Beowulf Analysis Essay
Miss Watson
A.P English
Oct. 8th 2014
The Origins of Beowulf
The story of Beowulf is no doubt a great piece of literature and will forever be a classic. It provides an interesting and exciting story, based on good over evil, all while maintaining a poem structure. It is, however, more than just a story. It can also be used as a history lesson. It gives insight as to the ideal characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon lifestyle and their religion. Throughout the poem Beowulf’s actions represent traits from Anglo-Saxon culture, which the poem originated from.
The poem Beowulf doesn’t have a known author like the typical Literature book. Instead it was spread as a folktale. Over time the origins of the poem have been narrowed down and now readers …show more content…
Alliteration is when multiple consecutive words share the same first letter or syllable. Examples of alliteration are the uses of S in line four and the use of M in line five. “There was Shield Shiefson, scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.”(Beowulf, 1) The main purpose of alliteration was to aid the scops. Since the poem was spread by oral tradition it was better for words to rhyme at the beginning of the line as opposed to the end. It helped the poem flow and lines rolled off the tongue faster. This tactic was commonly used among the scops. Alliteration also allowed the scops to memorize the poem. Using similar sounding words they were able to remember it sections at a time. The story over time was passed down generation to generation. Alliteration was very common in Anglo-Saxon culture. It was used in almost every piece of poetry …show more content…
When the poem became a hit scops all over Anglo-Saxon Britain would use it for their performances. Kids who would hear the poem would want to grow up to be like Beowulf and would strive to be honorable, strong, and courageous. It also spread to the warriors. Warriors would feel inferior and attempt to be as good of a soldier as Beowulf. It also spread religion throughout Britain. Without alliteration we wouldn’t have the poem that exists today. In the original version almost every line of the poem was alliteration. If it weren’t easy to memorize than it would have been lost in
A.P English
Oct. 8th 2014
The Origins of Beowulf
The story of Beowulf is no doubt a great piece of literature and will forever be a classic. It provides an interesting and exciting story, based on good over evil, all while maintaining a poem structure. It is, however, more than just a story. It can also be used as a history lesson. It gives insight as to the ideal characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon lifestyle and their religion. Throughout the poem Beowulf’s actions represent traits from Anglo-Saxon culture, which the poem originated from.
The poem Beowulf doesn’t have a known author like the typical Literature book. Instead it was spread as a folktale. Over time the origins of the poem have been narrowed down and now readers …show more content…
Alliteration is when multiple consecutive words share the same first letter or syllable. Examples of alliteration are the uses of S in line four and the use of M in line five. “There was Shield Shiefson, scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.”(Beowulf, 1) The main purpose of alliteration was to aid the scops. Since the poem was spread by oral tradition it was better for words to rhyme at the beginning of the line as opposed to the end. It helped the poem flow and lines rolled off the tongue faster. This tactic was commonly used among the scops. Alliteration also allowed the scops to memorize the poem. Using similar sounding words they were able to remember it sections at a time. The story over time was passed down generation to generation. Alliteration was very common in Anglo-Saxon culture. It was used in almost every piece of poetry …show more content…
When the poem became a hit scops all over Anglo-Saxon Britain would use it for their performances. Kids who would hear the poem would want to grow up to be like Beowulf and would strive to be honorable, strong, and courageous. It also spread to the warriors. Warriors would feel inferior and attempt to be as good of a soldier as Beowulf. It also spread religion throughout Britain. Without alliteration we wouldn’t have the poem that exists today. In the original version almost every line of the poem was alliteration. If it weren’t easy to memorize than it would have been lost in