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Riddle Me This

Anglo Saxon Riddles

“Pure of source is the riddle” –Friedrich Holderlin “The Rine”

The Riddles appear in the Exeter Book Manuscript in two blocks and with a defective version of 30 and a copy of #60 separated by other short poems.

Anglo-Saxons appreciated the intellectual challenge of riddles and that they were sometimes a means of verbal duels between young men. They could test one another without the use of weapons. Both those who could recite and those who could answer the riddles were admired.

Good riddle-poems are terse, pithy, visual, rhythmic (which we will deal with later). Like haiku, they take their power from a compelling image.

From these riddles we will also notice and learn about personification and how it is used.

Personification = the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, esp. as a rhetorical figure

terse = effectively concise; get your point across quickly and choose your words wisely

the idea is basically that you want to convey what you're trying to say using a reasonable number of words. For example, the following two sentences convey the same message:

• I walked down the street quickly so that I wouldn't be late.

• Since I could be late, I, walking down the street, did so very quickly.

In riddle 23 “Her eye will be wet.” instead of saying that I will make her eye wet when she opens me.

pithy = pith·y

brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible

In riddle 44 “The daughters were sisters with their own two sons” This is full of meaning and much more brief instead of saying that the daughters were the mothers of two boys that were also their brothers because the girls had children by their father.

visual: riddle 23 “Proud woman grabs my body, Rushes my red skin, holds me hard, Claims my head.”

-this is visual and descriptive because it uses words like grabs, rushes, holds, and claims. It utilizes color to describe the skin. These elements allow the reader to experience what the narrator is experiencing.

Riddle 52 “Both swayed and shook.” again action words are used to help the audience visualize what is happening in the riddle

Haiku as inspiration:

spring weeds wilt

in the ninety-four degrees-

june begins

~J. Andrew Lockhart

-captures a visual idea quickly and concisely

To appreciate these poems fully, speak them to yourself out loud (the slash represents a caesura or pause). These caesura are pauses that can be seen only in the original version of these riddles. In the Dark Ages, poetry was a spoken art. Poems were written to be chanted or sung. Anglo-Saxon (the parent language of English) was a rolling, sonorous, thunderous language well-suited to poetry and oration. Some of this quality comes through even in translation.

Giving the subject of the riddle the qualities of a person, and then having it describe itself poetically, is a very common style of riddle (this lesson will go on to teach kennings) A common form is to make poetic assertions about the subject that lead to an obvious image, which you then flatly deny, creating an air of paradox.

Paradox = par·a·dox

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

a self-contradictory and false proposition.

any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature.

an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.

We will read the following poem in class and it will be next to the original text just to expose them to it and to let them be aware of the fact that it was translated. This will also help when we go deeper in depth about how their language evolved as we dig into the Anglo-Saxon history. This will just introduce them to the concept of the evolution of English as a language, and we will hit on this topic briefly (as stated below).

Riddle 23 (onion)

Ic eom wunderlicu wiht,     wifum on hyhte,

neahbuendum nyt.     Nængum sceþþe

burgsittendra     nymþe bonan anum.  

Staþol min is steapheah;     stonde ic on bedde,

neoþan ruh nathwær.     Neþeð hwilum 

ful cyrtenu     ceorles dohtor,

modwlonc meowle,     þæt heo on mec gripeð,

  ræseð mec on reodne,     reafað min heafod,

fegeð mec on fæsten.     Feleþ sona

mines gemotes     seo þe mec nearwað,

wif wundenlocc--     wæt bið þæt eage.

I am a wonderful help to women,

The hope of something to come. I harm

No citizen except my slayer.

Rooted I stand on a high bed.

I am shaggy below. Sometimes the beautiful

Peasant's daughter, an eager-armed,

Proud woman grabs my body,

Rushes my red skin, holds me hard,

Claims my head. The curly-haired

Woman who catches me fast will feel

Our meeting. Her eye will be wet.

Anglo-Saxon language

Old English was the language spoken until the Norman Conquest of AD 1066 when, influenced by the Anglo-Norman language spoken by the ruling class, it gradually changed into Middle English. Before literacy in Old English or Latin became widespread, Runes were used for inscriptions. Anglo-Saxon literature included epic poetry, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles and riddles (The British Museum). Words were their entertainment, and they a great tradition of spoken word.

-what words does the author use to make us, as an audience, think that this riddle is about something other than an onion?

“her eye will be wet”

“rushes my red skin, holds me hard”

-how are these lines structured to make you think this?

the progression of the entire poem, especially the way that it ends

-what line(s) through you off of your idea and made you question your guess?

“I harm No citizen except my slayer.”

-does this line help you to remain in the mindset of the riddle? Does its power to throw you off seem like a good idea to emulate in the riddles that you will be writing?

-what lines are stated in terse, pithy, and visual language and how does the use of these devices add to the flow and message of the riddle? How does this visual language cause a double meaning to occur

-how is personification used in these riddles? And how does the use of that technique help throw us off of the object that the riddle is trying to represent.

Riddle 44 (Lot and his family)

Wær sæt æt wine     mid his wifum twam

ond his twegen suno    ond his twa dohtor,

swase gesweostor,     ond hyra suno twegen,

freolico frumbearn;     fæder wæs þær inne

þara æþelinga     æghwæðres mid,

eam ond nefa.     Ealra wæron fife

eorla ond idesa     insittendra.

A man sat down to feast with two wives,

Drank wine with two daughters, supped with two sons.

The daughters were sisters with their own two sons,

Each son a favored, first-born prince.

The father of each prince sat with his son,

Also the uncle and nephew of each.

In the room's reach was a family of five!

Anglo-Saxon religion

Early Anglo-Saxon religion was a pagan belief system based on Germanic mythology. Remnants of these gods remain in the English names for the days of the week: Tuesday - Tiw (god of war), Wednesday - Woden (god of the dead), Thursday – Thor (god of thunder) and Friday - Fréo (goddess of love). In AD 597, St. Augustine was sent to England by Pope Gregory (the head of the Roman Christian church) to convert the Saxons to Christianity. Augustine landed in Kent and converted King Aethelbert of Kent and his court to Christianity and founded a monastery at Canterbury. Christianity gradually spread across England replacing the Anglo-Saxon pagan religion. (The British Museum)

Riddle 52 (Churn)

Hyse cwom gangan,      þær he hie wisse

stondan in wincsele,     stop feorran to,

hror hægstealdmon,     hof his agen

hrægl hondum up,     hrand under gyrdels  

hyre stondendre      stiþes nathwæt,

worhte his willan;      wagedan buta.

þegn onnette,     wæs þragum nyt

tillic esne,     teorode hwæþre

æt stunda gehwam     strong ær þon hio,

werig þæs weorces.      Hyre weaxan ongon

under gyrdelse     þæt oft gode men

ferðþum freogað      ond mid feo bicgað.

The young man came over to the corner

Where he knew she stood. He stepped up,

Eager and agile, lifted his tunic

With hard hands, thrust through her girdle

Something stiff, worked on the standing

One his will. Both swayed and shook.

The young man hurried, was sometimes useful,

Served well, but always tired

Sooner than she, weary of the work.

Under her girdle began to grow

A hero's reward for laying on dough.

Riddle 87 (key)

Min heafod is    homere geþuren,

searopila wund,     sworfen feole.

Oft ic begine    þæt me ongean sticað,

þonne ic hnitan sceal,     hringum gyrded,

hearde wið heardum,    hindan þyrel--

forð ascufan     þæt mines frean

mod W freoþað    middelnihtum.

Hwilum ic under bæc bregde nebbe,

hyrde þæs hordes,    þonne min hlaford wile

lafe þicgan    þara þe he of life het

wælcræfte awrecan    willum sinum.

My head is struck by a forging hammer,

Sheared close by a shaping blade,

Honed smooth by a fierce file.

Sometimes I swallow my tempered foe,

When bound by rings, I heave from behind,

Thrust a long limb through a hard hole,

Catch hard the keeper of the heart's pleasure,

Twist with my tongue and turn back

The midnight guardian of my lord's treasure

When the conquering warrior comes to hold

The gift of slaughter, the joy of gold.

Greek and Latin Root prefixes and suffixes:

auto = self ___ automatic

pater = father ___ paternal

mater = mother ___ maternal

frater = brother ___ fraternity

spect = to see ___ inspect

magna = large, great ___ magnate

micro = small ___ microscopic

macro = large ___ macrocosm

mal = bad, evil ___ malaria

bene = good ___ benediction

nym = name, noun ___ nymph

pseudo = false ___ pseudonym

sub = under ___ subway

retro = back ___ retrograde

thesis = idea ___ synthesis

per = through ___ perchance

mono = one ___ monolithic

bi = two ___ binomial

tri = three ___ tripod

kilo = thousand ___ kilometer

semi = half ___ semicolon

We will also look at a student example in class and workshop it as I describe how and why I graded it the way that I did.

People walk down my fully carpeted stairs, and

they go down into my warm dark hole.

The walls are damp with

cream colored water.

My visitors graze their fingers down my walls;

my space is small and tight.

These people go down my carpet like a submarine.

You can smell my wetness, and

fell my smooth damp walls get wetter.

You can hear the drip of water

trickle down my walls.

Basement

Workshoping this poem (example of how we will workshop their poems in class)

when we workshop written pieces in class, we will begin with two positive things about every piece

-is there a line that doesn't fit and that makes us question what it is that this author is talking about? Why does the absence of this line not fit the Anglo-Saxon form, and what do we lose from this absence?

-there is a lot of repetition of the words: wet, damp, walls, and carpet. Does this work here? Why not? What does it lack when it does not go into deep description that leads the reader where the author desires them to go.

-the author says that you can hear and smell, but can you hear and smell the things that the author is talking about? How would you change it, what language would you add to immerse your readers into the environment you want them to be in?

-are all the words chosen carefully?

-did this author embrace the entertaining aspect of the Anglo-Saxon riddle that we are going to use as our model?

-did they have a solid idea and grasp on that idea?

-did the author personify their object? And how does this personification work in the riddle?

Your assignment will be to write your own riddle that seems to be about something that it’s not (remember that we are in school and that your riddle content must be aware of that fact). These riddles must follow the format and expectations set up in the rubric below. They also must be in the format of all papers in this class: double spaced, times new roman 12, and with the header format that is set out in the syllabus. This riddle is to be at least 10 lines and no more than 20; remember terse languageϑ. The answer to this riddle should appear at the bottom of your paper in the right hand corner in italics. Also, as we are learning to use language effectively, you must make sure that every word is precise and varied. In addition, to continue with our Greek and Latin Root prefixes and suffixes that we have been learning so far, you must use one word that has either a prefix or suffix listed on your page that we have been adding to (no, extra words will not get you extra credit). The rough draft of this poem will be due tomorrow and we will work shop them tomorrow in class. The final draft of this riddle will be due on Thursday.

As Always:

-I expect your very best work

-Revisions are accepted and encouraged

-Whatever this assignment means to you, that is exactly what it is

any questions?.....also, you can e-mail me and I will answer as many as I can

-don't worry too much about the rough draft. You should be thinking about the rubric as you write, but know that you will not get a grade other than a completion grade for your rough draft. The rubric will be used to grade only your final draft that you turn into me on Thursday.

| |YES! |Almost |Not quite yet |

|Riddle | | | |

|Is clever and uses words to make | | | |

|your audience believe that you are | | | |

|talking about something that you are| | | |

|not | | | |

|Uses terse, pithy, visual language | | | |

|Personify your object, or if you are| | | |

|writing about a person, your riddle | | | |

|should bring them to life with | | | |

|action words and descriptive | | | |

|language | | | |

|Follows the predetermined format | | | |

|A thoughtful effort put into this is| | | |

|obvious | | | |

|Clear understanding of the concepts | | | |

|discussed in class about this type | | | |

|of piece are obvious | | | |

|Uses one word with a prefix or | | | |

|suffix from our list | | | |

|Sentence structure, grammar, | | | |

|mechanics | | | |

Working under the Model Unit 11.1: The Power of Language to Transform Lives – Anglo-Saxon (Old English) and Medieval (Middle English) Periods (overarching text:Beowulf; overarching idea: Interpretation of language and Anglo-Saxon Riddles)

Reading as Readers within the context of the GLCEs:

-Question and Evaluate:

what lines make us question what and why lines cause us to not believe our first guess on the meaning of the riddle.

is that effective?

Does Lot feel guilty about the situation? Do his daughters feel embarrassed? Do the boys feel awkward? Etc.. How can you tell?

2.1 : develop critical reading and listening strategies

-Predict:

what the riddle is trying to infer?

-Connect:

we will discuss what it reminds them of ie: riddle me this

reading these riddles is more like playing a game

it is interesting that the Anglo-Saxons wrote entertaining literature such as these riddles when they are not typically portrayed in such a relatable light

-Feel:

do these riddles make you feel confused?

If so, why?

Reading as a Writer within the context of the GLICEs:

-Ideas:

if their idea for a riddle topic was good or not? (like a satirical riddle about Christianity)

3.3: use knowledge of literary history to respond to and analyze the meaning of texts

Was it working? Why or why not?

This will let them know what type of thing they should pick as their topic

-Voice:

powerful terse language (concise)

will discuss the playful, joking, and purposely decitful tone of the riddles we read

work on choosing precise words

recognize language bias (diction and voice) how the author makes the reader think that she is writing about something that she is not

would we like to copy their technique in our riddle?

4.1: understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings

4.2: understand how language variety reflects and shapes experience

personification will be noticed and copied if the students are writing about something other than a human

-Organization:

what arrangement of words is effective in creating a double meaning?

How does the author control pacing? Do they give away everything all at the beginning or give a subtle evolution of clues to what it is that they are talking about?

How would giving everything away in the beginning ruin the idea of a riddle? And how does the slow evolution of clues help put the reader in suspense?

Working under the Model Unit 11.1: The Power of Language to Transform Lives – Anglo-Saxon (Old English) and Medieval (Middle English) Periods (overarching text:Beowulf; overarching idea: Interpretation of language and Anglo-Saxon Riddles)

This lesson will begin on Monday and will be the introduction to a unit on Anglo-Saxon literature, to Beowulf, and to the history from 597-1485 that is set out in unit 11.1. Starting this unit out with this lesson will help to introduce students to a unit that is typically thought of to be boring in an interesting and engaging manner. The writing activity in this lesson is taken from the riddle section under Writing, Speaking, Expressing Strategies and Activities. In addition to being a unit on literary history, it will also work on answering: How do the heros of literature reflect the values of the time? What journey will I take to become my own hero? How do the heroes who are immortalized in literature reflect the cultural values of the time? And How can studying the past lead to new opportunities for the future? Also, the unit following this one will be one on Sir Gawin and the Green Knight and will focus on where wisdom is found. The assignment due for this lesson can be revised and will fulfill the standards: 1.1 understand and practice writing as a recursive process, 1.3 communicate in writing, 2.1 developing critical reading and listening, 3.2 read and respond to literature, 3.3 use knowledge of literary history to respond to and analyze the meaning of texts, 4.1 begin to understand the use the English language effectively, and 4.2 start to understand how language variety reflects and shapes experience. This lesson as a part of this unit will help the students to better understand literature, the history of literature, how to write a riddle, the importance of word choice, the effect language can have, essential definitions, and the usefulness of terse and concise language.

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