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Home  » Text Analysis » Reading Beowulf Between the Lines
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Cecutti - interacting with the text
[author: Francesco Cecutti - postdate: 2006-02-23]
Ex 3
The trades that are most admired in Beowulf are the following:

  • he was mighty l.4
  • he was high-born and powerful l.5
  • he behaved like a captain l.5/l.8
  • he was estimated by his people l.9/l.10
  • he was ambitious l.12
  • he was respected by his crew l.19/l.23

    Ex 4
    a.1) Beowulf's journey lasts one day.
    a.2) The land they arrive at is wild and difficult to reach due to the rocks.
    b.1) Beowulf's boat is light on the waves like a bird and has a curved prow.
    b.2) The poet emphasised the speed and the levity of Beowulf's boat.

    Ex 5
    1) The lines in this poem don't rhyme.
    2) In the text there are alliterations. One of them is "Time went by" (for the sound "i") and "the boat was on the water" (for the sound "o")

    Ex 6
    a) A kenning referred to the sea is "swan's road".
    b) At line 25 there is a simile referred to Beowulf's boat: "she flew like a bird". This comparison is justified by the profile of the boat: from the tomb-stone you can see that it has two "wings" forwards and back.

    Ex 7
    Kennings are generally used to make the poem sound different from ordinary language by using pictorial, descriptive words.

    Ex 8
    a) Beowulf's warriors absolutely trusted in him, they respected him, they had to do what he ordered but they were proud of following him as he was a hero.
    b) Warriors of that age wore an helmet, a mail made of iron and carried a shield and a sword.