The Anglo-Saxon Sonnet: Rewriting Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

In the clash between the “captain of evil” (Beowulf 749) and the “earl-troops leader” (Beowulf 790), Grendel and Beowulf, the author’s meticulous word choice in the excerpt serves as amplifiers for the two characters’ distinct traits and abilities. As one of the literary tools for amplification, the kenning employs figurative language in place of names throughout the text. The kenning is more commonly utilized for the character of Grendel, otherwise known as the “shadow-stalker” (Beowulf 704),“terror-monger” (Beowulf 765), and “dread of the land” (Beowulf 761); these epithets explicitly magnify the mysteriously supernatural evil that Grendel embodies. From the beginning of the excerpt to line 750, the vivid imagery creates and develops Grendel’s

Shakespeare examines love in two different ways in Sonnets 116 and 130. In the first, love is treated in its most ideal form as an uncompromising force (indeed, as the greatest force in the universe); in the latter sonnet, Shakespeare treats love from a more practical aspect: it is viewed simply and realistically without ornament. Yet both sonnets are justifiable in and of themselves, for neither misrepresents love or speaks of it slightingly. Indeed, Shakespeare illustrates two qualities of love in the two sonnets: its potential and its objectivity. This paper will compare and contrast the two sonnets by Shakespeare and show how they represent two different attitudes to love.

The old styled wording of the kennings brings readers to a new world- they’re able to feel the “old time feeling” in a modern translation. “The use of kennings had such an effect on poetry that many phrases often became cliches. For example, there are many kennings that are used over and over in the story Beowulf. Some examples are: “mail-shirt” for armor, “dwelling place” for residence and “mail armor” for helmet. On the other hand, when the kenning was used with originality, it served the purpose of a metaphor and often had great variety and complexity” (Abrams). In Chickerings translation he keeps certain kennings such as “wine -hall” and “gold- giving”. This makes his translation so much stronger, and forces the reader be imaginative. Immediately making this interpretation the

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.

Beowulf is influenced by the Anglo-Saxon time period as it has several characteristics of an epic poem. A characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon time period is the use of alliteration and kennings. This is used in the text to bring attention to certain areas of the poem. An example can be found on page 39, “as they willed, and you struggled seven long nights to survive,” (Raffel). This expression brings about the attention of the reader that Unferth was not as strong or manly as Beowulf. Similarly, the author uses kennings to make his writing colorful, thus attracting his readers. An example in the text is “light-of-battle” meaning sword. Another characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon literature is the epic hero.

Beowulf holds a key to understanding how the author can invoke a response from the reader through different narrative forms and the heroic/non heroic trope. The form of the epic poem is used to present the themes of power, war death and life itself in an enhanced way that allows the writer to arouse a particular response from the

In the romantic era, British authors and poets focused on nature and its influence. Two of those poets, Charlotte Smith and William Wordsworth, wrote many pieces on the beauty of nature and their personal experiences with the beaches of England. In “Far on the sands” and “It is a beauteous evening,” Smith and Wordsworth describe their respective experiences on the shore at sunset. Both authors use structure, theme, allusions, and imagery to effectively convey their perceptions of nature. While the sonnets share a setting and the topics of nature and tranquility, Smith’s has a focus on introspection and Wordsworth’s is centered around religion. These have different focuses which achieve different effects on the reader.

Unlike Sonnet 18, Shakespeare utterly abandons the poetic convention of Petrarchan conceit in Sonnet 130. In this poem, Shakespeare denies his mistress all of the praises Renaissance poets customarily attributed to their lovers. The first quatrain is filled exclusively with the Shakespeare's seeming insults of his mistress. While Sir Thomas Wyatt authors a poem entitled "Avising the Bright Beams of These Fair Eyes," in the first line of Sonnet 130, Shakespeare affirms that his "mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun." John Wootton, in a poem published in England's Helicon, boasts that his love has "lips like scarlet of the finest dye," but in Sonnet 130 , Shakespeare is sure that his beloved's lips are not nearly quite as red as coral (11; 2). Michael Drayton, in his poem, To His Coy Love, begs his lover, "Show me no more those snowy

Thesis: Beowulf offers an opportunity to learn about the literary elements of alliteration and kennings, as well as what it means to be an epic hero.

Imagery is a vital part of Beowulf in both the film and the poem. Specifically, the film and poem use imagery to portray the malevolent nature embedded within many scenes and characters. However, the way imagery is used within the poem in comparison to that of the film differs greatly. In the poem, descriptions and phrases use imagery to influence the emotions of the scene while the film does the same by using music, lighting and the looks of the scene.

Imagery is a very important aspect of literature. Many different types of imagery exist and there is at least one dramatic purpose for each image. By analyzing William Shakespeare's

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.

     The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.

“Sonnet 130” written by William Shakespeare, is one of his most well known poems and can be analyzed and broken apart in great depth. The poem is written in fourteen lines which makes it a sonnet. Like all of Shakespeare’s sonnets the meter is iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme for “Sonnet 130” is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. An overlaying theme for “Sonnet 130” is, “True love is based on how beautiful you find someone on the inside.” Shakespeare proves to have a great view on true love in this sonnet. He cares more about what’s on the inside rather than what’s on the outside. “Sonnet 130’s” theme can be proven by Shakespeare's use of poetic and literary devices, the tone and mood of the sonnet, and the motif of true love.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (Line 1). “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” (Line 1). These are both two of the famous lines from William Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 and 130. William Shakespeare was an intelligent English playwright, poet, and dramatist during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He is known as one of the greatest playwrights of all time. Sonnet 18 and 130 are two of Shakespeare’s most famous poems. Sonnet 18 is a love poem about how he compares the woman’s love to a summer’s day. Sonnet 130 has a different approach. It is still a comparison, but it seems to be a more spiteful one. These sonnets are both share similar subjects, imagery, theme, and rhyme scheme; however they are more so different in forms and purpose.