34 Matching Annotations
  1. Jan 2021
    1. These poems are very sad. In my opinion it was very difficult to understand the meaning of some. But every single poem expressed sadness by expressing their feelings or thoughts. I really don't enjoy emotional poems since I question the meaning a lot, but there was two of the poems (The Wanderer and The wife's Lament) which I enjoyed but while reading it I questioned myself. I wondered throughout the poem if I was understanding what it was implying.

    2. Wealth is fleeting, friends are fleeting, Man is fleeting, maid is fleeting, All this earth’s foundations utterly shall pass.

      The idea of nothing last forever, everything disappears at some point. I believe that this man has nothing to live for. It is almost like a farewell, but at the same time I think that he is kind of implying that people should "live life to the fullest". In order to not regret it later in life or regret once you have died. Is it by chance a double meaning poem?

    3. Men that are suddenly snatched in their prime, High-souled heroes; so the whole of this earth Day by day droops and sinks to decay. . .

      Basically the Wanderer is thinking of all the young men that die only to decay and sink into the earth which makes his heart sorrowful. I believe that he is really depressed almost contemplating his life and meaning; because he extensively thinks and of death which makes him sad.

    4. Was laid in the earth, and left me to roam Watery wastes, with winter in my heart.

      Does he mean his mother?

      As I read this part I imagined he was talking about his mother dying and leaving him behind which makes him sad. But I'm not really sure if not his mother who could he be talking about? A lover?

    5. friend

      She mentions "friend" quite a lot towards the end. Are these friends real? or are they a figment of her imagination? I get the feeling that she became crazy (unstable) because the lord left her, and because she is alone and has no one she talks to her "friends" .

    6. May all his joy in the world depend on himself only; may he be banished very far in a distant land

      Wishing him death? In my opinion I think that the lord left her for someone else (someone better), and she does not want anyone by his side except for herself. Kind of like "if I can't have him no one will".

    7. I found the man most mated to me unhappy,

      Was it the Kinsmen or the lord? What happened? Did she and the lord separate because of the Kinsmen? I get that she had found the one but now he makes her unhappy?

    8. mead-hall,

      A kenning: Mead an alcoholic drink (fermented honey and water) used in celebration. Mead-hall: almost like a place for celebration.

    9. This life on land is lingering death to me, Give me the gladness of God’s great sea.

      In the land there is still death (basically everywhere),so he rather go to the sea which will make him happy and by going to the sea he is getting closer to God.

    10. forbodes

      a warning for something bad.

    11. Seafarer

      A person who regularly travels by sea (a sailor). Had trouble with the pronunciation, it sounded weird, so I looked it up. (see**-feh-rr**)

    12. ale-cup

      A glass which holds beer that has a handle

    13. Heart-chilling

      A kenning: almost like heart wrenching (moving)

    14. mirth

      amusement, expressed in laughter.

    15. Exeter Cathedral.

      An Anglican cathedral in South West England. That opened up in 1400 with a gothic style architecture.

    16. Friend have I non to whom I may open My heart’s deep secret

      Describing how he is all alone, and has no friends that he can confide in.

    17. Exeter

      Meaning? Is it actually a word or is it a place?

      A city in Devon, England

    1. Now thee I bid, my dearest man, 

      Is the dream talking to the man? on what to say to others about the dream?

    2. “‘Twas long ago (I remember it still)

      The second narrator pops on, which is the cross (representing Christ).

    3. rood

      Another word for the cross.

    1. to destroy the host of the Britons entirely

      Due to their sins, all of the people got killed?

      is this Gildas?

    2. It is no wonder that there is mishap among us:

      Meaning people shouldn't be surprise if something bad happens to them since they have done wrong as well.

    3. who contribute together and buy a woman as a joint purchase between them and practice foul sin with that one woman, one after another

      As this happens more and more it soon becomes normal; basically disrespecting God's creation.

    4. we have trans­formed desire into laws for us entirely too often, and have kept neither precepts nor laws of God or men just as we should.

      It's all for the people and their greed, everything changed and everything is going downhill.

    5. God’s servants are everywhere deprived of honor and protec­tion.

      People are treat those who are with God badly; instead of helping them and protecting them. Angels?

    6. For with great deserts we have earned the misery that is upon us, and with truly great deserts we must obtain the remedy from God, if hence­forth things are to improve.

      Implying that people were to greedy and that there will be consequences for that greed. That the only way things can improve is by getting the answer from God .

    7. The reasoning in the sermon is that the people have been far too loyal to the Devil who one could assume has been leading the people to commit these sins that every day has drawn them farther away from God and his ways.

      Is the sermon supposed to bring people back to the right path? Bringing them closer to God and further away from the devil?

    1. Vikings

      I always wondered if the Vikings from this era really look like how they are portrayed on television?

    2. Boudica

    3. Neolithic culture

      Neolithic is a period during the Stone Age; first came Paleolithic, then Mesolithic, and at the end Neolithic. The Neolithic culture used a lot of stone tools, created many crafts like pottery, and the people depended in animals and plants. A monument that was build during this Neolithic period and culture and is still there is the Stonehenge in the UK.

    4. bemoan

      "Expressing discontent or sorrow over something".

    5. Jutes, Angles and Saxons.

      The three biggest tribes a mix of Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Wanna learn more? You can check out "Anglo-Saxons: a brief history".

    6. A nephew is sent abroad to accompany a beautiful young woman on a journey to marry his uncle. But on the way, the nephew and the young woman fall in love and the uncle finds out and plots revenge.

      Sounds like a drama to me. Where two people end up falling in love after spending time together and learning about each other.

    7.   A warrior known for his strength kills monsters and has a final epic battle

      A classic heroic epic story, reminds me of "The Odyssey" by Homer.