Rhetorical techniques in selected homilies of Aelfric

Aelfric's style has received a good deal of attention partic-ularly in regard to rhythmical prose. The present thesis examines other rhetorical techniques peculiar to Aelfric's style which have not received as much attention--techniques which clearly reflect Aelfric's concerns with clarity and with his works as conscious literary creations.

By comparing Aelfric's Feria VI in Quarta Ebdomada Quadragesimae and Marcarius and the Magicians, Saul and the Witch of Endor to their sources, the author demonstrates these rhetorical techniques and their resultant effects on meaning. Aelfric's alteration of tone, repetition of key words, and addition of words or phrases which vivify the story point to his deep concern for instruction. And yet, the large number of word plays (which are far more than found in the sources), the careful word choice, concern for alliteration, and the dramatic devices point to his other concern for his homilies as con-scious literary creations.