Part One: An Explanation Marie Nelson, in her article, The Rhetoric of the Exeter Book Riddles, inspired me to the idea of conducting a literary experiment. Nelson says, “The Exeter Book riddlers wrote enigmatic definitions,” and then adds, “much of the skill that they exhibited in their double task of revealing and concealing may have been derived from their knowledge of classical rhetoric.” (Nelson, 424) I intend first to lay the groundwork of rhetoric, as Nelson …showed first 75 words of 1666 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1666 total…is important that the critical reader draw from another frame of reference when analysing. Instead of seeking the writer’s intentions, examine the effectiveness. Afterall, if the intention, and deliberateness Bibliography Godden, Malcolm and Michael Lapidge. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. 1991. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge. Hamer, Richard. A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse. 1970. Faber and Faber Ltd.; London. Nelson, Marie. “The Rhetoric of the Exeter Book Riddles.” Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies 44, 1974, 421-440.