Jorge Luis Borges 'The Battle Of Brunanburh'

The Battle of Brunanburh is an intense, blood ridden fight that signifies the victorious win and domination of the English over enemy forces. In Burton Raffel’s, “The Battle of Brunanburh”, the narrator uses an outside perspective, a generalized idea, and wide array of internal thoughts and intimate feelings to celebrate a great accomplishment. On the other hand, “Brunanburh, A.D. 937” by Jorge Luis Borges embarks the reader on the one-on-one experience to emphasize a personal connection with the reader and gain insight into the emotional and unpleasant involvement in war. Although the Anglo-Saxon epic and the modern lyric are inspired by the same historical event, both writings differentiate due to the artistic form and the deeper message
937” brings the readers the understanding that there are two sides to a war by a distinction in point of view, tone, and length that is portrayed in each poem.

A person’s viewpoint on an event dictates their perspective on the whole experience. “The Battle of Brunanburh” is retold in third person point of view to paint a bigger picture in ones mind. The speaker’s outlook on the battle allows the reader to envision every detail and aspect that happens within the war. Since the poem is recited in third person the reader receives more of an overall perspective rather than just focusing on one situation in the battle. The speaker announces, “The enemy ran,/ All the Scotch and the ship-borne Vikings,/ Ran or drowned in blood” (Raffel Line 10). The narrator is someone who has a biased opinion on the enemies because the speaker is in favor of the English soldiers. The narrator tells the poem in third person to express his input and feelings on the event. The author of “The Battle of Brunanburh” recalls a severe and constant battle to never forget the glorifying war and the narrator takes the reader on a violent journey to evoke imagery which brings the battle to life by telling the story in third person. “Brunanburh, A.D. 937” is witnessed in first person point of view to demonstrate the hardship and personal loss of being
“The Battle of Brunanburh” has a nationalistic and prideful tone because of the speaker’s honor in England conquering other countries. The narrator displays a high ego and dignity in recognizing how English came out victorious and wins a destructive battle. The speaker’s tone reveals no remorse or shame for all the damage England causes. “The East, brave men trying a broad/ And dangerous sea, daring warriors/ who swept away the Britons, seized/ The land and made it theirs alone”expresses the narrator (Line 70). The poem’s tone of pride corresponds to the upbeat and positive message of how hard work and perseverance pays off in the end. “Brunanburh A.D. 937” has a guilty and empty tone because the soldier regrets murdering a man in battle and is unsure of his decisions. The speaker is reflecting off of his negative experience during the war which makes the tone clear because the narrator is going through psychological problems because he murders a man and can not take it back. “Vainly will you await him, woman I have not seen” declares the narrator (Line 6). The speaker’s tone about war displays emptiness by illustrating how fighting in battle is a deep and sentimental subject to speak about. Since the two poems have different tones, the reader becomes more emotionally connected to the narrators. The two poems show the message through the narrators that there are positive and