Free Verse: also known as vers libre - is a term describing various styles of poetry that are written without using a strict rhyme scheme, but still recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers will perceive to be part of a coherent whole.
Poems such as W. E. Henley's 'Discharged' (from his In Hospital sequence), and Robert Louis Stevenson's poems 'The Light-Keeper' and 'The Cruel Mistress' can be counted early examples of free verse.

Heroic Couplet: A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines.
Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Legend of Good Women and the Canterbury Tales[1

Hyperbole: Scene III of Shakespeare’s play Othello:

If thou dost slander her and torture me,
Never pray more; abandon all remorse;
On horror’s head accumulate;
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed;
For nothing canst thou to damnation add
Greater than that.


Imagery: the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively.
There is much imagery in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. "He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his balance. The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea closed over his head." Notice the appeals to touch "lunged" "blood -warm", hearing "hoarse cry."
Informal Diction: language that is not as lofty or impersonal as formal diction; similar to everyday speech.


Initiation Story: An initiation story is a fiction in which the protagonist (the most important character in the work) undergoes an experience that is life-changing, and usually that character is a young person who gains a measure of maturity from the experience.


Metaphor: A type of figurative language in which a statement is made that says that one thing is something else but, literally, it is not.
The wale-road for example is a metaphor which relates to the ocean.
Motif: A motif is a reacureing object or idea through literature or a paticular piece of literature. An example of a motif could be the green light at the end of Daisy’s doc that Gatsby can see from his house.
11. (pg 55. Line 832) "Clear proof of this could....his awesome grasp"
When Beowulf defeats Grendle he takes the arm that he tore off his body and holds it as high as he can. This is a symbol of Beowuls trophy and of his great victory.
12. (Pg 57. Line 846) "This is a description of Grendle's home, which is where he returns to die after fighting Beowulf. He lives in the heart of a swamp where there is no vegetation or any sign of life. With the continuous reverences to God and heaven, this is a reference to hell. Grendle's layer is like hell.
13. (Pg 67. Line 1016) "Inside Heorot there was....with feud and betrayal."
This is explaining that there was nothing known in Heorot but freindship and high spirits. The people of the Seilding nation have never been familiar with betrayl and fued. This is foreshadow to future attacks on Heorot from other enemies. It is possible that these attacks could come from Grendle's mother, however there were no hints to that in these lines.
14. (Pg 69. Line 1049) "The chieftain went on to reward the others...Grendle had cruelly killed earleir."
This fits into the qualities of a good king, and the importance of a good king to allways reward his warriors with valuables to express his apreciation. This is important for kings to ensure the warriors respect and the peoples opinions. Horathgar gives treasures to Beowulf and his men who came with him on the journey. He is a good and popular king.
15. (Pg 89. Line 1258) "Grenle's mother, monstrous hell-bride, brooded onher rongs...amoung them Grendle."
Grendle's mother was "brodded for her rongs." This means she was banished, or exiled, wich is large motif through out the story. Grende's mom, along with the rest of the Cain clan were all cursed and exiled, this is where this motif is strongest.
Posted by Thomas at 11:07 PM 0 comments
Thursday, September 17, 2009
6. Pg 35 Line 500 "Unferth, son of Ecglof's...sick with envy."
This is one example of the qualities of a warrior or king shouldn't have. In the line it says he's "sick with envy." He's jelous of Beowulf, jelousy is a bad trait. Unferth is also a coward, kin killer, and he doesn't defend his king according to Beowulf.
7. Pg 35 Line 515 "The ocean swayed... the strong contender."
This is the most obvious sign of fliting seen in this section, or trash talking, toward Beowulf from Unforth. Later in this conversation Beowulf does the same thing back to Unforth. This was a popular thing among warriors and kings however it was still an insult. Men were expected to defend their honor when it was threatend.
8. Pg 39 Line 563 "There would be no monsters...like the oceans leavings."
I like this staitment because of the ironie and the humor that comes from that irony. He sais it as if the sea creatures had a peaceful death but it was just opposite. Beowulf grucemly choped them up into tiny peices and let them float in into the ocean. He sais by the sleep of the sword, meaning death by the sword. There's nuthing peacefull about his actions but he sias it as if were.
9. Pg 39 Line 559 "Time and again, foul things attacked me....I landed safe on the coast of inland.
"This is beowulfs arrogant boast. Boasting was an expected tradition for warriors. beowulf does this to defend him from the insult from Unforth and to explain and brag about his greatness of power and strength. He's showing to the king why he is the man for the hob and why he deserves to be there.
10. Pg 53 "That no blade on earth, no blacksmith's art could ever damage their demon apponet."
Grendle can't be damaged or killed by any blade or blacksmith's art. Grendle was of the clan of Cain. God cursed Cain and his offspring for killing Able. This mark of Cain on grenle is possibly the reason for this protection agains blades, the curse protects him, which is an irony as well.