...Tori Krug British Literature Coach Cardwell September 13, 2011 Analysis on Grendel The swamp creature known as Grendel was said to have been a direct descendent of Cain. Grendel is described as a monster who likes to terrorize the Danes. He is strong, tall, and prays on Hrothgar out of vengeance and jealousy. Grendel killed by torturing his victims in the worse way he can imagine. Grendel killed his prey by torture. “ Grendel snatched at the first Geat he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws, drank the blood from his veins and bolted him down, hands and feet; death and Grendel’s great teeth came together.” This shows that Grendel shows no sympathy for his kill. He doesn’t care that he’s killing innocent people because he had a “...lust for evil.” Grendel is very strong and big. He would have to be if he can carry a lot of men, dead weight, from a mead hall all the way back to his cave in the swamp. “...snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, the blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter.” Grendel prays on Hrothgar and the rest of the Danes out of vengeance and jealousy. Grendel is jealous of men because he wishes he could feel all the emotions that they feel. Grendel and monsters like him was shut away from men. So Grendel can’t feel love and happiness like the rest of the men. “ The Almighty drove those demons out, and their exile was ...
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...Lineage in Beowulf Progeny often inherit parental attributes, shaped by uncontrollable factors. Traits that originate from distant ancestors can express themselves in future generations. Such is the case regarding the beast Grendel in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. Isolated from the rest of society, Grendel is depicted as a violent and evil being. The negative portrayal of Grendel, a deformed monster descending from the biblical outcast Cain, highlights the importance of familial ties in Anglo-Saxon culture; the anonymous author implies that individuals are defined by their lineage, predestining one’s character. Grendel’s destructive actions against Heorot display his inherited trait...
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...times these themes and lessons are shared between various novels. This can be seen within the two classic novels Grendel by John Gardner and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Both books are centralized around the theme that our strong desires for love can strengthen our need for revenge. In the novel, Wuthering Heights there is a large cycle of revenge that ensues as a result of a desperate desire to be loved. This revenge is executed by two main characters within the novel. The first is Hindley who shares a large and public disregard for Heathcliff, and an orphan his father, Mr. Earnshaw, took in when he was a child. As a child, Hindley was accustomed to being the only male in the house and receiving a fair amount of his father’s attention. With the arrival of Heathcliff, however, this all changed. Mr. Earnshaw immediately takes a strong liking to Heathcliff and treats him as if he were his own son. Similar to her father, Catherine, Hindley’s sister, gets along famously with Heathcliff, and the two eventually...
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...Beowulf has all of these. He is the ideal hero, and is very comparable to our American soldiers. These heroes possess bravery, honor, courage, and strength. One does not outshine the other because they both are performing incredible tasks and putting themselves in danger. The traits that define a hero have not changed since the time of Beowulf to today’s heroes. Beowulf seems to fit into every category of defining a hero. He is strong, loyal, courageous, honorable, generous and the list could go on. All of these traits help define an epic hero. He left his home to seek out danger and help save his neighbors from Grendel. He did this not because he had to, but because of his generosity. He prepared to fight a creature no one before was ever able to defeat. His courage when going out and facing extreme danger made him a hero to the Danes. He not only fought Grendel, but he also fought with the swamp hag and the dragon, and he won both battles....
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...The english language is one of the hardest languages to learn because of its multiple roots of different languages.Before the english that we speak today was spoken,older versions of it had been spoken by the people before us.Since 450,the english language had begun its transition,including the culture of the time periods starting with the Anglo-Saxon. Years before the era of the Anglo Saxon had begun,the royal families of the Danish (the Danes)and the Scandinavians(the Geats),had inhabited the Southern part of Sweden when they had decided to invade the island of Great Britain and settled.This migration had brought several Germanic languages together that formed Old English. Hundreds of years ago,the novel Beowulf was written by an unknown...
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...epic is marked by the true definition of bravery and heroism. Each character possesses different personalities that will also leave a lesson unto us. Qualities that will serve as life-lesson to the reader. Firstly, Beowulf exemplifies the true traits of being a hero. A hero is someone who is completely unselfish, who will willingly help someone in need, who doesn’t aim for popularity or any recognitions, rather for the safety of the people in his kingdom or place. It is more than wielding a sword, it is using your brain together with your heart. Beowulf’s action is considered as a true act of heroism. Grendel’s heart on the other hand is full of hatred and anger. He is considered weak. In the real world, those people who live with jealousy and hatred to others are considered weak as well for they can’t appreciate life’s true beauty thus, they don’t treat themselves as special. Considering all of these, they are the ones who are not contented. We must appreciate ourselves for we are unique and that’s what makes us special. Grendel’s mother shows her unconditional love for her son by fighting for him until the end. Yet having a revenge is not a solution. You just have to let go and let God. We must also learn to forgive, to forget all the darkness in our past and use them to enlighten our new beginning. King Hrothgar’s exceptional way of ruling his kingdom is also an example to be imitated. He surrounded his kingdom with great and mighty warriors for...
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...Loyalty: Fact or Fiction Loyalty becomes a luxury in times of hardship. Some have an overwhelming amount, while others seem to run out like they never had it in the first place. Like dust, loyalty can be everywhere, yet be brushed away with a single breath. Loyalty is a gift, but it isn’t neverending. Although to some characters in BW and LotF loyalty isn’t a choice, to others it is valueless. ` Each character has a part to play and a loyalty to someone: King Hrothgar to his kingdom, the Thanes and Beowulf to the King. When Grendel came to terrorize Heorot Hall, King Hrothgar knew the chaos being wreaked would affect his kingdom and disliked the idea of burdening anyone else with that amount of grief (Beowulf 473-476). His loyalty couldn’t protect the people he lived to rule and keep safe. Despite the years of attack, Hrothgar’s loyalty never faltered. The King’s fighters faithfulness didn’t either. They “would pledge themselves to protect Heorot”...
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...thing, you're right” (Ford quotes). This quote expresses how one should always keep a positive mindset because the outcome of a situation depends solely upon on ones mindset. It can also help people establish a certain type of attitude one should keep when going through obstacles in life. Anglo-Saxon hero, Beowulf, and modern day hero, Nelson Mandela can be characterized as archetypal heroes from the characteristics that define them. Ancient hero Beowulf along with present day hero Nelson Mandela similarly have comparable quests during their time. Both heros during their quests experience great struggle and obstacles which they had to overcome in order to achieve their goals. Beowulf’s quest dealt with him having to defeat the monster, “Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell” (Raffel 44). The Anglo-Saxon hero may not have used weapons on his quest but he did use his Geats to his full advantage. In his epic quest to slay the monster, Beowulf realizes he cannot be successful alone and that he will need the aide of his loyal Geats. When faced with adversity he always had his men at his side. By succeeding in defeating the monster, Beowulf would have freed people of their nightmare. They showed their gratitude by holding ,“...a banquet in [his] honor, [and toasting to his] victories..."(Raffel 49). Like Beowulf, Nelson Mandela had a difficult quest to fulfill as well, “Mandela's main agenda consisted of winning over white conservatives and...
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...VIII. English Language Arts, Grade 10 A. Composition B. Reading Comprehension Grade 10 English Language Arts Test Test Structure The grade 10 English Language Arts test was presented in the following two parts: ■ the ELA Composition test, which used a writing prompt to assess learning standards from the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework’s Composition strand ■ the ELA Reading Comprehension test, which used multiple-choice and open-response questions (items) to assess learning standards from the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework’s Language and Reading and Literature strands A. Composition The spring 2012 grade 10 English Language Arts (ELA) Composition test and Composition Make-Up test were based on learning standards in the Composition strand of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework (2001). The learning standards for the Composition strand appear on pages 72–83 of the Framework, which is available on the Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html. ELA Composition test results are reported under the reporting categories Composition: Topic Development and Composition: Standard English Conventions. Test Sessions and Content Overview The ELA Composition test included two separate test sessions, administered on the same day with a short break between sessions. During the first session, each student wrote an initial draft of a composition in response to the appropriate writing prompt on the next...
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...From How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Notes by Marti Nelson 1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not): a. A quester b. A place to go c. A stated reason to go there d. Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously...
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...OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE • Palaeolithic nomads from mainland Europe; • New inhabitants came from western and possibly north-western Europe (New Stone Age); • in the 2nd millennium BC new inhabitants came from the Low Countries and the middle Rhine (Stonehenge); • Between 800 and 200 BC Celtic peoples moved into Britain from mainland Europe (Iron Age) • first experience of a literate civilisation in 55 B.C. • remoter areas in Scotland retained independence • Ireland, never conquered by Rome, Celtic tradition • The language of the pre-Roman settlers - British (Welsh, Breton); Cornish; Irish and Scottish Gaelic (Celtic dialect) • The Romans up to the fifth century • Britain - a province of the Roman Empire 400 years • the first half of the 5th century the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes (N Germany, Jutland) • The initial wave of migration - 449 A. D. • the Venerable Bede (c. 673-735) • the Britain of his time comprised four nations English, British (Welsh), Picts, and Scots. • invaders resembling those of the Germans as described by Tacitus in his Germania. • a warrior race • the chieftain, the companions or comitatus. • the Celtic languages were supplanted (e.g. ass, bannock, crag). * Christianity spread from two different directions: * In the 5th century St Patrick converted Ireland, in the 7th century the north of England was converted by Irish monks; * in the south at the end of the 6th century Aethelberht of Kent allowed the monk Augustine...
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...Narrative A narrative is a sequence of events that a narrator tells in story form. A narrator is a storyteller of any kind, whether the authorial voice in a novel or a friend telling you about last night’s party. Point of View The point of view is the perspective that a narrative takes toward the events it describes. First-person narration: A narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his/her own point of view and refers to him/herself as “I.” The narrator may be an active participant in the story or just an observer. When the point of view represented is specifically the author’s, and not a fictional narrator’s, the story is autobiographical and may be nonfictional (see Common Literary Forms and Genres below). Third-person narration: The narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.” • Omniscient narration: The narrator knows all of the actions, feelings, and motivations of all of the characters. For example, the narrator of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina seems to know everything about all the characters and events in the story. • Limited omniscient narration: The narrator knows the actions, feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters. For example, the narrator of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has full knowledge of only Alice. • Free indirect discourse: The narrator conveys a character’s inner thoughts...
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...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...
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...VOLUME EDITOR S. WALLER is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University Bozeman. Her areas of research are philosophy of neurology, philosophy of cognitive ethology (especially dolphins, wolves, and coyotes), and philosophy of mind, specifically the parts of the mind we disavow. SERIES EDITOR FRITZ ALLHOFF is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, Allhoff is the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe,Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). P H I L O S O P H Y F O R E V E RYO N E Series editor: Fritz Allhoff Not so much a subject matter, philosophy is a way of thinking.Thinking not just about the Big Questions, but about little ones too.This series invites everyone to ponder things they care about, big or small, significant, serious … or just curious. Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind Edited by Michael W. Austin Wine & Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking Edited by Fritz Allhoff Food & Philosophy: Eat,Think and Be Merry Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn’t Worth Drinking Edited by Steven D. Hales Whiskey & Philosophy:...
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...Prologue Florence, 1283 The poet stood next to the bridge and watched as the young woman approached. The world ground to a near standstill as he remarked her wide, dark eyes and elegantly curled brown hair. At first he didn’t recognize her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, her movements sure and graceful. Yet there was something about her face and figure that reminded him of the girl he’d fallen in love with long ago. They’d gone their separate ways, and he had always mourned her, his angel, his muse, his beloved Beatrice. Without her, his life had been lonely and small. Now his blessedness appeared. As she approached him with her companions, he bowed his head and body in a chivalrous salute. He had no expectation that his presence would be acknowledged. She was both perfect and untouchable, a browneyed angel dressed in resplendent white, while he was older, world-weary and wanting. She had almost passed him when his downcast eyes caught sight of one of her slippers — a slipper that hesitated just in front of him. His heart beat a furious tattoo as he waited, breathless. A soft and gentle voice broke into his remembrances as she spoke to him kindly. His startled eyes flew to hers. For years and years he’d longed for this moment, dreamed of it even, but never had he imagined encountering her in such a serendipitous fashion. And never had he dared hope he would be greeted so sweetly. Caught off balance, he mumbled his pleasantries and allowed himself the indulgence of a smile...
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