Enigmas And Riddles In Literature

A wide-ranging and original study on how enigmas and riddles work in literature.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Kassel (Institut f r Anglistik und Amerikanistik), 16 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Riddles and rhymes are very common in English speaking countries; they are even part of oral lore among children and students. True riddles or punning ones with a word of two uses are very popular, i.e. "What runs but never walks? - A river."1 Although they are regarded as special forms funny puzzles, enigmas and sayings were also an important element of poetic diction throughout the history of literature. Old English prose and verse are considered to be the oldest literature written in vernacular, although Latin and Germanic influence is apparent in the Old English language. During the Anglo-Saxon Period and especially under Alfred, King of Wessex, Old English language and poetry reached its highpoint. At this time the clergy was considered as the intellectual elite and so poetry was composed in monasteries and the so called "writing-rooms". The surviving manuscripts include heroic, elegiac and religious elements, as in the Beowulf poem, The Seafarer and The Dream of the Rood. Old English riddles can be found in The Book of Exeter anthology. The collection includes about ninety riddles with heroic, religious and philosophical elements. This special form of poetic diction provides characteristic stylistic devices like alliterative verse and kenning. Besides that, the enigmas had a didactic purpose, as they were intended for religious and linguistic learning at the monastery schools.

The vibrant and enigmatic Exeter Riddles (ca. 960–980) are among the most compelling texts in the field of medieval studies, in part because they lack textually supplied solutions. Indeed, these ninety-five Old English riddles have become so popular that they have even been featured on posters for the London Underground and have inspired a sculpture in downtown Exeter. Modern scholars have responded enthusiastically to the challenge of solving the Riddles, but have generally examined them individually. Few have considered the collection as a whole or in a broader context. In this book, Patrick Murphy takes an innovative approach, arguing that in order to understand the Riddles more fully, we must step back from the individual puzzles and consider the group in light of the textual and oral traditions from which they emerged. He offers fresh insights into the nature of the Exeter Riddles’ complexity, their intellectual foundations, and their lively use of metaphor.

"In this unique book Mark Bryant has collected hundreds of the best riddles of all time, drawn from sources throughout the world. They range from simple jokes about fleas and worms enjoyed by earthy peasants to highly sophisticated puzzles composed by some of the greatest names in the world of letters, from Schiller, Swift and Cervantes to Edgar All Poe, Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. To introduce this anthology, Mark Bryant traces the history of riddles from their origins in pre-classical antiquity to modern times."--Jacket.

In this book, Curtis Gruenler proposes that the concept of the enigmatic, latent in a wide range of medieval thinking about literature, can help us better understand in medieval terms much of the era’s most enduring literature, from the riddles of the Anglo-Saxon bishop Aldhelm to the great vernacular works of Dante, Chaucer, Julian of Norwich, and, above all, Langland’s Piers Plowman. Riddles, rhetoric, and theology—the three fields of meaning of aenigma in medieval Latin—map a way of thinking about reading and writing obscure literature that was widely shared across the Middle Ages. The poetics of enigma links inquiry about language by theologians with theologically ambitious literature. Each sense of enigma brings out an aspect of this poetics. The playfulness of riddling, both oral and literate, was joined to a Christian vision of literature by Aldhelm and the Old English riddles of the Exeter Book. Defined in rhetoric as an obscure allegory, enigma was condemned by classical authorities but resurrected under the influence of Augustine as an aid to contemplation. Its theological significance follows from a favorite biblical verse among medieval theologians, “We see now through a mirror in an enigma, then face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). Along with other examples of the poetics of enigma, Piers Plowman can be seen as a culmination of centuries of reflection on the importance of obscure language for knowing and participating in endless mysteries of divinity and humanity and a bridge to the importance of the enigmatic in modern literature. This book will be especially useful for scholars and undergraduate students interested in medieval European literature, literary theory, and contemplative theology.

Ruth Finnegan's Oral Literature in Africa was first published in 1970, and since then has been widely praised as one of the most important books in its field. Based on years of fieldwork, the study traces the history of storytelling across the continent of Africa. This revised edition makes Finnegan's ground-breaking research available to the next generation of scholars. It includes a new introduction, additional images and an updated bibliography, as well as its original chapters on poetry, prose, "drum language" and drama, and an overview of the social, linguistic and historical background of oral literature in Africa. This book is the first volume in the World Oral Literature Series, an ongoing collaboration between OBP and World Oral Literature Project. A free online archive of recordings and photographs that Finnegan made during her fieldwork in the late 1960s is hosted by the World Oral Literature Project (http: //www.oralliterature.org/collections/rfinnegan001.html) and can also be accessed from publisher's website.

Classical Enigmas, Adapted to Every Month in the Year is a book by Anne Ritson. It presents the reader with amusing riddles and flabbergasting conundrums based on English and Roman histories in a humorous manner.