Activity 1.2.1: Guided Annotation

Activity 1.2.1: Annotating the Text Assignment

Learning Target: I can analyze how a poet uses literary techniques to create meaning in an epic poem.

In the lesson, you learned about kennings, alliteration, and variation as key literary techniques in Old English poetry. Now apply that knowledge to the text itself.

Directions:

Go back to the text of lines 1-52 (01.01.02a). Using a printed copy, a digital annotation tool, or the annotation worksheet provided, complete the following:

1. Mark at least 3 kennings in the text. For each one, write what it literally means and what it reveals about Anglo-Saxon values.
2. Underline 3 examples of alliteration. Choose one and explain what emphasis the sound repetition creates.
3. Identify 2 examples of variation (where the poet describes the same thing in different ways). Explain what each variation adds.
4. Star one line or image that strikes you as especially powerful, beautiful, or puzzling. Write 2-3 sentences explaining why.

This annotation will become evidence you'll use in your literary analysis (Assignment 01.01.03d). Save your work.

Sentence Frames

If reading the poem in English feels overwhelming, try translating a few key lines into another language you know. Sometimes seeing the meaning in another language helps you identify the techniques in the English version.