Word in Context

After completing this assignment, students will

• Become familiar with basic Dictionary of Old English and Dictionary of Old English Corpus searches, and understand their importance as scholarly tools in rigorous readings of Old English texts
• Be aware of the diversity of texts in the Dictionary of Old English Corpus, beyond the canonical literary texts in undergraduate anthologies
• Practice close reading, using the meanings and usage of one Old English word as a window both into a specific text and into the wider Old English literary tradition

1. Dictionary of Old English
2. Dictionary of Old English Corpus
3. Video Tutorial:  Basic DOE Searches
4. Video Tutorial:  Basic DOE Corpus Searches

Overview

This assignment will require you to explore a word within an Old English literary passage, using the Dictionary of Old English and DOE Corpus (750-1000 words).

Details

Select an Old English word from A to H (noun, verb, or adjective) occurring in an Old English passage you have studied.

Look up the word in the Dictionary of Old English and in the DOE Corpus.

Then write a brief essay (750-1000 words) answering the following questions: What are the word’s meanings and usage patterns? Is your Old English passage typical or atypical of these usage patterns? How do the word’s senses and usage fit within the themes and rhetorical strategies of your selected passage and within the selected Old English text as a whole?