Heaney's translation may seem a little more indirect since it is in verse, and given from an objective perspective but the message stays the same in both texts. Thus, Beowulf replies to Unferth's challenge by giving this time his own account of his sea experiences and the way in which he had defeated all the monsters. First of all, in both texts Beowulf begins by returning the mockery and telling Unferth that he has only spoken thus because he was under the influence of the drinks he had that night. At this point, there is a very important element that is mentioned only in Heaney's version of the episode: Beowulf declares he has been kept safe against all odds because of the golden armor he was wearing: "My armor helped me hold out/my hard ringed chain mail, hand forged and linked, / a fine close fitting filigree of gold…...
Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel's Mother Monstrous?
To be monstrous is to be something other than human, but monstrous means more than extraordinary; it is a term with a bad or evil connotation, so that those who are monstrous are not only outside of the realm of the average human being, but also outside of it in a negative way. In the novel Beowulf, one encounters three different characters who have some characteristics one would consider monstrous. These three characters are Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel's mother. However, the three characters receive very different treatment in the book. Beowulf is considered the hero, despite having some of the very same traits as two of the monsters in the book, notably Grendel and Grendel's mother. What makes him a hero while the other two characters are monsters? Understanding this distinction not only helps explain the story of Beowulf, but also gives interesting insight…...
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References
Breeden, D. (Trans.). The Adventures of Beowulf: An adaptation from the Old English.
Dante's Inferno And The Heroic Quest
Like Homer's "The Odyssey," and "The Iliad," Dante's "The Inferno" begins with a kind of god's eye view of the world. However, rather than the gods looking down and squabbling about the morality of humans they see, Dante begins with his hero's face-to-face encounter with the divine, or at least a representative of the divine, the pagan poet Virgil. Virgil will be the poet's first guide through the world of the dead. Virgil is a pagan and thus cannot enter the Christian version of heaven, so he will guide Dante through "The Inferno." Virgil cannot enter heaven even though he is a 'good' pagan because he is being punished for being born before Jesus came to teach and suffer upon the earth. The good pagans are punished for being able to envision nothing beyond the existence of Homer's gods, essentially.
Your answer should be at least five sentences long.
The Legend of Arthur
Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16
Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty
1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality.
2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable.
Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 10 of 16
Journal Exercise 1.7B: Combining Sentences
Complete the Practice Activity on page 202 of your text. After completing this activity, read over your Essay Assessment or another journal activity you've completed.
* Identify three passages that could be improved by combining two or more sentences with coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. Below the practice activity in your journal, write the original passages and the revised sentences you've created.
* Be sure to indicate which journal or writing assignment they came from.
Those with issues to overcome are always more heroic. Hector also becomes a hero when, after at first running from Achilles, he eventually stands up to him and dies a heroic death.
The Iliad is primarily a war epic. In your opinion, is the Iliad condemnation of the it could easily be argued that the Illiad glorifies war, as much of the poem is spent portraying the warriors as brave and courageous, even as they go on killing rampages. Warriors are describes as "masters of the battle cry" and "warlike" in glowing epithets. When Achilles originally refused to fight, he is roundly condemned for it by all of the other Greek characters. Even the weapons of war, such as Achilles impenetrable shield, are glorified. But homer is more complicated than simple -- war also brings death, which he describes in great detail. Hector's death is perhaps the most graphic of…...
Beowulf is a hero who embodies the ideal characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon culture; these characteristics all come together to make up an epic tale. He possesses the traits and beliefs that were respected in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf displays these traits in his own actions and words during different circumstances throughout the tale. Beowulf is shown to be the strongest among the strong. Physical strength was very much embraced by the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf could slay the greatest monster of all, Grendel who lived in the woods. The portrayal and evil predictions of the eerie woods indicates an unwelcome place, especially as it is widely known by the people to inhabit evil monsters in the form of Grendel and his mother.
Predictability is something that is many times mentioned throughout this tale. Although many times correct, some predictions seem to be a foreshadow of evil things to come. Other predictions are…...
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References:
Campbell, James. The Anglo-Saxons. Ed. Eric John and Patrick Wormald. New York: Penguin Books, Limited, 1991.
Davies, Peter . The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980.
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston W.W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2005.
Beowulf and Treasure
In the epic poem Beowulf, the hero is one born to wealth and raised to wealth. This position, rather than making him weak, has allowed Beowulf to become respected in his community as a man of generosity and, because of his skills as a warrior, immense courage. To this extent, the reader sees Beowulf engaging in acts of bravery and of generosity towards his fellow men. Contrast this to the more evil characters, both the monsters Grendel and his mother and the monstrous humans that Beowulf encounters. Those who are ungenerous are invariably the wicked characters, both lacking kindness towards fellow men and the heroic bravery of a Beowulf. Money and treasure are shown in the poem as markers of respect and of decency. Those who give it are treated heroically, as is evidenced at Beowulf's funeral. Those who hoard it are shown to be wicked. In this…...
Once this has been discussed, it is somewhat easier to translate Einstein's concept to the poet's own courageous scientific imagination, as scene in the scene from "eowulf" previously mentioned. Just as the modern scientist, the poet introduces and, subsequently, tries to understand and explain, the idea of chaotic events, events that cannot be explained by the traditional ideas.
Despite his own behavior aimed at avoiding conflict, eowulf cannot control all the forces and objects/individuals in his realm. This is why the conflict is triggered by one of his men ("ut a certain man / stumbled on it,/into the heathen hoard,/and took a cup,/a large, decorated treasure"). As mentioned, the event itself lacks the previous logic according to which the battles were fought because of the unprovoked attack of the enemy (Grendel, Grendel's mother).
Here, the event cannot be explained by the previous laws of physics (the attack is not caused by the…...
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Bibliography
1. Einstein, Albert; Infeld, L. . The Evolution of Physics. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1938
eowulf's story is being told by Christian tribes. He finds nature on his side because God is on his side - and he works within Gods will. He does not fight gods or nature, but rather only fights irrevocably evil demons. He is associated with a pious culture which is not humanistic, and in which science and other such forms of hubris are not encouraged. eowulf is a truly medieval hero, just as Odysseus was Grecian.
This difference in culture, between the material and the heavenly, is seen in every aspect of the two characters and their lives. It exists also in their ends. Odysseus spends his entire story seeking a way home to the home of his body - to his wife, his child, his fields and bed. eowulf is seeking only the ultimate good, and he turns down physical reward and even resists kingship until it is forced…...
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Bibliography used different translations of these two books, so as to make them searchable and because I could not access the specific textbook
It is his own acknowledgment of his glory and honor that allows him to stand as an example to future generations. Folk epics are not meant only to recall historical details, but also to inspire modern heroes; the world of Beowulf and the world for which it was written both required strong heroes who knew the honor and righteousness of their actions.
Beowulf is more than the story of a hero's life, journey and adventures, and death. It is the story of a type of person and a people that the author and original readers of Beowulf felt an intimate longing for. As a folk epic, the tale of Beowulf is meant to draw people together in a common history, and to inspire them to the same types of glory that the heroes of the past achieved. Its purpose is to achieve solidarity in the admiration of a common hero,…...
Basic organizational plan: Introduce concept f epic, then folk epic, then explain enerally how Beowulf fits the description. The main body of the essay will explicate some brief apssags, explaining how this fits into the general framework.
XV were Christian is beyond doubt; and it is equally certain that Beowulf was composed in a Christianised England, since conversion took place in the sixth and seventh centuries. Yet the only Biblical references in Beowulf are to the Old Testament, and Christ is never mentioned. The poem is set in pagan times, and none of the characters is demonstrably Christian. In fact, when we are told what anyone in the poem believes, we learn that they are pagans. Beowulf's own beliefs are not expressed explicitly. He offers eloquent prayers to a higher power, addressing himself to the "Father Almighty" or the "Wielder of All." Were those the prayers of a pagan who used phrases the Christians subsequently appropriated? or, did the poem's author intend to see Beowulf as a Christian Ur-hero, symbolically refulgent with Christian virtues" (Yeager)
Interesting though Vis and amin share some characteristics with Hellenistic romances written around…...
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REFERENCES
Dick Davis, Panthea's Children: Hellenistic Novels and Medieval Persian Romances, New York, 2002.
Vladimir Minorsky, "Vis u Ramin: A Parthian Romance," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. XI, 1943-46, pp. 741-63; Vol. XII, 1947-1948, pp. 20-35; Vol. XVI, 1954, pp. 91-92; "New Developments." Vol. XXV, 1962, pp. 275-86.
Abrams, M.H.; Greenblatt, Stephen (2000). The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages (Vol 1), Beowulf. New York: W.W. Norton. p. 30.
Yeager, Robert F.. "Why Read Beowulf?." National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
Off from the sill there
Bent mead-benches many, as men have informed me,
Adorned with gold-work, where the grim ones did struggle.
The Scylding wise men weened ne'er before
That by might and main-strength a man under heaven
Might break it in pieces, bone-decked, resplendent,
Crush it by cunning, unless clutch of the fire
In smoke should consume it. (12. 62-73)
The physical properties that Hrothgar's men had built into the Hall withstood this battle of good vs. evil. Heorot was intended to be a place of greatness and glory to God which gave it the symbolic ability to make good prevail and evil sink.
After Beowulf's victory over Grendel, Beowulf must travel to Grendel's home to do battle with his monstrous mother. Her den is described by Hrothgar to Beowulf as an evil place shrouded in darkness, yet "there ever at night one an ill-meaning portent / a fire-flood may see" (21.4-5). Even animals know not to…...
When Grendel tries to attack the place, it is seen as the attack of chaos aimed at structure and order. "Then a powerful demon, a prowler in the dark, / nursed a hard grievance" (86-87). Grendel is not an intelligent enemy but he is definitely powerful. His immense power turns him into a dangerous force since reason doesn't reside inside him. The hall was a symbol of civilization as the poet informs us: "inside Heorot / there was nothing but friendship" (1017-1018). Thus hall has immense symbolic value in the book and is aptly described as the "greatest house / in the world" (145-146).
Beowulf is perfectly aware of the importance of Heorot. He knows that by saving the place, and defeating Grendel, he could actually be presented with the greatest house on earth. In a passage, he acknowledges the worth and value of this place:
The men hurried forward, pressed…...
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References
Alvin a. Lee, "Heorot and the Guest-Hall of Eden: Symbolic Metaphor and the Design of Beowulf," in the Guest-Hall of Eden: Four Essays on the Design of Old English Poetry, Yale University Press, 1972, pp. 171-223.
Jennifer Neville, Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Thomas Greene. The Norms of Epic," Comparative Literature 13 (1961), 193-207
Halverson, John."The World of Beowulf."ELH 36:4 (1969): 593-608.Rpt. In Readings on Beowulf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998
sof Hengest, though the employment of this striking phrase within the space of a few lines to designate both the opposing parties must be regarded as confusing" (rown) This not only provides confusion for the interpretation and translation of the poem but also for the actual context and flow of events. Thus, this can be an example of transmutation that in turn can determine the value of a translated version or its lack of consistency.
Another important aspect in relation to the style of writing is focused on the artistic literary techniques. More precisely, the accent lies in the way in which the verse and the rhyme are constructed. Up to the interpretation of Tolkien, the rhyme and the verse were considered as lacking precision and value. Still the rhyme is thoroughly analyzed for any potential matching to an already invented system of rhythm and alliterations. A perfect example in the…...
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Bibliography
Bloom, Harold. "Bloom's Guides: comprehensive research and study guide." Infobase Publishing, New York, 2008.
Brown, Carleton. "Beowulf 1080-1106." Modern Language Notes (n.d.).
Cook, Albert Stanburrough. "Beowulf 1422." Modern Language Notes Vol. 39, No. 2 (Feb., 1924), pp. 77-82 (n.d.).
Fulk, Robert Dennis. "An Interpretation of Beowulf, a critical anthology." Indiana University Press, 1991, New York.
That saw the children of Krindle as children of God
Their tears did nourish further the land
The swamp teeming with life started to fester
Heat sweltering and searing the skin of creatures
All who would pass saw not the love filled flower
None who passed smelled anything but death
All who passed spat on them or stomped down
Squeezing out life before they had the chance to grow
They strived for beauty as fresh as birds
For petals soft as infant's cheeks
And for kisses scented like a blooming rose
Their love no different from that of a man
The children of Krindle would dream for a…...
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