSION (includes nearly all neuter nouns which end in a consonant or –e)

Paradigms of ðæt lim (the limb), ðæt bān (the bone), ðæt word (the word),

ðæt rīċe (the kingdom), and ðæt tungol (the star)


Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

ðæt

ðæt

ðæs

ðǽm (þam)

ðý (þon, þē)

lim

lim

limes

lime

lime

bān

bān

bānes

bāne

bāne

word

word

wordes

worde

worde

rīċe

rīċe

rīċes

rīċe

rīċe

tungol

tungol

tungles

tungle

tungle

—

—

-es

-e

-e

-e

-e

-es

-e

-e

Plural Nom / Acc ðā limu bān word rīċu tungol,

tunglu -u, —4

-u

Genitive

Dat / Inst

ðāra

ðǽm (ðām)

lima

limum

bāna

bānum

Worda

wordum

rīċa

rīċum

tungla

tunglum -a

-um

-a

-um

STRONG FEMININE DECLENSION (includes nearly all feminine nouns which end in a consonant or –u)

Paradigms of sēo ġiefu (the gift), sēo lār (the teaching), sēo wund (the wound), and sēo sāwol (the soul)


Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

sēo

ðā ðǽre

ðǽre

ðǽre

ġiefu

ġiefe

ġiefe

ġiefe

ġiefe

lār lāre

lāre

lāre

lāre

wund

wunde

wunde

wunde

wunde

sāwol

sāwle

sāwle

sāwle

sāwle

-u, —5

-e

-e

-e

-e

Plural Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

ðā ðāra

ðǽm (ðām)

ġiefa, ġiefe

ġiefa, ġiefena

ġiefum

lāra, -e

lāra

lārum

wunda, -e

wunda

wundum

sāwla, -e

sāwla

sāwlum

-a, -e

-a

-um

PRACTICE TEXT FOR PRONUNCIATION

The Battle of Brunanburh

Ed. Dobbie 1942, 16-20; trans. T. Kinsella, http://loki.stockton.edu/~kinsellt/ litresources/brun/brun1.html

Pronunciation Practice: http://www.kami.demon.co.uk/gesithas/readings/brun_oe.html

Her Æþelstan cyning,----eorla dryhten,

beorna beahgifa, ----and his broþor eac,

Eadmund æþeling, ----ealdorlangne tir

geslogon æt sæcce----sweorda ecgum

ymbe Brunanburh. ----

Bordweal clufan,

heowan heaþolinde----hamora lafan,

afaran Eadweardes, ----swa him geæþele wæs

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In this year King Aethelstan, Lord of warriors,

ring-giver to men, and his brother also,

Prince Eadmund, won eternal glory

in battle with sword edges

around Brunanburh.

They split the shield-wall,

they hewed battle shields with the remnants of hammers.

The sons of Eadweard, it was only befitting their noble descent

4 Monosyllabic neuters with short-syllable stems, such as lim, end in –u in the Nom. / Acc. plural; monosyllabic neuters with long-

syllable stems, such as bān or word, have no ending in the Nom. / Acc. plural. 5 When the stem is a short syllable, the Nom. singular ends in –u; when the stem is long, the Nom. singular is without ending.


from cneomægum, ----þæt hi æt campe oft

wiþ laþra gehwæne----land ealgodon,

hord and hamas.

Hettend crungun,

Sceotta leoda----and scipflotan

fæge feollan, ----feld dænnede

secga swate, ----siðþan sunne up

on morgentid, ----mære tungol,

glad ofer grundas, ----godes condel beorht,

eces drihtnes, ----oð sio æþele gesceaft

sah to setle.

Þær læg secg mænig

garum ageted, ----guma norþerna

ofer scild scoten, ----swilce Scittisc eac,

werig, wiges sæd. ----

Wesseaxe forð

ondlongne dæg----eorodcistum

on last legdun----laþum þeodum,

heowan herefleman----hindan þearle

mecum mylenscearpan.

Myrce ne wyrndon

heardes hondplegan----hæleþa nanum

þæra þe mid Anlafe----ofer æra gebland

on lides bosme----land gesohtun,

fæge to gefeohte.

Fife lægun

on þam campstede----cyningas giunge,

sweordum aswefede, ----swilce seofene eac

eorlas Anlafes, ----unrim heriges,

flotan and Sceotta.

Þær geflemed wearð

Norðmanna bregu, ----nede gebeded,

to lides stefne----litle weorode;

cread cnear on flot, ----cyning ut gewat

on fealene flod, ----feorh generede.

Swilce þær eac se froda----mid fleame com

on his cyþþe norð, ----Costontinus,

har hilderinc, ----hreman ne þorfte

mæca gemanan.

He wæs his mæga sceard,

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from their ancestors that they should often

defend their land in battle against each hostile people,

horde and home.

The enemy perished,

Scots men and seamen,

fated they fell. The field flowed

with blood of warriors, from sun up

in the morning, when the glorious star

glided over the earth, God’s bright candle,

eternal lord, till that noble creation

sank to its seat.

There lay many a warrior

by spears destroyed; Northern men

shot over shield, likewise Scottish as well,

weary, war sated.

The West-Saxons pushed onward

all day; in troops

they pursued the hostile people.

They hewed the fugitive grievously from behind

with swords sharp from the grinding.

The Mercians did not refuse

hard hand-play to any warrior

who came with Anlaf over the sea-surge

in the bosom of a ship, those who sought land,

fated to fight.

Five lay dead

on the battle-field, young kings,

put to sleep by swords, likewise also seven

of Anlaf’s earls, countless of the army,

sailors and Scots.

There the North-men’s chief was put

to flight, by need constrained

to the prow of a ship with little company:

he pressed the ship afloat, the king went out

on the dusky flood-tide, he saved his life.

Likewise, there also the old campaigner through flight came

to his own region in the north—Constantine—

hoary warrior. He had no reason to exult

the great meeting;

he was of his kinsmen bereft,


freonda gefylled----on folcstede,

beslagen æt sæcce, ----and his sunu forlet

on wælstowe----wundun forgrunden,

giungne æt guðe.

Gelpan ne þorfte

beorn blandenfeax----bilgeslehtes,

eald inwidda, ----ne Anlaf þy ma.

Mid heora herelafum----hlehhan ne þorftun

þæt heo beaduweorca----beteran wurdun

on campstede----cumbolgehnastes,

garmittinge, ----gumena gemotes,

wæpengewrixles, ----þæs hi on wælfelda

wiþ Eadweardes----afaran plegodan.

Gewitan him þa Norþmen----nægledcnearrum,

dreorig daraða laf, ----on Dinges mere

ofer deop wæter----Difelin secan,

eft Iraland, ----æwiscmode.

Swilce þa gebroþer----begen ætsamne,

cyning and æþeling, ----cyþþe sohton,

Wesseaxena land, ----wiges hremige.

Letan him behindan----hræw bryttian

Saluwigpadan, ----þone sweartan hræfn,

Hyrnednebban, ----and þane hasewanpadan,

earn æftan hwit, ----æses brucan,

grædigne guðhafoc----and þæt græge deor,

wulf on wealde.

Ne wearð wæl mare

on þis eiglande----æfre gieta

folces gefylled----beforan þissum

sweordes ecgum, ----þæs þe us secgað bec,

ealde uðwitan, ----siþþan eastan hider

Engle and Seaxe----up becoman,

ofer brad brimu----Brytene sohtan,

wlance wigsmiþas, ----Wealas ofercoman,

eorlas arhwate----eard begeatan.

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friends fell on the battle-field,

killed at strife: even his son, young in battle, he left

in the place of slaughter, ground to pieces with wounds.

That grizzle-haired warrior had no

reason to boast of sword-slaughter,

old deceitful one, no more did Anlaf;

with their remnant of an army they had no reason to

laugh that they were better in deed of war

in battle-field—collision of banners,

encounter of spears, encounter of men,

trading of blows--when they played against

the sons of Eadweard on the battle field.

Departed then the Northmen in nailed ships.

The dejected survivors of the battle, leaving Dinges mere

sought Dublin over the deep water,

to return to Ireland, ashamed in spirit.

Likewise the brothers, both together,

King and Prince, sought their home,

West-Saxon land, exultant from battle.

They left behind them, to enjoy the corpses,

the dark coated one, the dark horny-beaked raven

and the dusky-coated one,

the eagle white from behind, to partake of carrion,

greedy war-hawk, and that gray animal

the wolf in the forest.

Never was there more slaughter

on this island, never yet as many

people killed before this

with sword’s edge, according to those who tell us from books,

old wisemen, since from the east

Angles and Saxons came up

over the broad sea. Britain they sought,

Proud war-smiths who overcame the Welsh,

glorious warriors they took hold of the land.


N-STEMS (includes [1] all masculine nouns ending in –a; [2] all feminine nouns ending in –e;

[3] two neuter nouns, ēage [eye] and ēare [ear], ending in -e)

Paradigms of hunta (hunter [masculine]), eorðe (earth [feminine]), and ēage (eye [neuter])

Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter Endings Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

hunta

huntan

huntan

huntan

huntan

eorðe

eorðan

eorðan

eorðan

eorðan

ēage

ēage

ēagan

ēagan

ēagan

-a

-an

-an

-an

-an

-e

-an

-an

-an

-an

-e

-e

-an

-an

-an

Plural Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

huntan

huntena

huntum

eorðan

eorðena

eorðum

ēagan

ēagena

ēagum

-an

-ena

-um

-an

-ena

-um

-an

-ena

-um

ADJECTIVES: STRONG V. WEAK

General rule: the strong declension of the adjective is used in prose unless the adjective

• is preceded by the definite article sē or the demonstrative þēs / þēos / þis (“this”);

• is preceded by possessive pronoun mīn / þīn / sīn (“mine” / “your” / “his/her/its”) [which are declined

like strong adjectives];

• is comparative (regularly) or superlative (frequently).

Remember: strong forms stand alone; weak forms need the support of articles or pronouns.

Adjectives are also often weak in poetry where they would be strong in prose.

SHORT-STEMMED ADJECTIVES: STRONG DECLENSION (declension of sum [“some”])


Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

sum

sumne

sumes

sumum

sume

sumu

sume

sumre

sumre

sumre

sum

sum

sumes

sumum

sume

—

-ne

-es

-um

-e

-u

-e

-re

-re

-re

—

—

-es

-um

-e

Plural Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

sume

sumra

sumum

suma, sume

sumra

sumum

sumu

sumra

sumum

-e

-ra

-um

-a, -e

-ra

-um

-u

-ra

-um

LONG-STEMMED ADJECTIVES: STRONG DECLENSION (declension of gōd [“good”])


Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

gōd

gōdne

gōdes

gōdum

gōde

gōd

gōde

gōdre

gōdre

gōdre

gōd

gōd

gōdes

gōdum

gōde

—

-ne

-es

-um

-e

—

-e

-re

-re

-re

—

—

-es

-um

-e

Plural Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

gōde

gōdra

gōdum

gōda, gōde

gōdra

gōdum

gōde

gōdra

gōdum

-e

-ra

-um

-a, -e

-ra

-um

—, -e

-ra

-um


ADJECTIVES: WEAK DECLENSION (declension of gōd [“good”]; endings like N-STEMS)


Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

gōda

gōdan

gōdan

gōdan

gōdan

gōde

gōdan

gōdan

gōdan

gōdan

gōde

gōde

gōdan

gōdan

gōdan

-a

-an

-an

-an

-an

-e

-an

-an

-an

-an

-e

-e

-an

-an

-an

Plural All Genders Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dat / Inst

gōdan

gōdena, gōdra

gōdum

-an

-ena, -ra

-um

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

General rule: to make an adjective comparative, add –ra; to make it superlative, add –ost. Thus:

lēof (“dear”), lēofra (“dearer”), lēofost (“dearest”)

glæd (“glad”), glædra (“gladder”), gladost (“gladdest”)6

Some adjectives add –est for the superlative:

Irregular adjectives include:

eald (“old”)

ġeong (“young”)

lang (“long”)

strang (“strong”)

hēah (“high”)

ieldra

ġingra

lengra

strengra

hīerra

ieldest

ġingest

lengest

strengrest

hīehst

lýtel (“little”)

miċel (“great”)

yfel (“bad”)

gōd (“good”)

lǽssa

māra

wiersa

betera, sēlra

lǽst

mǽst

wierst

betst, sēlest

ADVERBS

Characteristic endings of adverbs: -e

-līċ

-unga

-an

(e.g., hraþe [“quickly”])

(e.g., hrædlīċe [“quickly”])

(e.g., eallunga [“entirely”])

usually means “from,” as in norþan (“from the north”)

While not all adverbs can be formed from adjectives, often you’ll see that an adverb is simply a particular

adjective with an –e stuck on the end. Thus,

lēoflic

lāð

lāðlic

ġeorn

(“loveable”)

(“hostile”)

(“horrible”)

(“eager”)

becomes lēoflīċe

becomes lāðe

becomes lāðlice

becomes ġeorne

(“lovingly”)

(“hostilely”)

(“horribly”)

(“eagerly”)

Careful, however, of those adjectives that end in a –e, like rīċe (“powerful”).

If the comparative and superlative of adjectives are formed by adding –ra or –ost,

the comparative and superlative of adverbs are formed by adding –or and –ost. Thus:

Adjectives: Adverbs:

lēoflic (“loveable”) lēoflicra lēoflicost lēoflīċe (“lovingly”) lēoflīcor lēoflīcost

ġeorn (“eager”) ġeornra ġeornost ġeorn (“eagerly”) ġeornor ġeornost

6 When the ending begins with a vowel (like –ost ), the medial vowel sometimes disappears.


PERSONAL PRONOUNS (Third Person) DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS þēs, þēos, þis (“this”): compare endings with Articles and Strong Declension Adjectives

Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

hē hine

his

him

hēo

hīe, hī hiere, hire

hiere, hire

hit

hit

his

him

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

Instrumental

þēs

þisne

þisses, þises

þissum, þisum

þýs

þēos

þās

þisse, þisre

þisse, þisre

þisse, þisre

þis

þis

þisses, þises

þissum,

þisum

þýs

Plural All Genders Plural All Genders

Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dative

hīe, hī hiera, hira,

heora

him, heom

Nom / Acc

Genitive

Dative

þās

þissa

þissum,

þisum

FIRST- AND SECOND-PERSON PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Singular Dual Plural

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

iċ mec, mē mīn

mē

þū þec, þē þīn

þē

wit

uncit, unc

uncer

unc

ġit incit, inc

incer

inc

wē ūsiċ, ūs

ūre

ūs

ġē ēowiċ, ēow

ēower

ēow

STRONG VERBS: PRETERIT (PAST-TENSE) ENDINGS

Singular Endings 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

īċ ðū hē

drāf (“I drove”)

drife (“you drove”)

drāf (“he drove”)

iċ ðū hē

sang, song

sunge

sang, song

—

-e —

Plural 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

wē ġē hīe

drifon (“we drove”)

drifon (“you drove”)

drifon (“they drove”)

wē ġē hīe

sungon

sungon

sungon

-on

-on

-on

STRONG VERBS: PRESENT ENDINGS Think King James or Shakespearian English: “Thou sayest true, Madame”; “He hath a ready wit!”

Singular Endings 1

2

3

īċ ðū hē

drīfe

drīfest

drīfe

singe

singest

singeþ

-e

-est

-eþ

Plural 1 / 2 / 3 wē / ġē / hīe drīfaþ singaþ -aþ

WEAK VERBS: PRESENT ENDINGS

Singular I Endings II and III Endings 1

2

3

īċ ðū hē

dēme

dēmest

dēmeþ

-e

-est

-eþ

lufie

lufast

lufaþ

-ie

-ast

-aþ

Plural 1 / 2 / 3 wē / ġē / hīe dēmaþ -aþ lufiaþ -iaþ


WEAK VERBS I–III: PRETERIT ENDINGS

Singular Endings 1

2

3

īċ ðū hē

fremede (“I made”)

fremedest (“you made”)

fremede (“he made”)

-e

-est

-e

Plural 1 / 2 / 3 wē / ġē / hīe fremedon (“we/you/they made”) -on

BĒON AND WESAN (IRREGULAR VERBS)

No part of this tri-partite verb is fully conjugated in Old English (i.e., bēon lacks the preterit, etc.);

rather, forms are combined so as to comprise one fully conjugated verb.

Singular Present Present or Future Preterit

1

2

3

Īċ ðū hē

eom (“I am”)

eart (“you are”)

is (“he is”)

bēo (“I am / will be”)

bist (“you are / will be”)

biþ (“he is / will be”)

wæs (“I was”)

wǽre (“you were”)

wæs (“he was”)

Plural

1 / 2 / 3 wē / ġē / hīe sindon (sind, sint)

(“we/you/they are”)

bēoþ (“we/you/they

are / will be”)

wǽron

(“we/you/they were”)

PARSING VERBS Examples from wealdan (wēold, wēoldon, wealden [“to exercise authority, control, rule”])

Parse: Person, Number, Tense, Mood, Class

SELECTIVE EXAMPLES

CLASS 1-7 (Strong) or

I-III (Weak)

7

MOOD Indicative

Subjunctive

Imperative

wealdon

wealde

weald

(“we / you /they rule”)

(“I / you / he should rule” or “may rule”)

(“Rule!”)

[1-3 plur.]

[1-3 sing.]

[2 sing.]

INFINITIVE

Non-inflected

Inflected

wealdan

tō wealdenne

(“to rule”)

(“to rule”) [also called a gerund]

PARTICIPLE

Active

Past

wealdende

wealden

(“ruling”)

(“ruled”)

TENSE Present

Preterit

wealdeþ

wēold

(“he/she/it rules”)

(“he/she/it ruled”)

[3 sing.]

[3 sing.]

NUMBER Singular

Plural

wēolde

wealdaþ

(“you rule”)

(“we / you / they ruled”)

[2 sing.]

[1-3 plur.]

PERSON First

Second

Third

wealde

wealdest

wealdeþ

(“I rule”)

(“you rule”)

(“he/she/it rules”)

[1 sing.]

[2 sing.]

[3 sing.]

[VOICE] Active7

(“he ruled” as opposed to “he was ruled” [passive]

or “he ruled himself” [middle])

7 The one exception: the passive form hātte (‘is called’ or ‘was called’).


STRONG VERBS PRINCIPAL PARTS OF STRONG VERBS

1. The Infinitive

2. The Preterit Indicative first/third person singular

3. The Preterit Indicative plural

4. The Past Participle

(“to rule”)

(“I / he ruled”)

(“they ruled”)

(“ruled”)

STRONG VERBS 1 AND 2

Class Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and present)

1/3 Singular

Preterit Indicative

Plural (and 2 Singular)

Preterit Indicative

Past Participle

1 ī + one consonant ī ā i i

2 ēo (ū) + one consonant ēo (ū) ēa u o

Examples:

Class 1 Class 2

bīdan (“await”) bād bidon biden bēodan (“command”) bēad budon boden

bītan (“bite”) bāt biton biten drēogan (“endure”) drēag drugon drogen

glīdan (“glide”) glād glidon gliden brūcan (“enjoy”) brēac brucon brocen

snīðan (“cut”) snāð snidon8 sniden

8 būgan (“bow”) bēag bugon bogen

ġewītan (“go/die”) ġewāt ġewiton ġewiten lēosan (“lose/abandon”) lēas luron loren

wrītan (“write”) wrāt writon writen ċēosan (“choose”) ċēas curon8 coren

8

COMPLETE CONJUGATION OF STRONG VERBS 1 AND 2

Paradigms of bīdan (bād bidon biden [“to await”]) and bēodan (bēad budon boden [“to command”])

INDICATIVE

Present Singular Endings 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

bīde

bītst,9 bīdest

bītt,9 bīdeþ

bēode

bīetst,9 bēodest

bīett,9 bēodeþ

-e

-est

-eþ

Plural 1, 2, 3 bīdaþ bēodaþ -aþ

Preterit Singular 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

bād bide

bād

bēad bude

bēad

—

-e

—

Plural 1, 2, 3 bidon budon -on

SUBJUNCTIVE

Present Singular 1, 2, 3 bīde bēode -e Plural 1, 2, 3 bīden bēoden -en

Preterit Singular 1, 2, 3 bide bude -e Plural 1, 2, 3 biden buden -en

IMPERATIVE

Present Singular 2 bīd bēod — Plural 2 bīdaþ bēodaþ -aþ

8 Examples of Verner’s Law, a topic about which we will hear in a forthcoming session on Philology Fundamentals.

9 Examples of Syncopated present forms, which we’ll be discussing in a future week.


INFINITIVE Non-Inflected bīdan bēodan PARTICIPLE Present bīdende bēodende

Inflected

tō bīdenne tō bēodenne Past biden boden

PRACTICE CONJUGATION OF CLASS 1 AND 2 STRONG VERBS

glīdan (“glide”) glād glidon gliden brūcan (“enjoy”) brēac brucon brocen

ġewītan (“go/die”) ġewāt ġewiton ġewiten būgan (“bow”) bēag bugon bogen

wrītan (“write”) wrāt writon writen lēosan (“lose/abandon”) lēas luron loren

INDICATIVE Class 1 Verbs Class 2 Verbs

Present Singular Endings 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

glīde

glīdest

glīdeþ

ġewīte

ġewītest

ġewīteþ

wrīte

wrītest

wrīteþ

brūce

brūcest

brūceþ

būge

būgest

būgeþ

lēose

lēosest

lēoseþ

-e

-est

-eþ

Plural glīdaþ ġewītaþ wrītaþ brūcaþ būgaþ lēosaþ -aþ

Preterit Singular 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

glād glide

glād

ġewāt ġewite

ġewāt

wrāt write

wrāt

brēac bruce

brēac

bēag bige

bēag

lēas lure

lēas

—

-e

—

Plural glidon ġewiton writon brucon bugon luron -on

SUBJUNCTIVE

Present Singular glīde ġewīte wrīte brūce būge lēose -e Plural glīden ġewīten wrīten brūcen būgen lēosen -en

Preterit Singular glide ġewite write bruce buge lure -e Plural gliden ġewiten writen brucen bugen luren -en

IMPERATIVE

Present Singular 2 glīd ġewīt wrīt brūc būg lēos — Plural 2 glīdaþ ġewītaþ wrītaþ brūcaþ būgaþ lēosaþ -aþ

INFINITIVE

Non-Inflected glīdan ġewītan wrītan brūcan būgan lēosan Inflected

tō glīdenne tō ġewītenne tō wrītenne tō brūcenne tō būgenne tō lēosenne

PARTICIPLE

Present glīdende ġewītende wrītende brūcende būgende lēosende

Past gliden ġewiten writen brocen bogen loren


STRONG VERBS: CLASS 3

Strong verbs of this class have stems ending in two consonants, of which the first is nearly always a liquid

(l or r) or a nasal (m or n). They fall into four subclasses:

(1) Verbs with stems ending in a nasal (m or n) plus a consonant:

bindan (“to bind”) band (or bond) bundon bunden

drincan (“to drink”) dranc (or dronc) druncon druncen

(2) Verbs with stems ending in l plus a consonant:

helpan (“to help”) healp hulpon holpen

meltan (“to melt”) mealt multon molten

ġieldan (“to yield”) ġeald guldon golden

ġiellan (“to yell”) ġeall gullon gollen

(3) Verbs with stems ending in r or h plus a consonant:

weorþan (“to become”) wearþ wurdon worden10

weorpan (“to throw”) wearp wurpon worpen

feohtan (“to fight”) feaht fuhton fohten

(4) Verbs with stems ending in two consonants, neither of which are liquids or nasals:

breġdan (“to brandish”) bræġd brugdon brogden


Strong verbs of this class have stems ending in e and a single consonant which is nearly always a liquid (l or r)

or a nasal (m or n).

Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and present)

Preterit Indicative

1/3 singular

Preterit Indicative

plural (and 2 singular)

Past Participle

e + 1 consonant

(liquid or nasal)

e æ ǽ o

Examples:

beran (“to bear”) bær bǽron boren

cwelan(“to die”) cwæl cwǽlon cwolen

helan (“to conceal”) hæl hǽlon holen

stelan (“to steal”) stæl stǽlon stolen

teran (“to tear”) tær tǽron toren

Irregular (and quite important) verbs:

cuman (“to come”) cōm (or cwōm) cōmon (or cwōmon) cumen

niman (“to take”) nam (or nōm) nōmon (or nāmon) numen

And one exception (since the stem ends in c, not a liquid or nasal):

brecan (“to break”) bræc brǽcon brocen


10

An example of Verner’s Law—but patience, patience!


Strong verbs of this class have stems ending in e and a single consonant which is neither a liquid (l or r) or a

nasal (m or n).

Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and present)

Preterit Indicative

1/3 singular

Preterit Indicative


Past Participle

e + 1 consonant

(not liquid or nasal)

e æ ǽ e

Examples:

metan (“to measure”) mæt mǽton meten

sprecan (“to speak”) spræc sprǽcon sprecen

cweðan (“to say”) cwæþ cwǽdon cweden1

Irregular (and important) verbs:11

ġiefan (“to give”) ġeaf ġēafon ġiefen

ġietan (“to get”) ġeat ġēaton ġieten


Strong verbs of this class have stems ending in a and a consonant.

Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and present)

Preterit Indicative

1/3 singular

Preterit Indicative


Past Participle

a + 1 consonant a ō ō a

Examples:

faran (“to go”) fōr fōron faren

galan (“to sing”) gōl gōlon galen

standan (or stondon [“to stand”]) stōd stōdon standen (or stonden)


Strong verbs of this class have the same vowel in (a) their infinitive and past participle, and (b) all forms of the

preterit indicative. As for an identifying characteristic of their stem—well, that’s not as easy. Technically, they

have an a or o, followed by a nasal, followed by ā, ǽ, ē, ea, ēa, or ō—but who’s going to remember that? This

one may just come through experience.

Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and present)

Preterit Indicative

1/3 singular

Preterit Indicative


Past Participle

-- -- ē ēo

ē ēo

--

--

Examples of verbs with ē in the preterit:

hātan (“to call”) hēt hēton hāten

lǽtan (“to allow”) lēt lēton lǽten

rǽdan (“to counsel”) rēd rēdon rǽden

drǽdan (“to fear”) drēd drēdon drǽden

11

An example of diphthongization by initial palatals—and no, I won’t tell you what that means yet.


Examples of verbs with ēo in the preterit:

gangan (“to go”) ġēong ġēongon gangen

cnāwan (“to know”) cnēow cnēowon cnāwen

weaxan (“to grow”) wēox wēoxon wāxen

feallan (“to fall”) fēoll fēollon feallen

healdan (“to hold”) hēold hēoldon healden

bēatan (“to beat”) bēot bēoton bēaten

hēawan (“to hew”) hēow hēowon hēawen

flōwan (“to flow”) flēow flēowon flōwen

SUMMARY: STRONG VERBS 1 – 7

Class Identifying

Characteristic

Infinitive

(and

present)

Preterit

Indicative

1/3 singular

Preterit Indicative

plural (and 2

singular)

Past

Participle

1 ī + 1 consonant ī ā i i

2 ēo (ū) + 1 consonant ēo (ū) ēa u o

3 i + nasal and consonant

e (ie) + l and consonant

eo + r (h) and consonant

e + 2 cons. (not liquids/nasals)

i

e (ie)

eo

e

a (o)

ea

ea

æ

u

u

u

u

u

o

o

o

4 e + one consonant

(liquid or nasal)

e æ

ǽ

o

5 e + one consonant

(not a liquid or nasal)

e æ

ǽ

e

6 a + one consonant a ō ō a

7 -- --

--

ē ēo

ē ēo

--

--


ASSIGMENT: 1. Construct the principal parts of the following:

findan, (“to find”) fand fundon funden

swellan, (“to swell”) sweall swullon swollen

sweltan, (“to die/perish”) swelt swulton swolten

beorgan, (“to guard/defend”) bearg burgon borgen

hweorfan, (“to turn”) hwearf hwurfon hworfen

streġdan (“to strew/scatter”) stræġd strugdon strogden

2. Complete the table for the following: wrītan (1), brūcan (2), weorþan (3), beran (4), cweðan (5), faran (6),

and hātan (7).

INDICATIVE

Singular 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

212

312

wrīte

wrītest

wrīteþ

brūce

brūcest

brūceþ

weorþe

weorþest

weorþeþ

bere

berest

bereþ

cweðe

cweðest

cweðeþ

fare

farest

fareþ

hāte

hātest

hāteþ

-e

-est

-eþ

PR

ES

EN

T

Plural 1, 2, 3 wrītaþ brūcaþ weorþaþ beraþ cweðaþ faraþ hātaþ -aþ Singular

1

2

3

wrāt write

wrāt

brēac

bruce

brēac

wearþ

wurþe

wearþ

bær

bǽre

bær

cwæð

cwǽðe

cwæð

fōr fōre

fōr

hēt hēte

hēt

—

-e

—

PR

ET

ER

IT

Plural 1, 2, 3 writon brucon wurdon13

bǽron cwǽdon13

fōron hēton -on

SUBJUNCTIVE

Sing. 1, 2, 3 wrīte brūce weorþe bere cweðe fare hāte -e

pre

s

.

Plural 1, 2, 3 wrīten brūcen weorþen beren cweðen faren hāten -en

Sing. 1, 2, 3 write bruce wurþe bǽre cwǽde fōre hēte -e

pre

t

Plural 1, 2, 3 writen brucen wurden13

bǽren cwǽden13

fōren hēten -en

IMPERATIVE Singular 2 wrīt brūc weorþ ber cweð far hāt —

pre

s

.

Plural 2 wrītaþ brūcaþ weorþaþ beraþ cweðaþ faraþ hātaþ -aþ

INFINITIVE Uninflected wrītan brūcan weorþan beran cweðan faran hātan

Inflected

tō wrītenne tō brūcenne tō

weorþenne

tō berenne tō cweðenne tō farenne tō hātenne

PARTICIPLE Present wrītende brūcende weorþende berende cweðende farende hātende

Past writen brocen worden13

boren cweden13

faren hāten

12

Note the vowel-changes produced by i-Umlaut, and the syncopated present forms, both of which are discussed below. 13

Consonant change (ð to d) according to Verner’s Law.


I-UMLAUT

and SYNCOPATED PRESENT FORMS OF STRONG VERBS

Given what we’ve learned thus far about Strong Verbs, we would expect to make second- and third-person

present indicative forms by adding –est and –eþ to the stem of the verb: weorþest (“you become”) and weorþeþ

(“he becomes”) from weorþan, and so on. In fact, however, what we often find are strange forms such as wiertst

and wiertt. What’s going on?

This is one of the times that some of the Philological Rules at which we’ll be looking next week (yes, some of

you are saying; at last!) become significant for your everyday reading. There are two we need to consider: i-

Umlaut and Syncopation.

I-UMLAUT

This is one of the most important sound-changes that took place in Old English. Umlaut in general is a change

produced in a vowel by some other sound which follows it; i-Umlaut was a change produced in a vowel or

diphthong by an i, ī, or j in the following syllable.

The changes which resulted from i-Umlaut took place around the sixth century, a date earlier than any extant

Old English text. By Alfred the Great’s death at end of the ninth century, the sounds which had caused umlaut

had largely disappeared from the language. We know that they existed at an earlier period, however, partly

because of the forms which we find in the earliest surviving texts (eighth and ninth century), and partly through

a reconstruction of Prehistoric Old English by comparison of Old English with other Germanic languages such

as Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Norse, and especially Gothic.

It worked as follows:

a (o) before nasals

(m/n) became e

as in menn

(“men”)

from Prehistoric OE *manni14

ā became ǽ as in hǽlan (“to cure”) from Prehistoric OE *hāljan

æ became e as in eġe (“fear”) from Prehistoric OE *æġi

e15 became i as in sittan (“to sit”) from Prehistoric OE *setjanan

o became e as in dehter (dat. sg. of

dohtor

“daughter”)

from Prehistoric OE *dohtri

ō became ē as in dēman (“to judge”) from Prehistoric OE *dōmjan

u became y as in fyllan (“to fill/fulfil”) from Prehistoric OE *fulljan

ū became ý as in týnan (“to enclose”) from Prehistoric OE *tūnjan

ea became ie

(LWS i or y)16

as in fielþ (pres. 3 sg. of

feallan “to

fall/die”)

from Prehistoric OE *fealliþ

ēa became īe

(LWS ī or ý)

as in hīeran (“to

hear/obey”)

from Prehistoric OE *hēarjan

io (eo) became ie

(LWS i or y)

as in wierpþ (pres. 3 sg. of

weorpan “to

cast/throw”)

from Prehistoric OE *wiorpiþ

io (ēo) became īe

(LWS ī or ý)

as in ġeþēodan (“to join”) from Prehistoric OE *ġeþīodjan

14

The asterisk (*) indicates that this is a reconstructed form, as opposed to one encountered in extant literature. 15

Technically, the change of e to i was not a part of the OE umlaut, but a Primitive Germanic change which preceded that by several

centuries. We may treat the changes together, however, for our understanding of syncopated forms of strong verbs. 16

LWS = Late West Saxon, the language c. 1050, as opposed to Early West Saxon, the language c. 900-1050 in which the majority of

Old English texts are composed.


There is a pattern here, which might help you to remember these shifts in vowels: they’re moving from Low

Back Vowels to High Front Vowels.

Oh dear, you say: some new terms.

• With “front” vowels, the front (not tip) of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate (the roof of your

mouth right behind your front teeth);

• With “back” vowels, the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate (the place where peanut butter

gets stuck);

• The “higher” the vowel, the closer the tongue is to the roof of the mouth;

• The “lower” the vowel, the farther the tongue is from the roof of the mouth.

So, as you say i, e, æ (Modern English bit, met,

hat), you’ll notice a gradual lowering of the jaw

and the front of the tongue as you move from

high-front to low-front vowels.

Similarly, when you say a, o, u (Modern English

not, cough, pull), you’ll notice the progressive

raising of the jaw and the back of the tongue, and

your lips becoming more rounded, forming a

progressively smaller circle, as you move from

low-back to high-back vowels.

In i-Umlaut, then, word-pronunciation generally

shifts from Low Back Vowels to High Front

Vowels (left and up in our diagram).

SYNCOPATION

Whew. Now that we’ve got the reason for the vowel shift in these strange present forms of strong verbs, what

about the truncated endings? Syncopation is the loss of a vowel between two consonants. Once the vowel is

gone, one or more of the merged consonants may either change or drop out altogether, simply because the

combination is difficult to say; this is called assimilation (yes, think of Borgs and you’ll get the idea).

Second-person present (-est) forms

In verbs whose stems end in d, þ, or s, assimilation takes place when the vowel of the ending –est is

syncopated. Thus,

d + st = tst (as in bītst from bīdan)

þ + st = tst or st (as in snītst from snīðan or cwist from cweðan)

s + st = st (as in ċīest from ċēosan)


Third-person present (-eþ) forms

In verbs whose stems end in d, t, þ, or s, assimilation takes place when the vowel of the ending –eþ is

syncopated. Thus,

d + þ = tt or t (as in bītt or bīt from bīdan)

t + þ = tt or t (as in wrītt or wrīt from wrītan)

þ + þ = þþ or þ (as in cwiþþ or cwiþ from cweðan)

s + þ = st (as in ċīest from ċēosan)

For our example verbs, then,

Second-Person Present Third-Person Present

i-Umlaut Syncopation Result Syncopation Result

wrītan (“to write” [1]) ī => ī (same) t + (e)st = t(e)st wrīt(e)st t + (e)þ = t(t) wrīt(t), wrīteþ

brūcan (“to enjoy” [2]) ū => ý c + (e)st = c(e)st brýc(e)st c + (e)þ = c(e)þ brýc(e)þ

weorþan (“to become” [3]) eo => ie þ + (e)st = (t)st wier(t)st,

weorþest

þ + (e)þ = þ(þ) wierþ(þ),

weorþeþ

beran (“to carry” [4]) e => i r + (e)st = r(e)st bir(e)st r + (e)þ = r(e)þ bir(e)þ

cweðan (“to say” [5]) e => i ð + (e)st = (t)st cwi(t)st,

cweðest

ð + (e)þ = ð(ð) cwið(ð),

cweðeþ

faran (“to go” [6]) a => æ r + (e)st = r(e)st fær(e)st r + (e)þ = (e)þ fær(e)þ

hātan (“to command” [7]) ā => ǽ t + (e)st = t(e)st hǽt(e)st t + (e)þ = t(t) hǽt(t),

hāteþ

ASSIGNMENT: I-UMLAUT AND SYNCOPATION

Construct the syncopated and umlauted forms of the second- and third-person present indicative umlauted forms

of the following strong verbs:

2nd

-Person

Present

3rd

-Person

Present

2nd

-Person

Present

3rd

-Person

Present

etan (“to eat” [5]) it(e)st it(t), iteð helan (“to cover” [4]) hil(e)st hil(e)ð

būgan (“to bend/turn” [2]) býg(e)st býg(e)ð cnāwan (“to know” [7]) cnǽw(e)st cnǽw(e)ð

drincan (“to drink” [1]) drinc(e)st drinc(e)ð healdan (“to hold/rule”

[7])

hieltst hielt(t)

helpan (“to help” [3]) hilp(e)st hilp(e)ð flōwan (“to flow” [7]) flēw(e)st flēw(e)ð

weorpan (“to throw” [3]) wierp(e)st wierp(e)ð rīsan (“to rise [1]”) rīst rīst

ċēosan (“to choose” [2]) ċīest ċīesð beorgan (“to conceal” [3]) bierg(e)st bierg(e)ð

wrecan (“to revenge” [5]) wric(e)st wric(e)ð galan (“to sing” [6]) gæl(e)st gæl(e)ð

PRINCIPAL PARTS OF WEAK VERBS

1. the infinitive

2. the third-person singular preterit indicative

3. the past participle

(“to rule”)

(“I / he ruled”)

(“ruled”)

Unlike strong verbs, the principal parts of weak verbs do not include the preterit plural indicative; rather, all you

need to know is the third-person singular preterit indicative, the stem of which is the same for all preterit forms.

As with strong verbs, however, syncopation means that there are some variations to be wary of, this time in the

preterit and the past participle.


SYNCOPATED FORMS OF CLASS I WEAK VERBS

As we noted in the second week, the preterit endings of Class I Weak Verbs are as follows:

Singular 1 fremede (“I made”) -e 2

3

fremedest (“you made”)

fremede (“he made”) -est

-e Plural 1, 2, 3 fremedon (“we/you/they made”) -on

To determine the base of the preterit forms, however (fremed- in this case), we must identify whether the verb

stem was originally short or long. The rule of thumb is this:

• If the stem was originally short, the Old English stem will contain a short vowel or a short diphthong

followed by an r or a “geminated” (doubled) consonant.17

• If the stem was originally long, the Old English stem will contain either (1) a long vowel or long

diphthong or (2) a short vowel or short diphthong followed by two consonants.18

For verbs with originally short stems, the first person preterit indicative is –ede, and the past participle is –ed.

Examples:

1st-person preterit

indicative

past participle

fremman (“to make”) fremede fremed

trymman (“to strengthen”) trymede trymed

nerian (“to save”) nerede nered

ferian (“to carry”) ferede fered

For verbs with originally long stems, the first person preterit indicative is syncopated: when the stem ends in a

voiced consonant, the preterit ending is –de; when the stem ends in a voiceless consonant, the preterit ending is

–te.

Voiced consonants: d, b, g, f (as MoE over), s (as MoE prize), ð (as MoE then), most others.

Voiceless consonants: t, p, c, f (as MoE father), s (as MoE soon), ð (as MoE thin), sc, h

The past participle is again –ed. Examples:

1st-person preterit

indicative

past participle

dēman (“to judge”) dēmde dēmed

dǽlan (“to share”) dǽlde dǽled

cemban (“to comb”) cembde cembed

ærnan (“to gallop”) ærnde ærned

cēpan (“to keep”) cēpte cēped

scierpan (“to sharpen”) scierpte scierped

ādwǽscan (“to quench”) ādwǽscte ādwǽsced

fyllan (“to fill”) [see 7] fylde

19 fylled

However, verbs whose stems end in d or t always syncopate the middle vowel of the preterit (and sometimes of

the past participle) regardless of whether the stem was originally short or long. In such cases, the preterit ending

becomes either –de or –te, and the ending of the past participle becomes –d(d) or –t(t).

17

Gemination, about which we’ll hear more next week, occurred when a single consonant (besides r) preceded by a short vowel was

‘geminated’ or doubled by a following j. 18

Or by a double consonant that is not the result of gemination, but this can only be determined by a knowledge of the etymology of

the particular word. This usually isn’t a problem, however, because it’s rare for double consonants not to be the product of gemination

(one key exception: fyllan [‘to fill’]). 19

Note that in these exceptional cases, the double consonant was simplified in the preterit.


Examples:

1st-person preterit

indicative

past participle

hreddan (“to save”) hredde hreded, hred(d)

settan (“to set”) sette seted, set(t)

lǽdan (“to lead”) lǽdde lǽded, lǽd(d)

mētan (“to meet”) mētte mēted, mēt(t)

Verbs whose stems end in d or t preceded by another consonant have only a single d or t in the preterit and

syncopated form of the past participle.

wendan (“to turn”) wende wended, wend

fæstan (“to make fast”) fæste fæsted, fæst

IRREGULAR CLASS I WEAK VERBS

INFINITIVE PRETERIT

SINGULAR

PAST

PARTICIPLE

sēċan (“to seek”) sōhte sōht

sellan (“to give”) sealde seald

cwellan (“to kill”) cwealde cweald

þenċan (“to think”) þōhte þōht

brenġan (“to bring”) brōhte brōht

þynċan (“to seem”) þūhte þūht

bycgan (“to buy”) bohte boht

wyrċan (“to work”) worhte worht

ASSIGNMENT: PRINCIPAL PARTS OF WEAK VERBS

Construct the principal parts for the following Class I Weak Verbs:

originally

short/long

1st-person

preterit

indicative

past

participle

originally

short/long

1st-person

preterit

indicative

past

participle

hǽlan (“to heal”) long hǽlde hǽled bētan (“to repair”) long bētte bēt(t)

herian (“to praise”) short herede hered hlynnan (“to roar”) short hlynnede hlynned

fēdan (“to feed”) long fēdde fēded, fēd(d) wēnan (“to think”) long wēnde wēned

sendan (“to send”) long sende sended, send erian (“to

plough”)

short erede ered

spryttan (“to

sprout”)

short sprytte spryted, spryt glengan (“to adorn”) long glengde glenged


RECAP: PRETERIT AND PAST PARTICIPLE OF CLASS I WEAK VERBS

From previous sessions, you may just be able to recall that we need to look at the stem of Class I weak verbs to

determine their preterit and past participle endings. In short, the rule went like this:

• If the stem contains a short vowel/diphthong followed by an r or a double consonant (= originally short-

stemmed), the first person preterit indicative is usually –ede, and the past participle is –ed.

• If the stem contains either (1) a long vowel or long diphthong or (2) a short vowel or short diphthong

followed by two different consonants (= originally long-stemmed), the preterit ending is either –de

or –te, and the past participle is again –ed.

Thus:

COMPLETE CONJUGATION OF CLASS I WEAK VERBS

Paradigms of originally short-stemmed verbs fremman (fremede fremed [“to make”])

and nerian (nerede nered [“to save”]),

and originally long-stemmed verb dēman (dēmde dēmed [“to judge”])

INDICATIVE

Present Singular Endings20

1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

fremme21

fremest

fremeþ

nerie

nerest

nereþ

dēme

dēmest, dēmst

dēmeþ, dēmþ

-e

-est

-eþ

Plural 1, 2, 3 fremmaþ neraþ dēmaþ -aþ

Preterit Singular 1

st person

2nd

person

3rd

person

fremede fremedest

fremede

nerede neredest

nerede

dēmde dēmdest

dēmde

-e

-est

-e

Plural 1, 2, 3 fremedon neredon dēmdon -on

SUBJUNCTIVE

Present Singular 1, 2, 3 fremme nerie dēme -e Plural 1, 2, 3 fremmen nerien dēmen -en

Preterit Singular 1, 2, 3 fremede nerede dēmde -e Plural 1, 2, 3 fremeden nereden dēmden -en

IMPERATIVE

Present Singular 2 freme nere dēm -e, — Plural 2 fremmaþ neriaþ dēmaþ -(i)aþ

INFINITIVE

Non-Inflected fremman nerian dēman Inflected

tō fremmenne tō nerienne tō dēmenne

PARTICIPLE

Present fremmende neriende dēmende

Past fremed nered dēmed

20

Remember that the present endings for Class I weak verbs are exactly the same as for strong verbs; only Class II and III have

different present forms. 21

You’ll note that fremman sometimes loses an m, nerian sometimes loses its i, and dēman sometimes loses an e in its inflectional

endings (e.g., dēmst and dēmþ); none of these should hinder you from recognising the verbs.


CLASS II AND III WEAK VERBS

Weak II verbs have –ian in the infinitive, -ode in the preterit indicative first person singular, and –od in the past

participle; there are only four Weak III verbs, and they are a bit anomolous. Just memorize them.

COMPLETE CONJUGATION OF CLASS II AND III WEAK VERBS

Paradigms of Class II.lufian (lufode lufod [“to love”])

and Class III.habban

libban

hycgan

secgan

(hæfde hæfd [“to have”]),

(lifde lifd [“to live”]),

(hodge hogod [“to think”]), and

(sæġde sæġd [“to say”])

INDICATIVE

CLASS II Endings CLASS III

Present Singular 1 lufie -ie hæbbe libbe hycge secge 2

3

lufast

lufaþ

-ast

-aþ

hæfst, hafast

hæfþ, hafaþ

liofast, lifast

liofaþ, lifaþ

hyġst, hogast

hyġþ, hogaþ

sæġst, seġ(e)st

sæġþ, seġ(e)þ

Plural 1, 2, 3 lufiaþ -iaþ hæbbaþ,

habbaþ

libbaþ hycgaþ secgaþ

Preterit Singular 1 lufode -e hæfde lifde, leofode hog(o)de sæġde, sǽde 2

3

lufodest

lufode

-est

-e

hæfdest

hæfde

[lifdest,

leofodest]22

lifde

hog(o)dest

hog(o)de

sæġdest,

sǽdest

sæġde, sǽde

Plural 1, 2, 3 lufodon -on hæfdon lifdon,

leofodon

hog(o)don sæġdon,

sǽdon

SUBJUNCTIVE


Present Sing 1, 2, 3 lufie -ie hæbbe libbe hycge secge

Plural 1, 2, 3 lufien -ien hæbben libben hycgen secgen

Preterit Sing 1, 2, 3 lufode -e hæfde lifde, leofode hog(o)de sæġde, sǽde

Plural 1, 2, 3 lufoden -en hæfden lifden,

leofoden

hog(o)den sæġden,

sǽden

IMPERATIVE


Present Singular 2 lufa -a hafa liofa, leofa hoga, hyġe saga, seġe

Plural 2 lufiaþ -iaþ habbaþ libbaþ, leofaþ hycgaþ secgaþ

INFINITIVE

CLASS II CLASS III

Non-Inflected lufian habban libban hycgan secgan Inflected

tō lufienne tō habbenne tō libbenne tō hycgenne tō secgenne

PARTICIPLE

CLASS II CLASS III

Present lufiende hæbbende libbende,

lifiende

hycgende secgende

Past lufod hæfd lifd hogod sæġd

22

This form not actually found in extant Old English literature.


OLD ENGLISH SOUND CHANGES

I. PRIMITIVE GERMANIC PERIOD (Primitive Germanic [Prim Gmc] to Germanic [Gmc])

1a. Umlaut of e to i The change of e to i was not a part of the OE umlaut, but a Primitive Germanic

change which preceded that by several centuries. It appears in the early stage of

all Germanic languages.

The change took place under the following circumstances:

1. e followed by a nasal and a consonant became Gmc i;

2. e followed by in the next syllable by i, ī, or j became Gmc i (i-Umlaut)

1b. Umlaut of eu to iu The apparent umlaut of ēo to īe which appears, e.g. in clīefþ, 3 sing. pres. indic.

of clēofan (2, to split), is really an unlaut of īo to īe. In Primitive Germanic

clēofan was *cleufanan and clīefþ was *cleufiþ. But the diphthong eu was

umlauted to iu in Primitive Germanic whenever it was followed in the next

syllable by i, ī, or j, so that *cleufiþ became *cliufiþ.

In OE these diphthongs developed respectively into ēo and īo, so that the

Prehistoric OE forms were *clēofan and *clīofiþ. Then in the period of OE

umlaut, *clīofiþ became *clīefiþ, and later clīefþ.

So: [Primitive Gmc: eu => iu] *cleufiþ => *cliufiþ =>

[OE period: i-Umlaut & loss of i] *clīofiþ => *clīefiþ => clīefþ

2a. Change of eu to eo

2b. Change of eu to iu

eu followed in the next syllable by a, ē, or ō became Gmc eo;

eu followed in the next syllable by i, ī, j or u became Gmc iu (i-Umlaut).

3. Change of e to i before

a nasal plus

another consonant

Prim Gmc e followed by a nasal plus another consonant or by a double nasal

became Gmc i.

* Grimm’s Law (1) Indo-European [IE] voiceless stops (p, t, k) became the corresponding

voiceless spirants (f, þ, h);

(2) IE voiced stops (b, d, g) became the corresponding voiceless stops (p, t, k);

(3) IE voice aspirated stops ([that is, voiced stops followed by h:] bh, dh, gh)

became the corresponding voiced spirants (b, ð, ġ).

* Verner’s Law However, there were exceptions, as noted by one Mr. Verner: in the middle and

end of words, IE p, t, k, and s did not simply develop, as expected, into Prim Gmc

f, þ, h, and s. Instead,

IE p => Prim Gmc f => Later Prim Gmc b => OE voiced f (i.e., v)

IE t => Prim Gmc þ => Later Prim Gmc ð => OE d

IE k => Prim Gmc h => Later Prim Gmc ġ => OE g

IE s => Prim Gmc s => Later Prim Gmc z => OE r

Thus:

Prim Gmc Later Prim Gmc Gmc OE

*wurþūn => *wurðūn => *wūrðun => wurdon

*fluhūn => *fluġūn => *flūġun => flugon

*wǽsūn => *wǽzūn => *wǽzun => wǽron

II. WEST GERMANIC PERIOD (Germanic [Gmc] to West Germanic [WGmc])

Gemination

Single consonants (except r) preceded by a short vowel were geminated, or

doubled, by a following j.

Gmc *satjan => WGmc *sattjan

[=> PrehOE *sættjan => *settian => OE settan]

Gmc *habjan => WGmc *habbjan

[=> PrehOE *hæbbjan => *hebbian => OE hebban]


III. OLD ENGLISH PERIOD (Prehistoric Old English [PrehOE (c. 500-700 A.D.)] to Early West Saxon [EWS (c. 900 A.D.)])

1a. Change of a to æ One of the earliest OE sound changes; a remained a only when it was followed by

w or a nasal, or when it occurred before a single consonant followed by a, o, or u

(save for h + a, o, or u). Elsewhere a became æ. So:

PrehOE *dag => OE dæġ

PrehOE *dagas => OE dagas (remained the same, because a followed by a single

consonant + a; same with

PrehOE *daga / *dagum => OE daga / dagum (unchanged).

1b. Change of a to o When a was followed by a nasal (m or n), it did not become æ, but either

remained a or was changed to o. o is more common in EWS; a is standard in

LWS.

2. Breaking The front vowels æ, e, and i, when followed by certain consonants, were

converted into diphthongs as follows:

Before r plus a consonant (exluding j), l plus a consonant, or h,

(1) æ [from older a] became ea

(2) e became eo

(3) i became io

[(3b) ī became īo (which later became ēo) before h]

3. Diphthongization by

initial palatals

æ, ǽ, and e, when preceded by the initial palatals ċ, ġ, or sc, were changed into

diphthongs as follows:

(1) æ became ea

(2) ǽ became ēa

(3) e became ie [LWS i or y]

4. i-Umlaut See above, VI.2-3. To summarise: Umlaut is a change produced in a vowel by

some other sound which follows it; i-Umlaut was a change produced ina vowel or

diphthong by an i, ī, or j in the following syllable. The result: the Great Sound

Shift (refer to diagrams on VI.3).

5. Loss of final u and i

after long syllables

Remember how the Nom/Acc plural of neuter nouns or the Nom/Acc singular of

feminine nouns can either have no ending or end in –u (see I.2 above)? These

forms lost their –u ending after long-syllable stems.23

Thus:

Neuter plural nouns: ðā limu (“the limbs”); ðā bān_ (“the bones”)

Feminine singular nouns: sēo ġiefu (“the gift”); sēo lār_ (“the teaching”)

Final i also disappeared after a long syllable.

6. Syncopation On syncopation, see above, VI.3-4. In short, syncopation is the loss of a vowel

between two consonants; in Old English, this is seen particularly in (1) the 2nd

-

and 3rd

-person present indicative forms of strong verbs, and (2) the preterit

indicative forms of weak verbs.

7. loss of medial j Medial j disappeared after all consonants except single r preceded by a short

vowel or short diphthong; when retained it is written i.

8. Change of unstressed

i to e

Final unstressed i, if it had not disappeared after a long syllable (see 5. above),

became e;

medial i became e except when followed by ċ, ġ, sc, or ng.

9. Loss of intervocalic

h

As we shall see below, the loss of an h between two vowels contracted those

vowels into a single long vowel or diphthong; those verbs which show

23

Exception: dissyllabic neuters ending in –e, like rīċe, may or may not have the ending –u in the Nom/Acc plural.


irregularities as a result are called Contract Verbs.

10. Change of īo,

io to ēo, eo

In Early West Saxon texts ([EWS] c. 900), īo and ēo are often used

interchangeably; by the time we come to Late West Saxon ([LWS] c. 1050), ēo

has become the predominant form.

SAMPLE EXERCISES

1. Convert the following Primitive Germanic forms into the Old English forms that would occur in the language

of the year 900 (Early West Saxon):

*werpiþ *satjan(an) *teuhan(an) *tūnjan(an)

*setjan(an)24

*sehiþ *farjan(an) *framjan(an)

*felhiþ *teuhiþ *fleutan(an) *dōmjan(an)

*fleutiþ *bendan(an) *stapjan(an) *fulljan(an)

2. Convert the following Prehistoric Old English forms into the forms that would occur in the language of the

year 900 (Early West Saxon):

*faht *ēaċjan *dōide *halp

*ċǽce *ġǽton *flīohiþ *mahte

*lārjan *langira *sihiþ *ġǽr

*ġellan *slahan *manni *fehtan

*swarjan *sceran *dōmiþ *ahta

*huġi *scǽp *sōċjan *sceld

*ġirnjan *hāljan *falh *ġeldan

*sehan *bandjan *þīhan *þīhiþ

*flēohan *huldi *wrēohu *aldista

*morġin *wirþiþ *starf *sculdiġ

PRETERIT-PRESENT (OR STRONG-WEAK) VERBS

Once upon a time, there was a group of strong verbs whose preterit indicative and preterit subjunctive forms

acquired a present meaning. These verbs then formed weak preterit forms based on their strong plural presents.

Take the verb munan, for example: originally, man and munon were the 3rd

-singular and plural preterit

indicative forms of a strong verb meaning “to remember.”. Their meaning changed from preterit to present, and

a new weak 3rd

-singular preterit indicative—munde—was formed from the stem of munon. So:

• In an originally strong verb, preterits change to presents;

• The new strong presents beget new weak preterits.

• The result: a strong-weak, or preterit-present verb.

The Principal Parts, therefore, are (1) the infinitive, (2) the 1st- and 3

rd-person present indicative, (3) the plural

present indicative, and (4) the 3rd

-person singular preterit indicative.

These are the most important pret-pres verbs to know:

Infinitive PRESENT

1/3 singular

PRESENT

plural

PRETERIT

1/3 singular āgan (“to possess”) āh āgon āhte

cunnan (“to know, be able”) cann, conn cunnon cūðe

dugan (“to avail”) dēag dugon dohte

durran (“to dare”) dearr durron dorste

magan (“to be able”) mæġ magon meahte, mihte

mōtan (“to be permitted”) mōt mōton mōste

24

The letters in parentheses represent a syllable that was lost, in all probability, before the end of the Germanic period.


munan (“to remember”) man, mon munon, munaþ munde

(ġe)nugan (“to suffice”) neah nugon nohte

sculan (“to be under obligation”) sceal sculon sc(e)olde

ðurfan (“to need”) ðearf ðurfon ðorfte

unnan (“to grant”) ann, onn unnon ūðe

witan (“to know”) wāt witon wisse, wiste

nitan (“not to know”) nāt niton niste

FYI, if you want to organise them this way:

Originally Class [1] āgan, witan [4] munan, sculan

[2] dugan [5] magan, (ġe)nugan

[3] cunnan, durran, ðurfan, unnan [6] mōtan

[7] [none]

CONJUGATION OF PRETERIT-PRESENT VERBS

INDICATIVE

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Singular witan dugan cunnan sculan magan mōtan 1

2

3

wāt wāst

wāt

dēag

--25

dēag

cann, conn

canst, const

cann, conn

sceal

scealt

sceal

mæġ meaht

mæġ

mōt mōst

mōt

—26

-(s)t

—3 P

RE

SE

NT

Plural 1, 2, 3 witon dugon cunnon sculon magon mōton -on3

Singular 1

2

3

wisse, wiste

--2

wisse,wiste

dohte

dohtest

dohte

cūþe

cūþest

cūþe

sceolde

sceoldest

sceolde

meahte, mihte

meahtest, mihtest

meahte, mihte

mōste

mōstest

mōste

-e27

-est4

-e4

PR

ET

ER

IT

Plural 1, 2, 3 wisson,

wiston

dohton cūþon sceoldon meahton, mihton mōston -on

SUBJUNCTIVE

Sing. 1, 2, 3 wite duge, dyġe cunne scyle, scule mæġe, muge mōte -e

pre

s

.

Plural 1, 2, 3 witen dugen, dyġen cunnen scylen, sculen mæġen, mugen mōten -en

Sing. 1, 2, 3 wisse, wiste dohte cūþe sceolde meahte, mihte mōste -e

Pre

t

Plural 1, 2, 3 wissen,

wisten

dohten cūþen sceolden meahten, mihten mōsten -en

IMPERATIVE Singular 2 wite -- -- -- -- -- —

pre

s

.

Plural 2 witaþ -- -- -- -- -- -aþ

INFINITIVE Uninflected witan dugan cunnan sculan magan mōton

Inflected

tō witenne,

tō witanne

-- tō cunnenne,

tō cunnanne

-- -- --

PARTICIPLE Present witende dugende -- -- -- --

Past witen -- Cunnen, cūþ -- -- mōten

25

Omitted forms are not actually found in the extant Old English corpus. 26

Note the strong-verb preterit endings that have moved to the present. 27

Note the weak-verb preterit endings.


CONTRACT VERBS

Around the beginning of the historical period of Old English and after the period of i-Umlaut, intervocalic h was lost and the two

vowels thus brought together contracted into a single long vowel or diphthong. As a result, irregularities arose in those strong verbs

whose stems ended in –h. The principal parts of the most important of these contract verbs are as follows:

Infinitive 1/3 Sing

Pret Indic

Plural

Pret Indic

Past Ptcp

Class I ðēon (“to thrive”) [from Prehistoric OE *ðīhan] ðāh ðigon ðiġen

wrēon (“to cover”) [from Prehistoric OE *wrīhan] wrāh wrigon wriġen

Class II flēon (“to flee”) [from Prehistoric OE *flēohan] flēah flugon flogen

tēon (“to draw”) [from Prehistoric OE *tēohan] tēah tugon togen

Class III fēolan (“to reach”) [from Prehistoric OE *felhan] fealh fulgon fōlgen

[Class IV] --

Class V sēon (“to see”) [from Prehistoric OE *sehan] seah sāwon sewen

fēon (“to

rejoice”)

[from Prehistoric OE *fehan] feah fǽgon --

Class VI slēan (“to strike”) [from Prehistoric OE *slæhan] slōg slōgon slagen

ðwēan (“to wash”) [from Prehistoric OE *ðwæhan] ðwōg ðwōgon ðwagen

Class VII fōn (“to seize”) [from Prehistoric OE *fōhan] fēng fēngon fongen,

fangen

hōn (“to hang”) [from Prehistoric OE *hōhan] hēng hēngon hongen,

hangen

CONJUGATION OF CONTRACT VERBS INDICATIVE

1 2 [3] [4] 5 6 7 Singular ðēon flēon sēon slēan fōhan 1

2

3

ðēo

ðī(e)hst

ðī(e)hþ

flēo

flī(e)hst

flī(e)hþ

sēo

si(e)hst

si(e)hþ

slēa

si(e)hst

si(e)hþ

fō fēhst

fēhþ

—

-st

-þ PR

ES

EN

T

Plural 1, 2, 3 ðēoþ flēoþ sēoþ slēaþ fōþ -(a)þ Singular

1

2

3

ðāg, ðāh

ðige

ðāg, ðāh

flēah

fluge

flēah

sæh, seah

sǽðe

sæh, seah

slōg

slōge

slōg

fēng

fēnge

fēng

—

-e

—

PR

ET

ER

IT

Plural 1, 2, 3 ðigon flugon sāwon slōgon fēngon -on SUBJUNCTIVE

Sing. 1, 2, 3 ðēo flēo sēo slēa fō —

pre

s

.

Plural 1, 2, 3 ðēon flēon sēon slēan fōn -n

Sing. 1, 2, 3 ðige fluge sāwe slōge fēnge -e

pre

t

Plural 1, 2, 3 ðigen flugen sāwen slōgen fēngen -en IMPERATIVE

Singular 2 ðēoh flēoh seoh sleah fōh —

pre

s

.

Plural 2 ðēoþ flēoþ sēoþ slēaþ fōþ -aþ INFINITIVE

Uninflected ðēon flēon sēon slēan fōn

Inflected

tō ðēonne tō flēonne tō sēonne tō slēanne tō fōhanne

PARTICIPLE

Present ðēonde flēonde sēonde slēande fōnde

Past ðiġen flogen sewen slagen fongen,

fangen


AN INTRODUCTION TO OLD ENGLISH METRICS

I. WORD ACCENT (SENTENCE STRESS)

A . Syllables 1. Word Division

General rule for dividing words into syllables: any non-initial syllable begins with one or more

consonants regardless of the length of the preceeding or succeeding vowel. Thus sīþas (“journeys”)

is divided sī-þas, and healdan (“to rule”) is divided heal-dan.28

2. Open and closed syllables

General rule: it takes one consonant to close a syllable at the end of a word or member of a compound; it

takes two consonants to close a syllable in the middle of a word. Thus sīþ (“journey”), wīd–cūþ

(“well-known” or “famous”), and heal-dan are closed syllables, even though the ld of heal-dan

actually ends one syllable and begins another. Sī-þas, by contrast, is an open syllable.

3. Long and short syllables

General rule: a syllable is long if it contains a long vowel or diphthong (such as ǽ), or is closed by a

consonant; otherwise it is short. Thus dæg (“day”) is long, because it is closed by a terminal

consonant; þan-cas (“thoughts”) and sōþ (“true”) are long as well. Da-gas (“days”), however, is

short.

4. Syllable Stress29

General rule: most words are stressed on the first syllable.

Main exception: Prefixes.

Prepositional Prefixes before

Nouns: Stressed


Verbs: Unstressed

æ-

æt-

and-

bī-

or-

ūþ-

wiþer-

ǽ-wielm

ǽt-spyr-ning

ánd-sa-ca

bí-gen-ġa

ór-þanc

úþ-gen-ġe

wí-þer-sa-ca

fountain

offence

apostate

inhabitant

mind

evanescent

adversary

a-

ot-

on-

be-

a-

oþ-

wiþ-

a-wéal-lan

ot-spúr-nan

on-sá-ca

be-gán

a-þén-ċan

oþ-gán

wiþ-sá-can

well up

stumble

deny

occupy

devise

escape

refuse

Exceptions: be- before a noun is often

unstressed (e.g. be-bód command);


Adverbs: Unstressed for- is occasionally so (e.g.,

for-bód prohibition)

to-dǽġ be-fó-ran be-hín-dan

un- Usually accented, save where it

stands for the prepositional prefix

on- or an-

ġe- Never accented

Secondary stress always falls on the first syllable of the second element of a compound when both the

elements retain their full semantic meaning: gámolfèax grey-haired; fýrhèard hardened by fire;

fýrġenstrèam mountain-stream. Syllables with secondary stress are referred to as half-lifts.

28

Stevick, Firstbook, p. 45 and Mitchell and Robinson, Guide, p. 20; cf. Pope, ‘Versification’, p. 106. 29

For more on syllable accent, see Campbell, Old English Grammar, pp. 30-5.


B. Words30

Stressed Words

Half-stressed Words Unstressed Words

Words that are almost always bear

primary stress:

• All words with a significant

amount of meaning

• Nouns

• Adjectives

• Most participles

• Most infinitives

Words that sometimes bear primary

stress, depending on their

position in and importance to

the verse:

• Many adverbs (especially if

they have more than one

syllable)

• Finite verbs (i.e., verbs

inflected for person, tense, etc.)

• Personal pronouns (he/she/it)

Words that usually bear

secondary- or half-stress:

• Adverbs

• Finite verbs

Note: these can be “promoted”

to primary stress if they are

next to a non-stressed word,

and “demoted” to non-

stress if next to a stressed

word.

Never stressed:

• Inflectional endings in final

syllables

Almost never stressed:

• Prepositions

• Demonstrative pronouns

• Possessive pronouns

• Relative pronouns

• Conjunctions

• Articles

Note: Prepositions, demonstrative

pronouns and possessive

pronouns can take full stress if

they are emphasised by being

placed somewhere other than

directly before their objects

Any rule for sentence stress may be broken through special rhetorical emphasis.

Look for the words that are important to the meaning of the verse.

II. METRICAL STRESS

General rules:

• Lines of Old English poetry are composed of two half-lines or “verses”; lines are therefore also known as

verse-pairs.

• The first verse in the pair is the on-verse, or “a” half-line; the second is the off-verse, or “b” half-line. These

are separated by a pause, or caesura.

• Each half-line or verse must have at least four syllables.

• Each half-line or verse must have at least two stresses.

• Metrical stress usually falls only on a single long syllable or “resolved” syllables.

It works like this: according to the rules of sentence stress, it is the first syllable of words that is usually

stressed (see I.d. above). Not all first syllables, however, are long. For metrical purposes, therefore,

short, stressed syllables are counted along with their following syllables as a single beat, being treated as

if they are a single long syllable. These are called “resolved” syllables.

Exceptions: Types A4, C2, and D3 [RARE] below.

SIEVER’S FIVE TYPES (as modified by Pope, “Old English Versification”)

ABBREVIATIONS: Brun

Beo

Cæd

Dream

= The Battle of Brunanburh

= Beowulf

= Cædmon’s Hymn

= The Dream of the Rood

Mald

Seaf

Wand

= The Battle of Maldon

= The Seafarer

= The Wanderer

30

For more on word accent, see Campbell, Old English Grammar, pp. 35-7.


KEY

. ′ . = lift (a long stressed syllable) | = foot division

= lift (a short stressed syllable) – = compound word division

. ` . = half-lift (a long syllable with half- or secondary stress) (e.g., wīg–fruma “war-chief”)

- = syllable division

Italics = stressed syllable

Dotted underline = half-stressed syllable

x = drop (unstressed syllable[s];

in this schema, x may be expanded to as many as seven

unstressed syllables, except [1] at the end of a verse,

where no more than one unstressed syllable may

occur, or [2] in anacrusis)

= “resolved” lift (two syllables, the first being short and stressed, counted together as one beat)

= “resolved” half-lift (two syllables, the first short and half-stressed, counted together as one beat)

Types A-E, listed in order of frequency:

TYPE A: . ′ .x |. ′ .x (“falling-falling”: lift, drop; lift, drop)

Note: the first drop can have up to five syllables: . ′ .x (x x x x x) |. ′ .x

Also: like Type D, Type A can include anacrusis, a prefix of one to three unstressed syllables that are

not counted when scanning the line.

A1 basic form: . ′ .x |. ′ .x ē-ċe Dryh-ten (“eternal Lord” [Caed 4a])

with Resolution:31

x | x cy-ning and æ-ðe-ling (“king and prince” [Brun 58a])

with Anacrusis: x |. ′ .x x x x x |. ′ .x ġe-bid-daþ him to þis-sum bēac-ne

(“they pray to this sign” [Dream 83a])

with both: x | x x x x |. ′ .x ġe-bæd iċ mē þā to þam bēa-me

(“I then prayed to the Tree” [Dream 122a])

Alliteration: on first lift or (in the on-verse) on both lifts.

A2a half-lift replaces first drop (i.e., a half-stress replaces the first unstressed syllable):

. ′ .. ` .|. ′ .x un-rīm her-ġes (“countless of the army [lay dead]” [Brun 31b])

with Resolution: . ′ . |. ′ .x ferhþ–lo-ca frēo-riġ (“[His fate is] a frozen heart” [Wand 33a])

A2b half-lift replaces second drop (i.e., half-stress replaces second unstressed syllable):

. ′ .x |. ′ .. ` . fǽ-ġer feorh–bold (“fair dwelling of the soul” [Dream 73a])

with Resolution: . ′ . x x |. ′ . heal-de his hord–co-fan (“[The mark of a man is that he]

guards his thoughts” [Wand 14a])

[this resolved form often indistinguishable from subtype D*2]

A2ab half-lifts replace both drops:

. ′ .. ` .|. ′ .. ` . brēost–hord blōd–rēow (“bloodthirsty heart” [Beo 1719a])

with Resolution: . ′ . |. ′ .. ` . nýd–wra-cu nīþ–grim (“cruel persecution” [Beo 193a])

A3 half-lift replaces first lift (i.e., half-stress replaces first stressed syllable);

this form is usually found only in the on-verse:

. ` .x x |. ′ .x Nū scu-lon he-rian32

(“Now we must praise [the guardian of the

heavenly kingdom]” [Cæd 1a])

Alliteration: on second lift only.

31

I.e., two syllables, the first being short and stressed, counted together as one beat. 32

In weak verbs of the first class, like herian (‘to praise’), the ‘i’ functions as a consonant, like ‘y’ in modern English ‘year’; as a

result, herian is pronounced heh-ryahn and only has two syllables. In weak verbs of the second class, however, like lufian (‘to love’),

although they look the same, the ‘i’ functions as a vowel and usually takes secondary stress; in consequence, lu-fi-an has three

syllables (Pope, ‘Versification’, p. 110, n. 24). (This is extra strange because the syllable -an doesn’t begin with a consonant.) Don’t

worry; you may be tearing your hair out now, but this will all come with time.


A4 second lift consists of single short syllable (variants of A1, A2, and A3):

Short A1: x x | x fæ-ġe-re ġe-try-med (“[When he had] fairly arrayed [that

host for battle . . .]” [Mald 22b])

Short A2a: . ′ .. ` .| x Bord–weall clu-fon (“They split the shield-wall” [Brun 5b])

Short A3: x |. ′ .x x x ġe-siehþ him be-fo-ran (“He sees before him . . .” [Wand 46a])

A* additional half-lift (lift, half-lift, drop; lift, drop) [RARE]: . ′ .. ` .x |. ′ .x

TYPE B: x. ′ .| x. ′ . (“rising-rising”: drop, lift; drop, lift)

Alliteration: on first lift alone or (in the on-verse) on both lifts.

The first drop can have up to five or six syllables:33

(x x x x x) x. ′ .| x. ′ . The second drop is limited to one or two syllables. Thus:

B1 one syllable in second drop:

x. ′ .| x. ′ . þā mid-dan–ġeard (“the earth” [Cæd 7a])

with Resolution: x x | x. ′ . and his su-nu for-lēt (“and he abandoned his son” [Brun

42b])

B2 two syllables in second drop:

x. ′ .| x x. ′ . Mē sen-don to þē (“they sent me to you” [Mald 29a])

with Resolution: x x x x x | x x. ′ . þā-ra–þe him biþ eġesa to mē (“[I may heal each] of

those who hold me in awe” [Dream 86b])

TYPE C: x. ′ .|. ′ .x (“clashing”: drop, lift; lift, drop)

Alliteration: usually on first lift alone; occasionally (in the on-verse) on both lifts.

The first drop can have up to six syllables: (x x x x x) x. ′ .|. ′ .x

The second has one long or short syllable. Thus:

C1 long syllable (or its resolution) in second lift:

x. ′ .|. ′ .x fram cnēo–māg-um (“from [their] ancestors” [Brun 8a])

with Resolution: x x x | x þam–þe þǽr bry-ne þo-lo-don (“[Joy was renewed] to those

who had suffered fire there” [Dream 149b])

C2 short syllable in second lift:

x. ′ .| x′. on camp–ste-de (“in [the] battle-field” [Brun 49a])

TYPE D: . ′ .|. ′ .. ` .x (“falling by stages”: lift; lift, half-lift, drop) OR

. ′ .|. ′ .x. ` . (“broken fall”: lift; lift, drop, half-lift)

Alliteration: when single, on first lift alone; in the on-verse, may be on both lifts.

Like Type D, Type A can include anacrusis, a prefix of one to three unstressed syllables that are not

counted when scanning the line.

[D1-3: “falling by stages”; drop limited to one syllable]

D1 basic form; half-lift in the third position and long:

. ′ .|. ′ .. ` .x Frēa æl-mih-tiġ (“[the] Lord Almighty” [Cæd 9b])

with Resolution: |. ′ .. ` .x sca-du forþ ēo-de (“darkness went forth” [Dream 54b])

33

Pope says six (‘Versification’, p. 111); Mitchell and Robinson say five (Guide, p. 164).


D2 half-lift in the third position and short:

. ′ .|. ′ .

x Weorc Wuldor34

—Fæ-der (“[the] work of the

Glorious Father” [Cæd 3a])

with Resolution: . ′ .|.

x bord ha-fe-no-de (“He grasped the shield” [Mald 42b])

D3 half-lift in the third position and long; second lift short [RARE]: . ′ .|. . ` .x

[D4: “broken fall”; drop may have two syllables]

D4 basic form: . ′ .|. ′ .x. ` . hār hil-de–rinc (“grey-haired warrior” [Brun 39a])

with Resolution: |. ′ .x. ` . cy-ning ūt ġe-wāt (“out went the king” [Brun 35b])

D*1, D*2, AND D*4 expanded forms of D1, D2, and D4; extra drop of one to two syllables before the first

lift.35

For example:

D*2 . ′ .x |. ′ .

x beor-na bēag–ġie-fa (“[Æthelstan,] ring-giver to men”

[Brun 2a]) [cf. A2b above]

TYPE E: . ′ .. ` .x | . ′ . (“fall and rise”: lift, half-drop; drop, lift)

The first drop can have up to two syllables: . ′ .. ` .x (x) | . ′ . Alliteration: on first lift alone or (in the on-verse) on both lifts.

. ′ .. ` .x | . ′ . mann–cyn-nes Weard (“Guardian of mankind” [Cæd 7b])

with Resolution: . ` .x |. ′ . heo-fon–rī-ċes Weard (“Guardian of the heavenly

kingdom” [Cæd 1b])

E* expanded form of E; extra drop after first lift [RARE]: . ′ .x. ` .x | . ′ .

III. ALLITERATION General rules:

• One of the two stressed syllables in the first half-line must alliterate with the first stressed syllable in the

second half-line.

• Both stressed syllables in the first half-line commonly alliterate with each other.

• Only the first stressed syllable in the second half-line may alliterate with the first half-line. Put another way,

the first lift in the off-verse must alliterate, and the second must not.

• Palatal (“soft”) g and gutteral (“hard”) ġ alliterate, as do c and ċ, though this is not common.

• Sp only alliterates with sp; sc alliterates with sc.

• A vowel alliterates with any other vowel; this is called “vocalic alliteration”. The poets actually tend to

avoid the alliteration of identical vowels, and make no distinction between simple vowels and diphthongs.

Alliteration can be a great help in quickly identifying the metrical stress of a verse, since usually those syllables

that alliterate are stressed. But beware! On the one hand, this won’t help you identify the second lift in the

off-verse, since this lift cannot alliterate. What is more, you may find that the poet throws in extra

alliteration on non-stressed syllables just for fun. Don’t assume that just because something alliterates, it

automatically must be stressed.

Take line 29 of Beowulf, for example:

. ′ . x (x) |. ′ .x (x) x . ′ .| x . ′ . swǽ-se ge-sī-þas, swā hē sel-fa bæd,

Dear companions just as he himself commanded

[bore him to the sea]

34

Here pronounced as one syllable (Wuldr) rather than two (Wul-dor). 35

Three syllables are possible, but rare; see Pope, ‘Versification’, p. 114 and Mitchell and Robinson, Guide, p. 165.


Here, the first stressed syllable in the off-verse (which must alliterate with one of the stressed syllables in

the on-verse) is selfa, not swā. As a result, only the s-alliteration in gesīþas and selfa counts; the alliteration

of sw- in swǽse and swā is simply there to confus—that is, to further ornament the verse-pair.

This said, extra alliteration that counts—that is, extra alliteration in the four stressed syllables—can occur; keep

an eye peeled for it. Thus, in addition to the three basic possibilities for single alliteration (where a = an

alliterating syllable, and x and y = miscellaneous non-alliterating syllables):

/ / / / (1) a a : a x Me-to-des meah-ta and his mōd–ġe-þanc “[Now we must praise] the might and

purpose of the Creator” (Cæd 2)

/ / / / (2) a x : a y ē-ċe Drýh-ten, ōr as-teal-de “Eternal Lord, he established the

beginning” (Cæd 4)

/ / / / (3) x a : a y Nū scu-lon he-rian

36 heo-fon–rī-ċes Weard “Now we must praise the Guardian of the

heavenly kingdom” (Cæd 1)

There are three possibilities for double alliteration:

Crossed Alliteration / / / / (5) a b : a b Norþ–man-na bre-gu, nīe-de ġe-bǽ-ded “The North-mens’ chief [was there put

to flight], constrained by need [to

retreat to the ship]” (Brun 33)

Tranverse Alliteration \ / / / (6) b a : b a Swel-ce þā ġe-brō-ðor bē-ġen æt-sam-ne “Likewise the brothers both together

then [sought their home]” (Brun 57)

Crossed Alliteration with Extra Secondary Stress / / \ / / (7) a a b : a b ba-ðian brim–fug-las, brǽ-dan feð-ra “[He sees before him] birds bathing

with wings outstretched” (Wand 47)

C1: x . ′ . x A1: . ′ . x (x) . ′ . x

IV. ÞE VONKIAN ME-ÞOD FOR MUD- DLING ÞROUGH MET- RICS

Step One: Divide the verse into syllables.

Step Two: Identify primary stresses:

Look for alliteration;

Look for long syllables;

Look for key (“meaningful”) words;

If the stress falls on a short syllable, see if you

can “resolve” the syllable.

Step Three: If there are compound words in the

verse, mark the first syllable of the second part

of the compound with secondary stress.

Step Four: Write out the metre with x’s and stress-

marks, then look at your list of Types and see

what you got! Should your proposed metre not fit

any of the Types, see if you can scan the line

another way.

36

On the syllabic division of herian, see note 5 above.


IV. EXAMPLE

Klaeber, Beowulf, 3rd

ed. (London, 1950), lines 1-10

Trans. Seamus Heaney (London, 1999)

C2: x. ′ .| x C2: x. ′ .| x

Hwæt, Wē Gār–De-na in gēar-da-gum,37

1

Listen! We of Spear-Danes in olden days So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by

D3: . ′ .| . ` .x A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x

þēod-cy-nin-ga þrym ge-frū-non, 2 and the kings who ruled them had courage

of kings glory [we] have heard and greatness.

C1: (x) x |. ′ .x A1: . ′ .x |. x

hū ðā æ-þe-lin-gas el-len fre-me-don! 3 We have heard of those princes’ heroic

how the nobles [deeds of] valour did! campaigns.

C1: x. ′ .|. ′ .x A1: x |. ′ .x

Oft Scyld Scē-fing scea-þe-na þrēa-tum, 4 There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of

Often Scyld Scefing of enemies bands many tribes,

A1: x |. ′ .x E: . ` .x (x) | . ′ .

mo-ne-gum mǽg-þum, meo-do-set-la of-tēah,38

5 a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging

many tribes of mead-benches deprived among foes.

A1: . ′ .x (x) |. ′ .x B1: (x) x. ′ .| x. ′ .

eg-so-de eor-las, syð-ðan ǽ-rest wearð 6 This terror of the hall-troops had come

[he] terrified warriors after first [he] was far.

A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x B1: (x) x | x. ′ .

fēa-sceaft fun-den; hē þæs frōf-re ge-bād, 7 A foundling to start with, he would

destitute found he this solace experienced flourish later on

A1: . ′ .x (x) |. ′ .x E: . ′ .. ` .x | . ′ .

wēox un-der wolc-num, weorð-myn-dum þāh, 8 as his powers waxed and his worth was

[he] grew under [the] skies with honours [he] prospered proved.

A2a: . ′ .. ` .(x) |. ′ .x OR

A3?: . ` .x (x) |. ′ .x39 D1: . ′ .|. ′ .. ` .x.

oð þæt him ǽg-hwylc ymb-sit-ten-dra 9 In the end each clan on the outlying

until to him every one of [the] neighbouring peoples coasts

C1: (x) x. ′ .|. ′ .x A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x

o-fer hron-rā-de hý-ran scol-de, 10 beyond the whale-road had to yield

ofer [the] whale-road to obey had to him

A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x C2: (x) x. ′ .| x

gom-ban gyl-dan. Þæt wæs gōd cy-ning! 11 and begin to pay tribute. That was

tribute to pay. That was [a] good king! one good king.

37

Note the transverse alliteration here (Gār-Dena . . . gēardagum) as well as in verses 32 and 34. 38

Oftēon takes the dative of person and genitive of thing: to deprive someone (dative) of something (genitive). 39

Remember that with Type A3 alliteration can only take place on the second lift; oð, therefore, which could alliterate with the other

words beginnng with a vowel, would not count.


V. PRACTICE

Klaeber, Beowulf, lines 26-36 Trans. Seamus Heaney (London, 1999)

B1: (x) x. ′ .| x. ′ . C1: (x) x. ′ .|. ′ .x

Him ðā Scyld ge-wāt tō ge-scæp-hwī-le 26 Shield was still thriving when his time

[him] then Scyld departed at [the] fated hour came

A2a: . ` .|. ′ .x C1: x. ′ .|. ′ .x

fe-la-hrōr fē-ran on Frēan wǽ-re; 27 and he crossed over into the Lord’s

strong [he] went into of the Lord [the] keeping keeping.

a: x x x x x |. ′ .x [or A3?] C1: x | x

hī hy-ne þa æt-bǽ-ron tō bri-mes fa-ro-ðe, 28 His warrior band did what he bade them

They him then bore to of the sea [the] current

A1: . ′ .x (x) |. ′ .x B1: (x) x. ′ .| x. ′ .

swǽ-se ge-sī-þas, swā hē sel-fa bæd,40

29 when he laid down the law among the

dear companions as he himself commanded Danes:

B1: (x) x. ′ .| x. ′ . D1: |. ′ .. 4 .x

þen-den wor-dum wēold wi-ne Scyl-din-ga— 30 they shouldered him out to the sea’s

while words [he] wielded [the] friend of the Scyldings flood,

D2: . ′ .| . ′ . x A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x

lēof land-fru-ma lan-ge āh-te. 31 the chief they revered who had long

beloved land-chieftan long [he] ruled. ruled them.

B1: (x) x. ′ .| x. ′ . A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x

Þǽr æt hy-ðe stōd hrin-ged-stef-na, 32

There in [the] harbour stood [a] ring-prowed ship A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour,

A1: . ′ .x (x) |. ′ .x E: . 4 .x | . ′ ..

ī-sig ond ūt-fūs, æ-þe-lin-ges fær; 33

icy and eager to set out of [the] noble vessel ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.

B: x. ′ .| x. ′ . A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x

ā-lē-don þā lēof-ne þēo-den, 34 They stretched their beloved lord in

[they] laid then [their] beloved lord his boat,

A1: . ′ .x |. ′ .x C2: x. ′ .| x

bēa-ga bryt-tan, on bearm sci-pes, 35

of rings giver in [the] bosom of the ship laid out by the mast, amidships,

A1: . ′ .x (x) |. ′ .x

mǽr-ne be mæs-te. 36

illustrious [man] by [the] mast. 41

the great ring-giver.

40

Note that in metrical terms, only the s-alliteration in gesīþas and selfa counts, for these contain stressed syllables; the alliteration of

sw- in swǽse and swā is simply an added bonus. 41

WORKS CITED: Campbell, A., Old English Grammar (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1959); Mitchell, B. and Robinson, F. C., A Guide to Old

English, 5th ed. (Oxford, 1992); Pope, J. C., ‘Old English Versification’, in his Seven Old English Poems (New York, 1966), pp. 97-

138; Stevick, R. D., A Firstbook of Old English <faculty.washington.edu/stevickr/graphotactics/sounds_contents.html>. For a

thorough understanding of metre, also work through Bliss, A., Metre of Beowulf (Oxford, 1958), which is not long. For an overview of

studies on metrics, see Donoghue, D., ‘Old English Meter’, ANQ 3 (1990), 69-74. My thanks also are due to Fulk, R., ‘Essentials of

Old English Metrics’ (compiled handout, Beowulf seminar 1995-96).


Appendix:

GUIDELINES FOR LOGICAL ARGUMENTATION, GRAMMAR, AND MECHANICS

I. THE THINGS MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW (in this context, in any event)

1. Every word, every line, every paragraph should further your thesis. Craft each phrase with these two goals in

mind: Control and Precision. Ask: “Is this the best word to use? “How does this statement advance my

argument?”

2. Prove what you assert. If you don’t intend to prove something, either be silent on the point or modify your

assertion to something you can and will prove.

• “Both of these monsters are also described in a way that would have resonated with the listeners of the

period.” [Where’s your proof? The assertion assumes facts not in evidence.]

3. Beware of making sweeping, universal, absolute assertions. While such statements may be true, they are far

more difficult to prove than cautious and precise assertions that can be defended with textual evidence.

Leave room for the exceptions.

VULNERABLE ASSERTIONS:

• “Everyone was happy in those days”;

• “Peasants were always illiterate in the Middle Ages”;

• “No example of such imagery occurs elsewhere”;

• “Shakespeare always has flawed characters for protagonists.”

DEFENSIBLE ASSERTIONS:

• “In this passage, we find that . . .”;

• “One possible reason for this change is . . .”;

• “While one might understand the change in such-and-such a way, it could be that . . .”;

• “It might be argued that . . .”.

Exception to this rule (grin): you can sometimes get away with a sweeping statement in the introduction

of your paper as a lead-in to your more specific arguments. In that case, you’re using a throw-away

statement just to get the ball rolling. You might begin, for example, by saying “In dreams the

unexpected seems commonplace,” before going on to assert that “It is upon this premise that The Dream

of Rhonabwy is founded.”

4. Clearly present your main points and thesis in your introductory paragraph. This approach guides your reader

through the argument to come.

• NOTE: Address your points in the order in which you’ve presented them: anything else runs the risk of

surprising and confusing your audience.

5. Give clear transitions.

It is not enough simply to list your points and their supporting evidence in order. You must show the reader

how one point leads logically to the next, or at least indicate that you are moving from one assertion to

another. Your paper should flow seamlessly from one section of assertion-and-evidence to another, moving

inexorably from thesis to conclusion. Don’t assume that your reader will always recognize where you’re

going with a particular argument; instead, through your transitions and commentary on your evidence, try to

lead the reader by the nose through your argument from beginning to end.


6. Use key terms and define them.

Use key terms or phrases in your main points and repeat them in the body of your paper. It’s an easy way to

help your audience follow your train of thought.

Define these terms. The more precise your definition, the more useful the term will be to you. If you say that

courtesy, for example, is marked by three particular characteristics, you can evaluate to what extent a

character is courteous by measuring him/her against those three criteria.

DON’T JUST SAY:

• “Beowulf was an ideal hero”, OR

• “Gawain was the epitome of all knights”, OR EVEN

• “For the purposes of this paper, chivalry will be defined as the virtue encompassing all of those qualities

that are praised and lauded in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.”

NOTE: it’s better to draw your criteria from the text itself—using, for example, the criteria on Gawain’s shield

by which he ostensibly lives—than to pick criteria arbitrarily. Doing so makes it harder for others to

challenge your definition of the term in question.

7. One or two pieces of evidence are usually not enough to convince your audience of a major point, especially

if those pieces of evidence are pithy and weak. State your case, and then bury your reader with evidence!

• “He is just one of many examples throughout Beowulf that show . . . .” [One example is a weak case for

asserting “many”.]

NOTE: At times, you may need to acknowledge an opposing argument. Briefly do so, and then obliterate it with

your evidence.

8. Be succinct. Make your point and then move on.

9. Avoid mere plot summary. Recap events only insofar as they establish the context for your quotations or

otherwise serve as evidence for your thesis.

10. Give context, quotation, and reference, in this order.

One of your overall goals for your papers is to make it as easy as possible for your audience to follow you.

When you write articles for publication, determining who your audience is may be difficult, since you’re not

quite sure who might read them. You don’t want to talk down to people by assuming they know nothing,

and yet you don’t want to lose them either by alluding to things of which they may be ignorant or which

they might not recall. For our purposes, however, things are not as complex: essentially, you’re writing to

people like yourself—your colleagues and your prof. Now, while in your professor’s case you may do better

to assume that he’s addled and can’t remember anything about the text, when you think about your

colleagues you’ll probably assume that they’ve read the text and will remember the bits you discuss as long

as you jog their brains appropriately. Thus, when you refer to a scene, while it’s essential that you cite the

appropriate page numbers after your quotation, it’s not as useful to introduce the scene in this fashion: “On

page 64, we see,” or “in chapters 4 and 5, we find.” While your audience has probably read the page and

chapters, it’s not at all certain whether they will remember that page offhand. Can YOU recall what happens

on page 64 of the last text we read? Rather, gently resurrect those memories in your reader’s mind by

describing the scene a bit, giving the context of your quotation. You don’t have to take long about it; you

might only need a phrase. Your goal, however, is to do what’s needed to help the reader say, “Oh yes, I

know the bit you’re talking about,” so that you can move along and make your point. Lay out your evidence

in such a way that the reader never has to pick up his text unless he wants to double-check your point for

himself.


In short, follow this paradigm:

A. Briefly recall the scene to the reader’s mind,

B. Segway into your quotation,

C. Give the page reference, and

D. Make your point, drawing the reader’s attention to the elements in the quotation that support your

thesis.

11. Please have mercy on my blood pressure and use the following format for quotations:

“Here is the quotation” (page).

“Is this the quotation?” (page).

“Oh yeah, baby, thizzis thuh quotation!” (page).

For quotations of more than four lines of prose or three lines of verse, cite the text as a block quotation.

< ½

IN

CH

>

Lastname 3

< ONE INCH MARGIN > < O

NE

IN

CH

MA

RG

IN >

< ONE INCH MARGIN >

Here I am merrily writing along, composing

profound sentences. Now I think that I shall quote

something:

This is a quotation from the text, indented one

full tab stop (about an inch). Note that you omit

the outer quotation marks. Should the passage

include some speech, such as “O what a witty

example this is,” then enclose the speech in

double rather than single quotation marks. Put

one space after your last punctuation mark, and

then give the page number. (page)

Here, of course, I include my insightful and detailed commentary on

the quoted passage above. Ta-daaah!


NE

IN

CH

MA

RG

IN >


12. Briefly introduce characters or terms when you first refer to them, even in a phrase. Not only does this serve

as a helpful reminder to your audience, but shows them in what capacity or context you’re going to be

discussing the character or term: are you talking, for example, about Beowulf the victorious warrior,

Beowulf the faithful vassal, or Beowulf the imperfect king?

• “Margot, the protagonist’s wife”;

• “Cordelia, Lear’s youngest daughter”;

• “Hrothgar, king of the Danes.”

13. Avoid “I think / feel / believe . . . .” Your paper shouldn’t appear to be based on opinion, but on hard,

substantiated fact. To this end, use the third person in formal papers (such as “one” or “the reader”): your

assertions will appear more objective than statements made in the first person.

SAY: “In The Mabinogion, one quickly confronts . . .”

RATHER THAN: “In reading The Mabinogion, I was quickly confronted with . . . .”

14. Aim for a dry, “objective,” academic tone. Avoid informal speech and any hint of melodrama. (It’s often

vague rather than precise, for one thing.)

AVOID:

• “Riding headlong into unexplored territory, Arthur’s gallant knights often find themselves in weird and

wonderful predicaments that pale the ordinary and suspend their conventions of reality.”

• “Ultimately, the ‘otherworld’ is far grander a place than we could possibly imagine. It is a mystical

place somewhere beyond our wanderings, floating in its own space and time like Brigadoon . . . .”

• “Knowing that he will be facing horrors beyond his wildest nightmares, Beowulf crosses the threshold

into the legendary hall of Heorot, looks the once-all-powerful Hrothgar in the eye, and explains his

death-defying mission.”

15. Avoid beginning sentences with a conjunction (such as and, but, or yet). Instead, you might use Even so,

however, nevertheless, or some other appropriate transition.

16. Your title is not merely something slapped on at the end; it is a finely distilled representation of the paper as

a whole, even more compact than the thesis statement itself. Spend time crafting it.

17. Omitting bits of quotations: the mechanics of ellipses.

The MLA, blast its hide, keeps changing its rules on formatting ellipses every few years; it’s no wonder that

students feel confused on the issue. I include more detailed instructions on the subject further below, but in

brief (as of May 2003) this is how ellipses work:

• ELLIPSIS IN THE MIDDLE: The astute author states that “In brief . . . this is how ellipses work” (page).

• ELLIPSIS AT THE END: With his typical lightning wit, the pundit reflects: “The MLA, blast its hide, keeps

changing its rules. . . .”

OR: “The MLA, blast its hide, keeps changing its rules . . .” (page).

N.B.: Only use such ellipsis if your extract appears to be a complete sentence when in fact it’s not.

• ELLIPSIS OF A SENTENCE: The extraordinarily-insightful analyst comments, “It’s no wonder that students

feel confused on the issue. . . . This is how ellipses work” (page).

• ELLIPSIS FROM THE MIDDLE OF ONE SENTENCE TO THE MIDDLE OF ANOTHER: This most perspicuous writer

notes that while the MLA “keeps changing its rules . . . . this is how ellipses work” (page);

OR: “The MLA, blast its hide, keeps changing its rules. . . . I include more detailed instructions

on the subject further below” (page);

OR: the MLA changes its rules “every few years; . . . this is how ellipses work” (page);

OR: a pox on “the MLA, blast its hide, . . . this is how ellipses work” (page).


However, be thee warned: Microsoft Word—a pox of toadstools upon its programming—may take your

carefully-spaced-out ellipses and squoosh them together automatically to form “...”. You must be

ever-vigilant.

18. Note that there are two major ways of proving your point. You may focus on a couple of large quotations or

scenes which you then explain in detail, or you may need to quickly establish a point by following your

assertion with a series of brief references [e.g., “After all, it is through the eyes that the Duke (1.1.20),

Olivia (1.5.10 and 2.2.20), and even Viola (2.4.24 and 51.135) have been ensnared by love.”].

19. Avoid ambiguous pronouns. “It,” “he,” or “they” may be useful enough if their antecedent (the noun to

which they refer) is clear; otherwise, they damage the precision of your argument and may lead your reader

astray. Most of all, however you may be tempted, DO NOT introduce a sentence with a naked “This.”

This—that is to say, this practice, forces the reader to assume (yea, to assume powers of mind-reading to

recreate) your meaning. Even if said reader gets the gist of your logic, he may not get the precise nuance,

and in an argument nuance is key.

And finally, the one for which you’ve been waiting:

20. Quote is a verb. Quotation is a noun. In formal writing, do not use quote as a shortened form of quotation,

or I shall send huge hairy hooligans to come and break your thumbs.

II. STYLE

A. SUMMARIZE THE FACTUAL; QUOTE THE MEMORABLE.

Memorable: “‘Prop up the forks under my eyelids so I can see what my son-in-law is like’” (152).

B. VOICE

As a point of style, construct your sentences using an active rather than a passive voice: “The alliance for a time

cements the peace” rather than “The peace for a time is cemented by the alliance.”

III. MECHANICS

A. ELLIPSES

To condense a quoted passages, you can use the ellipsis mark, . . . , to indicate omitted words (note the

spaces in between the periods). Some guidelines:

1. “Whenever you wish to omit a word, a phrase, a sentence, or more from a quoted passage, you should be

guided by two principles: fairness to the author quoted and the grammatical integrity of your writing.”42

2. The remaining sentence must be grammatically correct.

3. As a rule, you do not use ellipses at the beginning or the end of a quotation; your readers will understand

that the quoted material is taken from a longer passage.

Original: “What man wants is simply independent choice, whatever that independence may cost and

where it may lead” (Dostoevsky 18).

42

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th

ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America,

2003. 114.


Quoted Phrase: Dostoevsky affirms that what humans desire is “simply independent choice” (18).

4. If you omit words at the end of a sentence of passage, however, and your quotation is a complete

sentence that can stand on its own, you might want to show the reader that there was more to the original

passage. This practice will help guard you against the charge of taking the passage out of context. For

example:

Dostoevsky states that “what man wants is simply independent choice . . .” (18).

(Note that if you aren’t including a page reference after your quotation, place the period immediately before

the quotation mark, and eliminate the space before the first period, as so:

Dostoevsky states that “what man wants is simply independent choice. . . .”)

5. When omitting a sentence or more, use four periods instead of three, making sure that you still have

grammatically complete sentences preceding and following the ellipsis.

Grovzenor states that “Presidential control reached its zenith under Andrew Jackson. . . . For a time,

the media seemed merely an extension of the ruling party” (7).

6. The omission of words or phrases in poetry is indicated by three or four periods, as in prose. However,

the omission of a line or more of poetry is indicated by a line of spaced periods approximately the length

of a complete line of the quoted poem.

We see a similar motif repeated in Elizabeth Bishop’s “In the Waiting Room”:

I went with Aunt Consuelo

to keep her dentist’s appointment

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was winter. . . . (2-3 and 6)


B. FORMAT

Cover pages are unnecessary (unless one is including an outline before the paper). Instead, the format should be

as follows:

< ½

IN

CH

>

Einstein 1


NE

IN

CH

MA

RG

IN >

< ONE INCH MARGIN >

Albert Einstein

Dr. Vonk

ENGL 251, 0234 [COURSE NUMBER, SECTION NUMBER]

10 October 2004 [NO COMMA]

My Profound Paper Title [CENTERED]

In this introduction [INDENTED ONE TAB STOP (ABOUT 1/2

INCH)], we shall examine this insightful thesis statement and these

stunningly-brilliant points. So there.

Here is assertion number one, which of course is

Successive pages:

< ½

IN

CH

>

Einstein 2


NE

IN

CH

MA

RG

IN >

< ONE INCH MARGIN >

being supported with oodles of textual evidence.

• 1" margins on all sides, please.

• Note that the title should be plain text; don’t use special fonts (such as bold) or larger type. Italics may

be used, however, to indicate the name of the work in question, as in:

Suffering and the Soul in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

• Note too that all of this is double-spaced. No extra blank lines around the title needed.

To insert a header in Word:

• First, type Alt-F [File], U [Page Setup], Alt-M [Margins], and make sure that it shows 1” all the way

around with 0.5” headers. Hit OK.

• Second, type Alt-V [View], H [Header], Alt-R [to make it right-justified], your last name, and one

space, and then click on the # button [Insert Page Number] at the far left of the “Headers and Footers”

toolbar. Click on “Close.” Ta-daaah!

[If you use some other program, oh, write in your name if you absolutely must.]

C. JUSTIFICATION

Left-justify, please.

D. LASER PRINTING


The appearance of your paper is a powerful first impression and a representation of yourself.

E. NUMBERS

Assuming that you’re writing about literature and not statistics (where writing out huge hordes of numbers

would be cumbersome),

• Spell out numbers which may be written in one or two words (thirty-six, one hundred, three million, and

so forth)—this includes all numbers under 101, by the way—and use numerals for the rest (2½, 101,

735, etc.).

• Use numerals with abbreviations and symbols (6 lbs., 4:20 p.m., 3%, etc.).

• Use numerals as well for references to pages, lines, verses, and the like (page 7, Luke 10:27 [not chapter

ten, verse twenty-seven].

• Express related numbers using the same style: It rained precisely 6 cats and 129 dogs.

• For inclusive numbers, as for pages or lines in parenthetical documentation:

o Give the second number in full for numbers through ninety-nine: 2-3, 10-12, 21-48, and 89-99.

o For larger numbers, give ONLY THE LAST TWO DIGITS of the second number, unless more are

necessary: 96-101, 103-04, 1003-05, 395-401, and 1608-774.

• The abbreviation BC follows the year, but AD precedes it (19 BC; AD 735).

• For ranges of years beginning from AD 1 through 999, follow the rules for numbers above (989-93).

• For ranges of years beginning in AD 1000 or later, omit the first two digits of the second year if they are

the same as the first two digits of the first year (2000-03); otherwise, write both years in full (1898-

1911).

• Do not abbreviate ranges of years that begin before AD 1 (143 BC-AD 149).

F. PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION

1. Standard format: (Author page).

“‘He does not care,’ she thought. ‘But other people noticed and that’s what upsets him’” (Dostoevsky

162).

[Exception: if you quote from more than one work by that author, include the date of the edition from

which you cite: (Dostoevsky 1985, 162).]

2. If you can name the author in a single phrase, or if you are only focusing on one work in your paper, or if

you have just made a reference to this author, or if the context makes the author completely obvious, you

do not need to include him/her in your parenthetical documentation. Just cite the page number, or in the

case of a play, the Act, Scene, and Lines, connected by periods.

Dostoevsky portraits Anna’s thoughts in much the same light: “‘He does not care,’ she thought. ‘But

other people noticed and that’s what upsets him’” (162).

Only then does Malvolio enter, in a lover’s apoplexy: “Sad, lady? I could be sad. This does make / some

obstruction in the blood, this cross-gartering; / but what of that?” (3.4.19-21)

3. Punctuation with quotation marks:

a. Periods and commas.

• With no documentation, place periods and commas inside quotation marks:

“I am as well in my wits, fool, as thou art,” he said.


• When documenting, do not include periods or commas inside the quotation mark; instead, put a

period after the parenthesis.

“Then you are mad indeed, if you / be now better in your wits than a fool” (4.2.92-93).

• Unless, of course, you are not finished with your sentence:

“Then you are mad indeed, if you / be now better in your wits than a fool,” the Clown responds

(4.2.92-93).

b. Colons and semicolons.

• With no documentation, place periods and commas outside quotation marks:

Toby states: “I would we were well rid of this knavery . . .”; however, we later see (blah blah

blah).

• When documenting, follow the rules for periods and commas.

c. Question marks and exclamations points.

• With no documentation, put question marks and exclamation points inside quotation marks

unless they apply to the sentence as a whole.

“What think you of this fool, Malvolio?” versus

Have you not heard of the old proverb, “Do not climb the hill until you reach it”?

• When documenting, however, the question mark or exclamation point should appear before the

quotation mark, and a period should follow the parenthetical citation.

“Will you deny me now?” Antonio cries. “Is’t possible that my deserts to you / Can lack

persuasion?” (3.4.359-61).

G. QUOTATIONS

1. Prose.

a. If the quotation runs no more than four lines, put it in quotation marks and incorporate it into the text.

“He was obeyed,” writes Conrad of the company manager in Heart of Darkness, “yet he inspired

neither love nor fear, nor even respect.”

b. If it is more than four typed lines, set it off from your text as follows:

At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for

the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his


whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island;

and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (186)

2. Drama.

a. You may cite two or three lines from a single character by preserving the lines as they are written on

the page, and separating them by a forward slash. Note that there are spaces before and after this

slash.

Kreon states that “He who cherishes an individual beyond his homeland, / He, I say, is nothing, for

the State is safety” (222-23).

b. If you quote dialogue between two or more characters in a play, set the quotation off from your text.

Begin each part of the dialogue with the appropriate character’s name, indented, in capital letters,

and start the quotation from that point. For instance:

At this point Lear loses the final symbol of his former power, the soldiers who make up his train:

GONERIL: Hear me, my lord.

What need you five-and-twenty, ten or five,

to follow in a house where twice so many

Have a command to tend you?

REGAN: Why need one?

LEAR: O, reason not the need! (2.4.254-58)

H. “SMART QUOTES” [this is infidel Microsoft’s name for them, not mine]

Do replace “Straight Quotes with Smart Quotes” [Tools > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You

Type] should it not be done automatically. This will print out elegant “” ’s, as opposed to " 's.

I. WORKS CITED PAGE

1. Printed Sources

• For Books, give the following information as relevant: (1) the author’s name, (2) title of a part of a

book [such as with a work in an anthology], (3) title of the book, (4) name of the editor or translator,

(5) edition used, (6) number of the volume(s) used [for a book in a series], (7) name of the series, (8)

place of publication, (9) publisher, (10) date of publication, and (11) page numbers [for a work in an

anthology].

Tatar, Maria. Off with Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton:

Printeton UP, 1992.


Marquart, James W., Sheldon Ekland Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair,

and the Needle: Captial Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990. Austin: U of Texas P,

1994.

Lewis, C. S. “Viewpoints: C. S. Lewis.” Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Sir Gawain

and the Green Knight. Ed. Denton Fox. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1968.

• For Articles, give the following information as relevant: (1) the author’s name, (2) the title of the

article, (3) the name of the periodical, (4) the series number or name [if relevant], (5) volume

number [for a scholarly journal], (6) date of publication, and (7) page numbers.

White, Sabina, and Andrew Winzelberg. “Laughter and Stress.” Humor 5 (1992): 343-55.

2. Internet Sources

• For an Online Scholarly Project or Information Database, give (1) the title of the project/database,

(2) the name of the editor [if given], (3) electronic publication information, such as the version

number, date of latest update, and name of any sponsoring organization, (4) the date on which you

accessed the site, and (5) network address / URL:

The History Channel Online. 2001. History Channel. 20 Sept. 2001.

<http://historychannel.com/>.

[Note that there is no period between (4) and (5).]

• For a Document with a Scholarly Project or Information Database, precede the information above

with (1) the author [if given] and (2) the title of the work:

“Text of Osama bin Laden’s statement.” Chicago Tribune. 7 Oct. 2001. Associated Press. 15 Oct.

2001 <http://chicagotribune.com/news/ nationworld/sns-worldtrade-binladen-text2.story>.

• For a Professional or a Personal Site, give (1) the name of the creator, (2) the title or description of the

site, (3) the name of any organization associated with the site, (4) the date on which you accessed the

site, and (5) the URL:

Dawe, James. Jane Austen Page. 15 Sept. 1998 <http://nyquist.ee.ualberta.ca/

~dawe/austen.html>.

IV. GRAMMAR


A. APOSTROPHES

All of you know how this works: to indicate possession, add an apostrophe and s: a hard day’s night. Note,

however, that there’s a difference of opinion when it comes to plural nouns ending in s. Some style guides

prefer you to add apostrophe-s (James’s bazooka), while others tell you to add the apostrophe alone (James’

bazooka). The MLA uses the latter option, so that’s our standard as well.

Also note the possessives of pronouns don’t get apostrophes (theirs, not their’s, etc.). This means that it’s

stands for “it is” or “it has” (like it’s been a long day’s night), not “of it” (like the poodle, alas, got its head

dyed pink).

B. CLARITY THROUGH PARALLELISM

“[They sought to help their audience] to remember complex series of events, to distinguish faces from

one another, and to remember complex series of events.”

“[They used different means] of helping audiences to visualize their characters and settings and of

aiding them in following the storyline.”

C. COMMA SPLICES

When a writer puts no mark of punctuation and no coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)

between independent clauses, the result is a fused sentence, as in:

“Power tends to corrupt absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Far more common is the comma splice, when independent clauses are separated by a comma without a

coordinating conjunction, e.g.:

“Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“Power tends to corrupt, moreover, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

To correct this, either:

1. use a comma and a coordinating conjunction

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

2. use a semicolon (or, if appropriate, a colon)

“Power tends to corrupt; moreover, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

3. make the clauses into separate sentences

D. LACK OF COMMA IN A SERIES

Whenever you list things, use a comma. You’ll find a difference of opinion as to whether the next-to-last

noun (the noun before the “and”) requires a comma. (“Apples, oranges, pears, and bananas”). My advice is

to use the comma because sometimes your list will include pairs of things: “For Christmas she wanted

books and tapes, peace and love, and for all the world to be happy [bleah].” If you are in the habit of using a

comma before the “and,” you’ll avoid confusion in sentences like this one.

E. NO COMMA AFTER INTRODUCTORY PHRASES


For example: After the devastation of the siege of Leningrad the Soviets were left with the task of

rebuilding their population as well as their city. (A comma should be placed after “Leningrad.”)

F. HYPHENS WITH COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

When a compound adjective precedes the noun which it modifies, the elements of that adjective are joined

by hyphens: “nineteenth-century technology”; “a carefully-considered decision”; “government-operated

programs” as opposed to “programs that were government operated.”

G. PRONOUNS AND CASES

A case is the aspect of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives which refers to their relation to other words in the

sentence.

There are three cases in English:

1. the subjective case (where the word is the subject or subject complement of the sentence)

a. Subject of a Verb: I ate two hundred tomatoes today.

b. Subject Complement: It was she who made the poisoned pickle-relish.

2. the objective case (where the word is a direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, or

appositive identifying an object)

a. Direct Object: The maddened vultures pursued my friend and me.

b. Indirect Object: The skydive gave both him and his grandma quite a thrill.

c. Object of a Preposition: Just between us, I think the prof ate too many toads for breakfast.

d. Appositive Identifying an Object: The thief took both of them, the addled Aunt and her.

(An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that identifies or renames a word that precedes it.)

3. the possessive case (where the word indicates ownership)

My mother kicked the whole knitting team out of her house.

(See also APOSTROPHES above)

PRONOUN CASE FORMS Subjective

I he, she it we you they who whoever

Objective

Me him, her it us you them whom whomever

Possessive

My his, her its our your their whose

Mine hers ours yours theirs

Note 1: We and Us before and Noun

When a first-person plural pronoun directly precedes a noun, the case of the pronoun depends on the

way the noun functions in the sentence. So:

If we rebels don’t hang together, we will indeed hang separately.

(Rebels is the subject of the sentence, so the pronoun we must be in the subjective case [pardons to

Benjamin Franklin].)

That sadistic dentist is probably preparing a nasty drill for us poor teeth.

(Teeth is the object of the preposition for, so the pronoun us must be in the objective case.)

Note 2: Who and Whom


The case of the pronouns who and whom depends on their function within their own clause. When a

pronoun serves as the subject of its clause, use who or whoever; when it functions as an object, use

whom or whomever.

Those ill-mannered Vikings seem to attack whoever is in their way.

(Whoever is the subject of the dependent clause whoever is in their way.)

Whom [or whomever] may we thank for this generous gift of lime pudding?

(Whom is the object of the independent clause whom may we thank.)

H. VAGUE PRONOUN REFERENCES

For example: The boy and his father knew that he had been eaten by the pigeon. (Who was eaten? The boy?

His father? Some other person?)

Be particularly wary of beginning sentences with this or it; rather, tell us exactly to whom or what you’re

referring.

I. PRONOUN AGREEMENT ERROR

Don’t write something like Everyone is entitled to their opinion. “Everyone” is a singular pronoun. You will

have to use “his” or “her.”

J. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Silly things, to be avoided. Unless, as here, you are using them to achieve a certain effect.

K. SPACING

In keeping with contemporary publishing practice, please use ONE space after punctuation (periods, colons,

semi-colons, and commas), around parentheses, and between words in general.

For those of you using recent versions of WordPerfect, some things you should know. In the main menu

bar, under Tools, there is an option called QuickCorrect. Click on it, choose Options, and make a couple

adjustments before you work on your papers: under Sentence Corrections, deselect (i.e., click on the box

to the left of the option so that no “x” appears in it) Capitalize First Letter, Correct Two Irregular

Capitals, and Double Space to Single Space. The last is what you are particularly concerned with, as it

takes all your double spaces after your periods and squooshes them down to one. This makes it appear as

though you are ignorant of a basic rule of punctuation, which is BAD. A pox on WordPerfect and all its

ilk! (No, I don’t mean that—word processing GOOD.)

L. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

This gets tricky when you are using collective nouns or pronouns and you think of them as plural nouns:

The committee wants [not want] to annihilate the proletariat.

Mistakes like this also occur when your verb is far from your subject. For example, The media, who has all

the power in this nation and abuses it consistently, uses its influence for ill more often than good. (Note that

media is an “it,” not a “they.” The verbs are chosen accordingly.)

M. TENSE SHIFTS

Be consistent. Guard against moving between past and present tense, especially when you’re talking about

things that happen (or have happened?) within a literary text. Generally, discuss the events of the text in the

present tense: you’re talking about the world of the narrative, which never (in a sense) fades away.

V. EDITING ABBREVIATIONS


¶ New paragraph needed

awk Awkward

• “Looking at Jesus’ death on the cross, one can find it evident. . . .”

Try “one finds . . .” or “it is evident that. . . .”

• “When capital punishment is in action of grasping a person’s life away”

Try “When capital punishment takes a person’s life. . . .”

BW Best word [Is this the most accurate or most appropriate word you could choose?]

colloq Colloquial (“common”) language inappropriate for formal paper

• “The opposing kingdom doesn’t seem to be able to hold a candle to it.”

• “The audiences . . . were drawn completely in.”

CS Comma splice

• “Bran is not only a big man, he is mistaken for a mountain.”

• “Gwyddbwyll is not only a pastime put into the stories for amusement, it is an integral part

of the story.”

DangPrep Dangling prepositions. Avoid leaving prepositions at the end of sentences (e.g., say “This is

something to which I am committed and for which I am willing to die” as opposed to

“something I am committed to and willing to die for”).

[Churchill: “This is just the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put!”]

DS Double-space these lines, please. (The entire paper, including block quotations, should be double-

spaced.)

frag Sentence fragment [the sentence doesn’t stand on its own; it lacks a subject or a finite verb, and/or

is a dependent clause that should be attached (by a comma, for example) to an adjacent

sentence.]

SP Spelling error

Spell it out! Do not assume that the reader will see the point of a quotation (etc.). Explicitly draw their attention

to textual detail and make your point.

Sweep! Avoid sweeping statements (see page 1, number 3 above).

Stet Latin term meaning “Let it stand.” [i.e., ignore my comments; I’m babbling.]

TS Tense shift

WW Wrong word

• “these efforts are met with [OR regarded as] trifles”

• “Their loyalty to Bran exceeded even death [OR remained steadfast even after his death].”

dr. aaron j kleist, aka dr. vonk - biola...

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