Jasmine Bolden
Ms.Peifer
hour 3
english IB 10
12/15/11
English 10IB commentary: Beowulf
The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell,
the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength
then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:
the decorated blade came down ringing
and singing on her head. But he soon found
his battle-torch extinguished: the shining blade
refused to bite. It spared her and failed
the man in his need. It had gone through many
hand-to-hand fights, had hewed the armor
and the helmets of the doomed, but here at last
the fabulous powers of the heirloom failed.
Hygelac's kingsman kept thinking about
his name and fame: he never lost heart.
Then, in a fury, he flung his sword away.
The keen,inlaid,worm-loop patterned steel
was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely
on the might of his arm.
(Beowulf 1518-1534)
This quote depicts Beowulfs perseverance and strength. It states that even though his sword had failed him, he was still able to defeat this creature from hell. Not only does Beowulf have the strength to conquer Grendels mother, he has the heart. Personification and characterization are the literary devices used to emphasize Beowulf's greatness perseverance and heart in this passage, in which are the reasons he succeeds in his battles.
This passage uses plenty of literary devices. One type of literary devices that it uses is characterization. Throughout the whole story Beowulf, characterization is used to allow the reader to fully understand the ways of the different characters. " The swamp-thing from hell the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength"(Beowulf 1518-1519) this quote lets us know about this creature that Beowuld is defeating. It describes how terrible Grendels mother is and makes it so we are able to get a good picture of her in our minds. Later in the quote a chose it states " Hygelac's kinsman kept thinking about his name and fame: he never lose heart" (Beowulf 1529-1530) This quote says alot about Beowulf. Beowulf knows he has the title of being such a great man, and he knows he has fame, as stated in the quote, this tells us that Beowulf does have confidence and does not want to let his towns people down. This is where is true heart is shown and he decides to fight the beast with his own hands. " He would have to rely on the might of his arm" (Beowulf 1533-1534) this shows that Beowulf will not give up no matter how hard the battle gets and it shows his endurance and perserverence.
There is alot of personification used in this passaged to really draw the reader in and excite them also it is used to let us get a good picutre of these characters and what is going one. one item described using personification is Beowulfs great sword/blade " The decorated blade came down ringing and singing" (Beowulf 1521-1522) you know this is personification because swords do not literally ring and sing, they just use these words to describe how hard and swift this sword came down upon the beasts head. Quoted further it states " The shining sword refused to bite" (Beowulf 1521-1522) this daws you in because the sword that was supposed to be so great came down upon her head yet it did not pierce her skin, which leaves the reader wondering what will come next. Overall personification and characterization help the reader really visualize and understand with detail what is going on in this section of Beowulf.
This passage is a main quote in which depicts Beowulf's dedication to protecting his town. Beowulf is known to be mighty and powerful as a warrior, and many quotes in Beowulf state that, although not many talk about the heart he also has. In this part of the story Beowulf is left defenseless and odds are against him, but despite the fact that he did not have a sword and Grendels mother had him on the grown he still won the battle. Beowulfs heart and desire are the reasons he won the battle. He may have strength but if he didnt believe he could have killed Grendels mother non of his strength would have mattered and he would have beent he one getting defeated.
This passage uses plenty of literary devices. One type of literary devices that it uses is characterization. Throughout the whole story Beowulf, characterization is used to allow the reader to fully understand the ways of the different characters. " The swamp-thing from hell the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength"(Beowulf 1518-1519) this quote lets us know about this creature that Beowuld is defeating. It describes how terrible Grendels mother is and makes it so we are able to get a good picture of her in our minds. Later in the quote a chose it states " Hygelac's kinsman kept thinking about his name and fame: he never lose heart" (Beowulf 1529-1530) This quote says alot about Beowulf. Beowulf knows he has the title of being such a great man, and he knows he has fame, as stated in the quote, this tells us that Beowulf does have confidence and does not want to let his towns people down. This is where is true heart is shown and he decides to fight the beast with his own hands. " He would have to rely on the might of his arm" (Beowulf 1533-1534) this shows that Beowulf will not give up no matter how hard the battle gets and it shows his endurance and perserverence.
There is alot of personification used in this passaged to really draw the reader in and excite them also it is used to let us get a good picutre of these characters and what is going one. one item described using personification is Beowulfs great sword/blade " The decorated blade came down ringing and singing" (Beowulf 1521-1522) you know this is personification because swords do not literally ring and sing, they just use these words to describe how hard and swift this sword came down upon the beasts head. Quoted further it states " The shining sword refused to bite" (Beowulf 1521-1522) this daws you in because the sword that was supposed to be so great came down upon her head yet it did not pierce her skin, which leaves the reader wondering what will come next. Overall personification and characterization help the reader really visualize and understand with detail what is going on in this section of Beowulf.
This passage is a main quote in which depicts Beowulf's dedication to protecting his town. Beowulf is known to be mighty and powerful as a warrior, and many quotes in Beowulf state that, although not many talk about the heart he also has. In this part of the story Beowulf is left defenseless and odds are against him, but despite the fact that he did not have a sword and Grendels mother had him on the grown he still won the battle. Beowulfs heart and desire are the reasons he won the battle. He may have strength but if he didnt believe he could have killed Grendels mother non of his strength would have mattered and he would have beent he one getting defeated.
