The Review of English Studies Advance Access published online on February 9, 2007
The Review of English Studies, doi:10.1093/res/hgl154
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press 2007; all rights reserved
Fostering the Cuckoo: Exeter Book Riddle 9
Royal Holloway, University of London
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Abstract |
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Riddlesare generally thought to end once a solution has been found, but Exeter Book Riddle 9, although apparently straightforward and only twelve lines long, has more to offer than a disguised description of a cuckoo. The anthropomorphism that serves as the bird's disguise reveals social commentary regarding the practice of fostering, which may cast light on the hero's childhood in Beowulf. In addition, although the Exeter Book riddles do not demand spiritual or didactic readings, Riddle 9 may support an allegorical interpretation: cuckoo for devil, mother-bird for soul, nest for heart, and cuckoo-egg for sinful thought. Interpreting natural history allegorically has clear precedents, both within and without the Exeter Book, and the idea of continuing the interpretive process past an initial answer can be seen both to underlie the enigmata of the Anglo-Latin tradition and to play an important role in current understanding of the runic riddles of the Exeter Book. This essay thus argues that ‘solving’ Riddle 9 is only the starting point for interpretation; more than a solution, this text requires a different understanding of the riddle-genre itself.
I am grateful to Patricia Harris Gillies, John Gillies, Peregrine Horden, Pirkko Koppinen, and the anonymous reader for RES for their insightful and sharp-eyed corrections and suggestions. Remaining errors of fact or judgement are my own.