1. Introduction to The Book of Exeter Created and Compiled by: Ms. Nelson

2. Warm-Up When you think of the “Middle Ages,” what comes to mind?

3. The Middle Ages in 3.5 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EAMqKUimr8

4. World  Europe  England What did you notice differed between the East and West? What was happening in Europe? Where there any obvious themes?

5. The Book of Exeter Collection of Anglo-Saxon poetry Secular poems Religious verse Riddles Heroic narrative Largest collection of Old English poetry Contains 131 sheets of parchment (roughly the same size as a sheet of paper)

6. Who was the author? Multiple authors (oral tradition) ~ 950AD a scribe collected the works Compiled them all into one manuscript Written in Old English

7. Then what? Leofric, the Bishop of Exeter, originally owned the book He donated it to the Cathedral somewhere between 1050-1072 It was then abandoned for nearly a thousand years…

8. What happened to it? Burned Stained Loss of binding and/or pages (no one truly knows) Knife cuts on pages suggest that the book was possibly used as a cutting board!

9. Rediscovered 1842 – Benjamin Thorpe published the first complete translated compilation (from Old English  English) Titles were given to poems, like “The Seafarer” and “The Wanderer”

10. Common Themes Loneliness / Isolation Danger / Peril Disease / Death / War

11. Sources Textbook (in class) Online Edition http://www.heritagecollegeready.org/ourpages/auto/2013/9/30/51224870/ u1_exeterbk_seafarer_se.pdf http://www.heritagecollegeready.org/ourpages/auto/2013/9/30/51224870/ u1_exeterbk_seafarer_se.pdf Images: ClipArt, Microsoft Office, Bing

12. How to Solve a Poem Step One: Read the entire poem. Don’t worry if it’s a mystery; that’s how it feels a lot of times. Look up and define any words you don’t understand. Step Two: Re-read the work. This time apply your detective skills by using the TP CAST T method.

13. TP CAST T Title: Ponder on what the title means. Is there any allusion or image presented? Paraphrase: Translate the poem stanza by stanza. Subject- what is the poet talking about? Occasion– what is the occasion or event? Audience– is the poem written to a specific audience or person? Purpose– why is the poet telling us this? Speaker– who is speaking don’t confuse speaker with poet.

14. TP CAST T Connotation: consider the poem’s meaning beyond the obvious. Is the poet really talking only about the subject, or does the meaning extend beyond the literal? Consider work choices and their connotative meanings. Attitude: observe the speaker’s attitude and tone Shifts: note shifts in speakers, attitudes, and focus of attention Title: go back to the title, anything new? Theme: determine what the poet is saying, why he or she wrote the poem.

15. Step 3 Look for literary devices used in the poem Alliteration Allusion Apostrophe Assonance Diction Parallelism Personification

16. Step 4 DIDS Diction– word choices Images– are there any notable images Details– how does the poet present images, mood, or patterns Structure– what is the form of the poem