Correction of the 2nd class text- 2nd term

The text is an extract from the epic poem Beowulf. Beowulf probably dates from the 700-1000 CE. The poem was composed in Old English and the original text was written in Anglo-Saxon dialect, in   Old English a mixture of Germanic dialects.

The layout allows the reader to understand that it is a poem. It's made of 3 stanzas of different length and it's organized into couples.

The poem deals with the fight between Beowulf and Grendel. Grendel is a terrible monster and Beowulf is the hero. Superhuman powers are attributed to him. He fight with against monsters which live underwater and undergorund. Indeed the most important theme of the epic poem is the continuos struggle between good and evil. Beowulf expresses the values of Anglo-Saxon civilization: courage, strength and loyalty.

The first sequence is about Grendel's attack. There are alliterations of sounds g,r,c,ck/k (struck, comeback, armlock, keep) that suggest the violence and the pain of the struggle. The instintive power and danger of the monster is highlight by specific lexical choices. The verb “struck” suggest the aggressive character of the monster.

The monster is fast, sudden, immeditae, voracion and greedy. All the characterization is the result of the language used with acute attention. The use of inversion in the first line puts the expression “creature” into a better focus. The writer had used monosyllabic verbs that suggest the dynamic nature of the monster (struck, bit, gourged).

The second sequence is about Grendel's vulnerability. The expression “time and again” suggest that the warriors always help his leader.

There are alliterations (worked, kept, striking, seeking to cut, straight, struggle) that suggest Beowulf's strength and the violence of the struggle.

The third sequence is about the conclusion of the fight. The winner is Beowulf. The poet concludes the extract with the return of the monster to his lair. The poet uses adjective like tremendous to describe the broken body of the monster.

In the extract the poet wants to bring to surface the nature of Grendel and Grendel's attitude. He uses a particoular language to highlight these aspect and for suggests the values of Anglo-Saxon civilization.

 Beowulf and Grendel are the protagonist of the scene which is the object of analysis of the present extract. Apparently they seem to be given the same level of importance, but that’s not true. You can see it even from the number of lines devoted to Grendel: the narrator is carefully showing to the listener all of the monster’s attitude, motions and behaviour. The language used to have the audience follow the threat of the story resorts to different stylistic choices. The first of one is the use of inversion in the ordinary word order. The intention is to put the word “creature” into a central focus so that the listener may well understand the real protagonist of the narration. Creature is an interesting semantic choice that is apparently contradictory with Grendel’s monstrous nature. The effect is paradoxically to involve a certain affection in the listener or reader in the it existence of which epic poetry is a narrative projection, does not simply consist of good but for good to be recognize it must be set against evil. This explain for the narrator to draw the attention mainly on the monster. The qualities or features the narrator focuses the attention on are the typical ones of the predator: the first element the listener comes across in the scene is Grendel’s ability in having immediately reflexes underline and highlighted by alliterative sound “s” in “struck” and “started”. In addition, it must be said that alliteration is a condition sine qua non for the survival of Anglo-Saxon epic poetry: the means through which it can be undid own orally. It goes without saying that alliteration bines words together thus allowing the composer to remember it.

Grendel’s great hesitation is visible and perceptible even from the word order that puts “nor” together with “keep him waiting”. The idea of the immediate instinctive predator voracity is suggested by line 3 where short verbs are used to convey the idea of Grendel’s speeded attack. Not only is the nature of a monster predator suggested on the rational level it is also recreated on the sound level. Alliteration is insisted along the whole extract to reinforce the idea of a faithful creature that has no pitting because he acts on an instinctive principle which is the one of selvage animal. You can see it clearly at line 4 where, once more, alliteration recreates the famelic actions of a monster whose pleasure and fullness depends on the slaughter of the prey. “Blood” and “bone” are symbolic just apposed to visually suggest the result of a human being reduce to pieces.

Punctuation plays a relevant function to a suggestion the typical motion of predator’s attack reinforced by the labial sound of “b” that imply short brakes in the telling. The result is dramatic and significantly . you can see it at line 743 where the differencing line length underlines “utterly lifeless”. Again alliteration of the liquid sound and elliptical sentences bring to surface all the results of Grendel’s violence. Sinedoct of ”hand and food” makes almost visible the result of Grendel’s voracity.