Abstract
This chapter examines the range and theme of Old English wisdom poetry. It analyses Old English poems which are primarily concerned with imparting wisdom and use the gnome as a structural unit. These include Exeter, Cotton Maxims, and Fortunes of Men. This chapter suggests that Old English poems amalgamate Germanic, tradition, biblical forms, and classical devices in the presentation of wisdom in verse. It contends that Old English poets have taken whatever seemed useful to them from the traditions with which they were familiar and created frameworks around which they could structure the wisdom they wanted to present.
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