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Conclusion - The Rhyming Poem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2023

Harriet Soper
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Summarising this study’s findings, this concluding chapter explores a little-discussed and much-maligned text in their light: the relatively late, formally innovative, and greatly enigmatic Rhyming Poem of the Exeter Book. This poem is known for its apparently disorganised structure and ambiguous subject matter, moving rapidly between human and nonhuman referents, and operating on both a microcosmic and macrocosmic level. Yet The Rhyming Poem gains a great deal of clarity when approached as an articulation of a human life course, blurring with that of the world itself. Drawing on arguments built throughout the book, this final chapter sets out a new account of the poem, finding more coherence to its structure than scholars have previously detected, and pointing particularly to key connections between form and content in the poet’s bold use of rhyme to accentuate the sudden shifts and transformations of the life course.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Rhyming Poem
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.006
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  • The Rhyming Poem
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Rhyming Poem
  • Harriet Soper, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Life Course in Old English Poetry
  • Online publication: 29 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315159.006
Available formats
×