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Beowulf

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Beowulf
Beowulf 1. The English language has transformed a lot since those early times. While reading it I noticed many words that aren’t normally used in today’s society. There were also noticeable differences in sentence structure although this may have been a result of how it was translated. The fact that it is a poem might also be why the sentence structure is different, not just that it has been translated to English. The introduction provided much information about the story and the way the story was written. I learned information about the digressions and how the stories of the three kingdoms of the Danes, the Geats, and the Swedes are all intertwined into one epic. It is interesting how the poem creates history amongst the three kingdoms through events that “trigger” the characters to recall and tell stories of their histories. It was helpful knowing what the italicized text meant. The intro was helpful for understanding why it was written the way it was, it sure made it easier. 2. Revisiting the text and looking at it more closely I noticed a lot more literary devices. The alliteration was hard to spot at first until I started reading it out loud. I recognized the patterns; the alliteration was a reoccurring literary device. The compounded words that I found seemed to be words that were used very often in those times because they were used so much in the text. It’s interesting because their origin is unknown, for example the author might have made the words up, or maybe they were actual words. It could have been that there is no direct translation for those words so they had to be made up. I know from experience that this is entirely possible, speaking fluent Spanish has taught me that there are some words that don’t have the same meaning once they are translated into another language. Common phrases were prominent when someone was dying, when the character was speaking of worth , or when the kings/queens expressed gratitude towards Beowulf. 3. There are a lot potential 4. I think the original Beowulf poet is showing how an ideal person should be through the story. The poet essentially argues that Beowulf is this ideal person and that people should strive to be like him. Something to take away from this story would be exactly that especially since it was told in older times, it served as a lesson in a way. In those times there were certain values that Beowulf/society upheld, which were maintained by telling this story. I don’t think Heaney’s argument is the same because we as a society don’t value things the same way. He is merely explaining the way society used to function and how this story taught those traditions and values. He conveys an understanding to the reader of the dark ages while also showing a literary aspect by putting it in a poem. This is possibly a hint that he thinks storytelling should be taught through poems. It maintains the originality of the piece. The values and traditions in Beowulf are exemplar of an ideal person, which was the argument of the original poet. Heaney’s argument differs as it cannot be directly applicable to today’s society, he explains the past while also arguing that the poetic form is the best way to tell this story.

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