What is the primary meter used in 'Cædmon's Hymn'?
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Correct answer: Alliterative four-stress long line
Like almost all Old English poetry, Caedmon's Hymn uses the four-stress alliterative long line divided by a caesura. This demonstrates that the earliest English religious poetry adopted the form of secular heroic verse.
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More Caedmon and Religious Verse questions
- Which of the following is a 'Kenning' used for the Sea in the religious poem 'Exodus'?
- In the context of Old English religious verse, what does 'typology' refer to?
- Which of these best describes the 'tone' of the Junius Manuscript poems?
- According to Bede's account, what was Cædmon's occupation before he received his miraculous gift of song?
- In 'Caedmon's Hymn,' God is addressed as 'Heofonrices Weard.' What does this epithet mean?
- Which prominent Anglo-Saxon abbess presided over the monastery where Cædmon lived and composed?