Examples Of Alliteration In Beowulf

2. The poet used distinctive language to differentiate Grendel and Beowulf’s movements. During their battle these differences seem to set them apart in terms of glory. The poet describes Grendel’s movements in a grotesque and stark way. “Grendel came greedily loping,” (line 711) and “… he grabbed and mauled a man on his bench… and gorged on him in lumps,” (lines 740-2) are examples of how the poet uses specific language to describe Grendel’s movement. However the poet describes Beowulf’s movements in an almost glorified way. “… he had

In this poem "Beowulf" there are many different characteristics on tones. Many transitions have to be done properly. Many tone stages happen throughout this poem. Beowulf has several features and recommendations of usual as well as unusual words. Some tones are serious and threatening. These characteristics are optimistic and thrilling.

Another literary element that offer meaning to the poem is imagery, by simply allowing the readers to envision the events of the story. In the first part of the story (129-134), Beowulf is described as coming over “seas beating at the sand” while “the ship foamed through the sea like a bird.” This scene truly guides the readers to admire the vivid description of how proud and tough the ship looks. This ship in this case, becomes a metonymy for Beowulf himself, who is certainly proud and strong, resulting in the readers’ admiration. Additional imagery is used describing the mere, or lake, discussed above, with “storms [an] waves splash[ing] towards the sky, as dark as the air as black as the rain that the heavens weep” (440-442). This clearly illustrates how dreadful Grendel and his mothers’ home is. It intensely aids us to picture how grotesquely unpleasant the lake actually is. Near the end of the tale (lines 651-653], Beowulf “[strides] with his shield at his side and a mail shirt of his breast….. Toward the tower, under the rocky cliffs.” While Beowulf awaits the battle, the description of his armor and the details of each entry help us to respect how ready he is for his concluding battle. Even as an elderly man, Beowulf is a hero beyond compare. In closing, the use of imagery greatly enriches the readers’ experience of this heroic epic.

One example of where the author of Beowulf used alliteration was in the quote ”For the first time in his life that famous prince fought with fate against him, with glory denied him. He knew it but he raised his sword and struck at the dragon's scaly hide” (2573). This took place while Beowulf was fighting the dragon near the end of the story. The author uses alliteration with the letter “f” to emphasize that in this fight fate was against Beowulf but throughout it also says that because of Beowulf's courage not only did he still go for the fight but he continued fighting even after he recognized that there was a really good chance that he would lose. This quote specifically emphasizes that fact that even though you don't know what fate awaits you, you still can’t expect victory without putting an attempt into the fight. Another example of alliteration that the author uses is in the quote “It fell, their courage had killed it, two noble cousins had joined in the dragon’s death” (2706). This example makes a big emphasis because it showed that even though Beowulf had died in the battle and fate was against him, he still ended up killing the dragon because he had the courage. He did lose his life but because of his courage he ended up saving the land of the Geats. Even though fate was against him he still ended up gaining victory because he had the

This is shown through his highly complex and wonderfully crafted tale of his fight against Breca. The story stresses the importance of Beowulf’s prowess and ability as shown through the alliteration and imagery. In the story of Beowulf’s adventures against Breca, imagery is used to add validity to the story and make it seem realistic. The imagery is created by the heavy description. An example of this description is Beowulf saying “against the sea-beasts my body-amour, hard-linked and hammered…battle shirt bright with gold, decking my breast” (550); the choice of descriptive adjectives and colors make the story seem realistic. Because of the story appearing to be valid, Beowulf has added to his image. Also, the alliteration in lines 550-552, specifically between “hard-linked” and “hammered”, is used to add to the imagery. The alliteration improves the visual imagery by stressing the beauty of his armor. Beowulf’s story exemplifies his pride and

The author of Beowulf uses diction to indicate the presence of Christianity establishing and how the context it outlined as a saga. To start off, the religion during the 6th century was Paganism. In the story, the author steadily reference the existence of Christianity by portraying words such as Lord, God, and Almighty. For instance, chapter one states, “Later a young son was born to him in the court, God sent him for a comfort to the people../Wherefore the Lord of Life, the Ruler of Glory, gave him honour in the world.”

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic that was transmitted verbally for hundreds of years before it was written down. Around the time of its composition, Christianity was beginning to gain prominence in England and was quickly replacing the animistic religion of the Celts. As a result of the dueling religions of the time, the poem includes influences from both Christianity and paganism, leaving its readers to wonder which religion had the most sway over the poet. Beowulf is a fundamentally more Christian epic on account of Beowulf’s resemblances of Jesus Christ, its allusions to the Bible, and its intimation of a supreme, monotheistic religion.

In the epic poem Beowulf, the struggle between good and evil reveals its omnipresence in even the oldest of tales. The many allusions and symbols throughout the story relate to Christianity and other Pagan beliefs. By looking at them, it becomes apparent that the author of Beowulf believed that the constant war between good and evil is not only fought by the common man but also in the ranks of their highest esteemed rulers and warriors, and even in their dreaded nightmares where monsters lurk and wait for the death of man. Beowulf was written during the budding of Christianity in England, when it was newly forming. In the story there are obvious references to Christian rituals.

A kenning is a metaphorical circumlocution, signifying a person or thing by a characteristic or quality (Skill, 10). It is used quite often in Anglo Saxon poetry and is used to great length in Beowulf. The language of Beowulf has use of four-beat alliterative line and this allows the use of a variety of kennings.

This third comparison will focus on the most famous passage of the poem, which is the culmination of a Hrothgar’s long speech to Beowulf. The main themes are the importance of strength and pride in life, the fragility of life and for the first time, Beowulf is seen here as a human warrior and not for his heroic and divine deeds (lines 1758-1768 in Heaney’s, 1476-1484 in Tolkien’s).

Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language. It was written in the language of the Saxons, “Old English” also known as "Anglo-Saxon." Originally untitled, in the 19th century. Historical elements run through the poem, yet both the hero and the story is fictional. Throughout the story the poet is very enthusiastic about Beowulf’s feats.

The fourth syllable does not alliterate on purpose. The epic poem is full of kennings (a compound of figurative language; a metaphor circumscribing a single word) like the name of the hero himself: Beowulf probably relates to ‘bee wolf’, meaning a bear or, in this case, a man of incredible strength. It is curious that Beowulf should be the English national

Kennings and alliteration are utilized to portray a theme of outsiders being evil and dangerous. Grendel, an outcast of society, is angered by a celebration in the king, Hrothgar’s hall. Grendel comes to Hrothgar’s hall every night for twelve years to wreak havoc among the hall and disturb the king. Beowulf comes to the hall with a group of his men to rid of the monster. Grendel comes at night, filled with rage and anger to disrupt the happiness of the hall. A kenning is used to alienate Grendel: “God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping. / The bane of the race of men roamed forth,” (711-712). Anglo-Saxon literature fears the unknown and the dangerous. The kenning of “God-cursed” associates Grendel with being an outcast, by mentioning that Grendel has been outcast

 We must dismiss, of course, from mind the notion that Beowulf is a “narrative poem,” that it tells a tale or intends to tell a tale sequentially. The poem “lacks steady advance”: so Klaeber heads a critical section in his edition.

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.