Paper #1: Finding ‘Anonymous’

“A poet sings to protect the people” (Maxim I-B)

INTRO: Unfortunately, we don’t know the identity of the many poets and singers who composed the poems in The Word Exchange. There might be a few, or a dozen, or a hundred. We can’t even tell for sure if certain poems were all the work of one hand, since oral poetry is often added onto, expanded, and adapted by each poet/singer. However, a good chunk of Shakespeare’s plays were not even attributed to him during his life, and only later, did people realize that the same hand wrote Romeo and Juliet as well as King Lear. So maybe that’s the case with these poems...maybe a hidden ‘Shakespeare’ is behind the work of several of these Anglo-Saxon masterpieces?

ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, I want you to make the argument that two specific works are the product of the same poet, expressing a similar world view, similar themes, and some coherence of style. In other words, how can you see the unique artistic thumbprints of the author when you read both works? What makes them consistent and different from many other works of the same time or style? To do this, you need to analyze the two poems you feel most ‘speak’ to each other, and use close reading to pick out lines and even words that reinforce a poet’s specific consciousness.

EXAMPLE: In Maxims I-C, I might examine the final stanza, which reads, “Our world has no haven...That is where you must live, among thieves and killers” (189). To me, this echoes several passages in poems such as The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and Deor, especially, which see the world as cruel and ruled by fate (wyrd). I would examine specific phrases in one of these poems to show that they both echo the same ideas in roughly the same language.

CITATION: When quoting works in your paper, follow this simple formula: Introduction + quote/citation + response. It should basically look like this...In the final stanza of Maxim I-C, the poet writes, “That is where you must live, among thieves and killers” (189). This is significant since it suggests the earthly world is run by a cruel, almost senseless fate, and that someone looking for earthly comforts will always be disappointed.

REQUIREMENTS: At least 3-4 pages, double spaced; quote from both poems enough to make your points; introduce and cite poems; due MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th BY 5pm [no class that day]