Monday, January 20, 2020
themebeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - Style, Structure and Theme
Style, Structure and Theme of Beowulf                  A consideration of the stylistic features in the classic poem Beowulf involves a study of the poetic verse, the vocabulary, alliteration, litotes, simile, kennings, variation and double-meaning or ambiguity. A consideration of the structure and the theme of the poem involve a wide diversity of opinion on the subject.  First, let us talk about style. The poetic conventions used by this poet include two half-lines in each verse, separated by a caesura or pause. The half-lines are joined by the oral stressing of alliterative words in the half-lines, both consonants and vowels (Tharaud 34). â€Å"At least one of the two stressed words in the first half-line, and usually both of them, begin with the same sound as the first stressed word of the second half-line†(Donaldson 67). When a word was stressed in the first half-line, its alliterative counterpart was stressed in the following half-line; the words could either complement each other, like holy/heaven or sin/enemy, or they could contrast each other like happy/wretched or warm/winter.  Oft Scyld Scefing                              sceapena preatum monegum maegpum                          meodo-setla ofteah (4-5)  The repetition of the â€Å"s†sound in line 4 and of the â€Å"m†sound in line 5 illustrate alliteration, and this occurs throughout the poem, providing to the listener what the rhyme of modern-day poetry provides – an aesthetic sense of rightness or pleasure.  The vocabulary of the poem is remarkable in several ways. First of all, about one-third of the vocabulary is compound words. For the concept of â€Å"the sea†there are 50 different compounds; likewise there are 50 compounds ... ...d Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.  Shippey, Thomas A.. â€Å"Structure and Unity.†In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.  Sisam, Kenneth. â€Å"The Structure of Beowulf.†In Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, W.W.Norton and Co.: 1975.  Tharaud, Barry. â€Å"Anglo-Saxon Language and Traditions in Beowulf.†In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.  Tolkien, J.R.R.. â€Å"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.†In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.  Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000
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