Beowulf LRJ #1

Jessica Dudman

Ms. Peifer

10 IB

12-5-08

The values in This Old English society have a lot of focus on war and fighting but they also have other interesting ideals. For instance the have a lot of emphasis on respect and giving freely to others, "a young prince must be prudent like that, giving freely while his father lives so that afterwards in age when fighting starts steadfast companions will stand by him" (Heaney 24). This shows that in their society it was important to be respectful for one wouldn't do well in a fight if they had no friends to help them. They also had interesting burial practices. "launched him alone out over the waves... bewailing him and mourning their loss" (Heaney 46-49). They sent the body out on the water towards the next life, all though they didn't seem particularly worried about what happened to the body and goods afterwards.

Alliteration is an interesting way of getting a readers attention and it shows more of the oral tradition which the original story was. one such alliteration is, "the path to power among people" (Heaney 24). The emphasis on the words starting with p connect the important ideas in the line. It emphasises the desire for power and influence while also later giving advice on how it should be gained. An other alliteration connects the warrior mind set of the culture to the family, "four times a father, this fighter prince" (Heaney 59). the combination of fighter and father really catches the eye, and adding four implies that he is a blessed father because he is a fighter.

Kennings are used often in the tale and they can be a bit confusing for some of the phrases don't quite match up with modern phrasing. On the other hand they give a lot of descriptive detail. "that dark death-shadow" (Heaney 160). This is describing Grendel and is a forbidding and accurate description. The Old English language often had many kennings for just one noun. For example the sea could be, "the swan's road" (Heaney 200). All though swans don't swim in the ocean it gives a sense of beauty to the idea it represents. One kenning that sounds odd when translated to modern English is, "word-hoard" (Heaney 258). It stands for speech or the character's knowledge of words but it just doesn't quite sound the same.