Allow me to share with you my knowledge on the epic called Beowulf. This epic, just like every epic is a long poem. It consists of a man named Beowulf, who is the hero in the story because he possesses good qualities that enable him to help others, in need and vanquish the evil that has everyone running for their lives. These certain long poems are built with characters that create an adventure and involve a heroic figure through out the epic. Most epics share similar characteristics: (1) the epic usually consists of a hero with great historical or legendary significance; (2) a setting covering great nations, the world or sometimes even the whole entire universe; (3) the action consists of deeds of great value that require superhuman courage; (4) supernatural forces, such as: gods, angels or demons; (5) a unique style of sustained elevation is used; (6) the poet keeps a measure of objectivity.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in al...
English: An illustration of Beowulf fighting the d...
Finds from Eadgils' mound, left, excavated in 1874...These general characteristics should be added to the list of devices used by most epic poets. The poet opens by stating the theme, invokes a muse, and opens the narrative media. In the middle of the poem the poet includes talk of warriors, ships, and armies. There are important meaningful speeches given by the main characters, and the poet frequently uses epic similes.
Now to give you a background on Beowulf and where the epic derived from; during the chaotic period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic tribes in the 5th century A.D. The people who were in tribes such as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes who wanted to get away, settled on an island called Britain, which they called Anglo-Saxon civilization. It is their famous tale of the great hero named Beowulf, that takes place on the European mainland. With two related tribes, the Danes that are now known as Denmark and the Geats, now known as Sweden. Beowulf is a great and courageous warrior who crosses the sea to help the Danes, then goes back to Sweden to help his Uncle Hygelac succeed as king of the Geats. We will never know whether or not that Beowulf really existed, we do know that Hygelac was a real historical figure who led a military raid around the year 525 A.D. The action of Beowulf is presumed to take place not long afterward.
To discuss literary terms and concepts from the epic of Beowulf, I will explain the following terms and then give three examples straight out of the epic for each. (1) Alliteration - to repeat the constant sounds at the beginning of words, this is used to emphasize certain words. Some examples for this from the book are on page 65-69: seas, savage, sung, seeking, pg.150: them, that, to, to, they, themselves, pg.403: smashing, shining, swords (2) kenning- they are poetic synonyms found in Germanic poems. The examples I found for kenning are on page 128: "My lord, the great king of the Danes, pg.141: "Hail, Hrothgar! and pg.185: Will fret about sewing our shrouds, if he wins. (3) Stock Epithet "ÃÂ this is an adjective that points out special traits of a person or thing. Examples can be found on page 156: in the blackness of night, pg. 207: my tongue grows heavy and pg. 148-149: his eyes Gleamed in the darkness, (4) Metaphor "ÃÂ this is when a word or phrase that designates one thing is applied to another. Examples are on page 34-35: the monsters thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws, pg. 477: the iron sang its fierce song, pg. 576: the water was calm and clean, (5) Hyperbole "ÃÂ is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. The examples are, pg. 398: where the Danes slept as though already dead, pg. 441: waves splash towards the sky, pg.636: under the rocky cliffs: no coward could of walked there! (6) Old English "ÃÂ is away to record the history of England form the beginning of the Christian era to about the middle of the 12th century.
To compare the epic Beowulf (past) to the latest event that has taken place in the U.S. which is the terrorist attack (present) on the world trade center that collapsed and took many lives. Many rescuers, volunteers and civilians put their lives at risk and are heroes; because they have already helped save lives and are still helping find more people to rescue from the rubble. Like Beowulf the epic from the past, he was also a hero because he to put his life at risk to help save lives from being taken. Comparing both the epic and the terrible recent event, they to me I think are both similar. Not at first but, to me I think that they pretty much end the same way. Just like Beowulf risked his life to save others the rescuers also risked their lives to save others. What we have here are two very courageous heroes.
Finally for the conclusion of this paper, by reading the story epic Beowulf I now see hero's in a different way. I used to think that a hero was someone who just basically saves the day. Now I really look into the hero and see what he had to do, what he had to sacrifice, and what he couldn't be scared of. The rescuers, volunteers, civilians, and Beowulf are all courageous heroes with plenty of heart. These are the kind of people I consider to be role models in my life. I wouldn't mind being like one of them when I get older. Who knows, it could happen.
What would the epic poetry of Dork-Rome look like?
Sura reads at the Globe - Epic Poetry Wednesday co...
Epic Poetry