Beowulf Descriptive Writing

His breath came in gasps as he rested for a moment against a wall in the dark tower of his liege, Baron Morassmus. The cool, slick surface of the stone blocks drew the heat from his sweat covered body. Skum didn't mind perspiring. Heck, being a goblin, his twisted, green body was covered with a stinky slime as well as a multitude of bumps, lumps, and pockmarks.  Besides, the dirty green rag of a tunic, which was clasped around waist with a wide leather belt barring a metal emblem of a giant on it's clasp, absorbed most of the moisture.  Closing his large bulbous eyes for a moment he let his rapid breathing start to slow.  His hulking body sagged even more in his brief respite.  The object, held in one hand, almost slipping from his grasp.

“Beowulf” is an epic poem that contains monsters, bravery, and sacrifice during the Anglo-Saxon Period. Some people say that Beowulf is a great epic that everyone should read at least once in their life. But others despise the poem thinking that it is very boring.

Walking along an ancient, narrow cobblestone road in a medieval town, I marvel at beauty before me as I take in every detail. I notice all the old bricks

“No better king had ever lived, no prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise.” This is an ultimate description of the heroic events of Beowulf, an old Anglo-Saxon poem about a warrior who battles and destroys three horrifying monsters. Although written long ago, the emotions expressed within this work, emotions of bravery, valor, and ethics still speak to us centuries later. The anonymous author of the poem convinces us through the masterful use of various literary elements that emphasize its meaning and message. Conflict, imagery and setting are three literary elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the poem.

“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” – Ayn Rand. To fully understand the complex world and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, one must examine the only form of historical evidence available – texts. One particular great work from this time period is often underrated and overshadowed in modern society by many other ancient works such as Iliad or Oedipus Rex. The epic poem, Beowulf, was sung by multiple unknown Anglo-Saxon poets four centuries before the Norman Conquest. The theme of good versus evil was constantly reappearing throughout the storyline, the portrayal of evil and its downfall initially shaped the poem’s plot, and illustrates an alien presence; something that

Beowulf and Grendel are two different stories, and characters, who look at the same situation in polarized ways. Each character has their own story that is written from different time periods: the Anglo-Saxon time period and America in the 1970’s. Both of these time periods have different attributes that make them special; the Anglo-Saxon time period consists of the literary movement of the epic poem and America in the 1970’s consists of the literary movement known as postmodernism. Beowulf is shaped by the Anglo-Saxon time period through its use of the heroic code and religious influences and Grendel is shaped by the American 1970’s time period through its use of metafiction and an unreliable narrator.

4. Write a short paragraph about something from the class reading that reflects Anglo Saxon culture and/or belief

This passage is an extract from Joseph O’ Connor’s Star of the sea which was penned in the year 2002. The passage makes use of a third person narrative view point as a result of which the readers are provided with a vivid image of passengers aboard a stormy sea ship. The passage talks about a ship afloat a stormy sea and how the passengers on the deck are caught unaware due to this storm. The author uses a descriptive style of writing with short crisp sentences that heighten the pace of the story. In the last two paragraphs however, the author uses longer sentences that signal a slower pace and show the readers that the storm has died down for the time being. The author has interspersed the action with 2 dialogues. It is interesting to

On behalf of our kingdom I the queen of Heorot, we are all thankful for your courageous spirit. We’ve been crossing through seas to find someone willing to banish our demon. With your lionhearted leadership, the malignant spirit was blinded by your name. The day you took its flesh away was the day the sun rose out of the dark. We kneel before your victorious name. As you left your home with the elder’s approval, you are honored and would be celebrated for your gratitude and bravery. One million miles from here was not one single soul that was heroic like you. For centuries we the people did not feast with joy, “all were endangered; young and old were hunted down by that dark shadow who lurked and swooped in the long nights on the misty moors; nobody knew where these reavers from hell roamed on their errands.” It was easy to go down to hell; night and day, the gates of dark death stood wide; but to climb back again, to retrace ones steps to the upper

During the first marking period of the school year, the concepts that have been taught was how to do annotations and we covered the literary work, Beowulf. When the topic of annotations was taught I learned how to annotate a text, which basically is marking up a text with questions, pointing out interesting pieces. When learning to annotate I also learned about rhetoric. Rhetoric is the way of speaking or writing persuasively, and an author’s rhetoric can be found using the rhetorical triangle. The rhetorical triangle is a triangle used to answer the following questions: Who created the text, who did they create the text for and why did they create this text?

In the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it is said, "Behavior that's admired is the path to power among people" (Beowulf 5). That being stated, it is very apparent throughout the entirety of the story. The main character, Beowulf, quickly comes to a position of power once defeating multiple atrocities and executing numerous heroic deeds. The people in the city admire Beowulf and abide to his ways; but once offered kingship, he declines. Throughout the epic poem, it is obvious that Beowulf would rather be a hero than a king because of the individual representation that comes with it, the rewards, and the self-reliant aspect.

As I stood in the bright sun I saw the men working so hard. The sweat dripping from their heads. You could almost taste the sweat dripping past their tired eyes. The tower was going to be monumental. After 10 days it was finished. This was the loudest 10 days ever. You couldn’t even hear yourself think. Clink, clack, clang. All day and night, it was all you heard.

Beowulf begins with a history of the great Danish King Scyld (whose funeral is described in the Prologue). King Hrothgar, Scyld's great-grandson, is well loved by his people and successful in war. He builds a lavish hall, called Heorot, to house his vast army, and when the hall is finished, the Danish warriors gather under its roof to celebrate.

The poem of Beowulf is one of the earliest recorded pieces of literature in history, written at an estimated time of around 1000 A.D. and set in the pagan world of sixth-century Scandinavia. Disregarding the poem’s age, the writing uses many of the same literary devices people use modern day-- such as kennings, alliteration, and caesura. Kennings are compound expressions used in Anglo-Saxon writings that have a metaphorical meaning. For example, the word sea-traveler could be used to describe a boat. Alliteration is when there is a repetition of words that start with the same letter. Caesura is a type of verse unique to Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin literature that breaks the text into two with each side sharing a similar number of syllables to create an intense, ominous tone of rhythmic sound. With the use of these three devices, pictures are painted in the minds of readers, and characters are both directly and indirectly developed to enhance the story. Often in this epic poem, courage is expanded upon and interpreted in different ways with the use of these tactics.

Our next stop was Colosseum, where our driver Enriqo dropped us off. As we walked up the faded, brown steps, the smell of dirt hit me. People walked back and forth wondering if they get a better view, the dismantled artifacts below will somehow change. The grass below was musty brown, with a hint of faded green as if it was trying to stay alive. Outside near the Colosseum, Enriqo tells us that the Arch of Constantine stands as a historic reminder of Emperor Constantine 's defeat over Tyrant Maxentius. Back at the hotel, we had dinner on the roof overlooking a view of the ancient Vatican. The bartender soon realized that my mom and me were Filipino and delivered cocktails free of charge. I had my first alcoholic drink with my mom on the rooftop of my hotel, overlooking the Vatican. By this time the sun was setting, and the sky was a dark, ocean blue, fading into a sea of apricot orange.