The connotations of the Old English terms sceacan, faege, aeglaeca: A study in the method of determining the poetic values of Old English words

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to propose a method for obtaining more precise understanding of the connotations of Old English poetic words. The linguistic theories upon which the method is based are the symbolic theory of language and the contextual theory of meaning. These theories are summarized in Chapter I and related to the two kinds of meaning, generally called denotation and -connotation. The problem of distinguishing denotation and connotation in theory and in practice is then discussed, and the particular problems which arise during the attempt to establish the denotation of a noun, adjective and verb are examined. The further difficulty of translation from Old English into New English is also considered. Next, a method is described whereby-the connotations of an Old English poetic term can be collected and classified , and the use of symbols and charts to record these connotations in Chapters II, III and IV is explained. The manner in which the study of connotative meaning throws light on the acquisition of new meaning or the process of modification in meaning is illustrated with reference to the terms (sceacan. ) under consideration in the three following chapters. Chapters II, III and IV give practical demonstrationof the method outlined in Chapter I. In these chapters the evidence for the connotations of an Old English verb, sceacan, adjective, faege and noun, aeglaeca , respectively, is presented, and examined, and the connotative meanings so established are charted. In Chapter V the connotative values obtained and recorded for each term in this way are used to elucidate the meaning of that term in difficult and important passages of poetry.