Riddle12 A Literary Experiment
Marie Nelson, in her article, The Rhetoric of the Exeter Book Riddles, inspired me to the idea of conducting a literary experiment. Nelson says, "The Exeter Book riddlers wrote enigmatic definitions," and then adds, "much of the skill that they exhibited in their double task of revealing and concealing may have been derived from their knowledge of classical rhetoric." (Nelson, 424) I intend first to lay the groundwork of rhetoric, as Nelson similarly did in her article, and then apply the various devices and concepts to one of the Exeter Book Riddles. I hope to ascertain whether or not Nelson's theory that "much of the skill [the riddlers] exhibited in their double task of revealing and concealing may have been derived from their knowledge of classical rhetoric." (424) To begin, I will list the rhetorical devices Nelson uses, and paraphrase general definitions of these devices: Alliteration- the use of words in a series with the same or a similar beginning Anaphora- repetition of the same word at the beginnings of successive phrases, Antithesis- to make a contrasting relationship between two ideas Assonance- similar vowels sounds occurring in suc
Literature. 1991. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge. Nelson spends a lot of time analysing each device in the riddles in which they most concisely occur. I, however, intend to look at a single riddle and find as many of these devices as possible. For conventions of internal rhyme, such as alliteration and assonance I will have to use the original, Old English, text. For others, it will be necessary to consult the translations. As a final note, before beginning my analysis, I quote Nelson one more time, "Perhaps it is too much to expect that every riddle in the Exeter Book should be a 'well made' poem, a work of art in which every part plays an essential role in defining the subject." (439) To look for alliteration is almost as fruitful as to look for a single letter, insofar as it is very common, let alone necessary. There is no doubt that alliteration is widely used, "Old English lines regularly had alliteration of either or both of the stressed syllables in the first half with the first stressed syllable in the second half." (Godden and Lapidge, 59) Indeed, alliteration was even required of Old English verse. The line 1 of Riddle 12, "Fotum ic fere,/ foldan slite" exemplifies alliteration in which both stressed syllables of the first half alliterate with the first stressed syllable in the second half. Assonance however occurs less frequently (though this may be an observation made at the fault of a limited command of the language). In fact, save for the possibility of assonance in the second half of line two (penden ic gaest bere), I cannot identify any occurrences of the device. In conjunction with the first four lines of the poem, the last two serve to fulfil the envelope pattern. The last two lines are nothing more than a restatement of the first four, thus allowing the riddler to leave his reader with no less ambiguity than before, only more details which may or may not point to a specific solution. And in their function, the final lines are even less specific and helpful than the first, insofar as ascertaining the identity of the speaker. The opening lines give us clues to the dwelling place, and habits of the speaker, more so than does the phrase "plunder all the land."
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1765
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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