Beowulf Cheat Sheet Essays -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

1. Weapons serve as the tools that the soldiers must use > to do their job: killing beasts or men without getting > killed. As a artist may be fond of his paintbrush, the > soldiers greatly cherish their weapons. Often a weapon is > valued for its pedigree. The author often interrupts action > to delve into a weaponà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s previous owners and its history. > In the introduction, Burton Raffel states, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The important > tools, in this poem, are weapons: proven swords and helmets > are handed down from father to son, like the vital > treasures they were. Swords have personalities, and names: > à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (xi) > Beowulf uses Hrothgarà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s helmet and armor to protect > him from serpentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ claws while he descends into the lake to > meet Grendelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mother. The helmet is said to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ block all > battle swords, stop all blades from cutting at > himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?(1451-53) However, the monster bites holes in it. > Grendelsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ mother is frustrated by the almost impenetrable > armor. She à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“tried to work her fingers through the tight > ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore and scratched in > vain.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (1503-05) > Hrunting is the sword that Unferth lends Beowulf for > the battle against Grendelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mother. Hrunting is a lucky > sword, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“No one whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d worn it into battle, swung it in > dangerous places, daring and brave, had ever been > deserted-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?(1459-1461) However, Hrunting is useless against > Grendelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mother, although no swords made by mortals would > have pierced the monsterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s skin. It takes a sword à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hammered > by giants, strong and blessed with their magicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (1557-1559) > that Beowulf finds hanging on the wall to cut through the > monsterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s neck. The monsterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s blood melts the sword but > Beowulf brings the sword hilt to Hrothgar as a gift. > In the battle against the dragon Beowulf uses a sword > named Nagling. It first cracks against the tough dragon > skin and then breaks to pieces against the dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s head. > Once again, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“his weapon had failed him, deserted him, now > when he needed it mostà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Although the iron shield is > somewhat effective against the dragonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s scalding breath, > throughout the poem Beowulf is little aided in battle by a > weapon. The author suggests that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“his hands were too > strong, the hardest blade could not help him, th... ...m hilde-deor > hearpan wynneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In the translated edition Burton Raffel > uses a more subtle style, although alliteration can still > be easily found on every page. An example is the > description of Hrothgar playing a harp and how he à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stroked > its silvery stringsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (2108) > Kenning is the use of figurative phrases instead of a > simple noun. Instead of just saying ship the author might > use à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the ringed prowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sea-farerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the bent-necked > woodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The dragon is refered to as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“twilight-spoilerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and > à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“whale-roadà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is an ocean. A king or important noble is > called a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ring-giverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? many times throughout the poem. > There are several similes is the poem. One example is > the description of Grendelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s claws as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“nails as hard as > bright steelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (985) Another simile poetically depicts the > Geats journey stating, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The ship foamed through the sea > like a birdà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (218). > An Epithet is an identifying repeating adjective used > to take the place of a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s name. The kenning term > ring-giver is an epithet. Patronymics, a specific type of > Epithet, is the naming of people in terms