Literary Elements & Techniques
Download
Report
Transcript Literary Elements & Techniques
Literary
Elements
Through the story of Beowulf
Theme
The
controlling idea of a piece of
literature.
A
unifying or dominant idea
Themes in Beowulf
Greed
for glory leads to downfall.
Greed
for glory leads to heroism.
“The
fight is not yours,/ nor meet for any but me
alone/ to measure the might with this monster
here/ and play the hero.”
Characterization
The
characteristics of a character
Physiological-
like
Sociological-
what the character looks
the character’s background
Psychological-
the character’s behavior
Characterization of Beowulf
Physiological: strongest man of all
Sociological: loyal & has seen victory far and wide
“[…] Higlac’s/Follower and the strongest of the
Geats– greater/ And stronger than anyone
anywhere in this world […]”
“Higlac’s Follower” & “I drove/ Five great giants
into chains, chased/ All of that race from the
earth.”
Psychological: reckless, brave, greedy for glory
“But Higlac’s follower remembered his final/ Boast
and, standing erect, stopped/ The monster’s flight
[…]”
Conflict
The
opposing forces that come into
disagreement in a story
External
& External Conflicts:
Man vs. self
Man vs. man
Man vs. society
Man vs. nature
Conflict in Beowulf
Man vs. self
Man vs. man
“ […] my hands/ Alone shall fight for me,
struggle for life/ Against the monster.”
“The sage assumed that his sovran God/ he had
angered, breaking ancient law,/ and
embittered the Lord.”
Also three battles could be considered here
Man vs. society & man vs. nature
Three battles could be considered
Setting
When
and where a story takes place
Setting of Beowulf
A
changing world between Pagan and
Christian ideas– a world that is attempting
to rid itself of the old, “evil” ways
Anglo-Saxon Period in the regions of
modern-day Denmark and Sweden
“Hail/ To those who will rise to God, drop
off/ Their dead bodies and seek our
Father’s peace!”
Protagonist vs. Antagonist
Protagonist:
the leading character, hero,
or heroine of a literary work
Antagonist:
the character or force that
works against the hero or protagonist
Pro. & Ant. in Beowulf
Beowulf
vs. Grendel
Beowulf
vs. Grendel’s Mother
Beowulf
vs. Dragon
Plot
The action of a literary work
Exposition: the act of explaining the setting and
introducing the main characters & other literary
elements at the beginning of a literary work
Rising Action: a related series of incidents that build
towards the climax
Climax: THE POINT OF NO RETURN/ THE HIGHEST OR
MOST INTENSE POINT IN THE STORY
Falling Action: the part of a story that occurs after the
climax has been reached and the conflict has been
resolved
Resolution: the outcome of the story- the protagonist
either gets what he/she wants or does not
Plot Triangle for Beowulf
Climax: Beowulf fights the
Dragon and is injured
Rising Action: Beowulf kills
Grendel & Grendel’s
Mother/ is named King
Exposition: Beowulf is
great/ Danes in trouble
and need help
Falling Action: Wiglaf
brings Beowulf the
treasure
Resolution: Beowulf
dies a hero and is
buried in a funeral
pyre
Point of View
The
perspective from which a story is told
First person- “I”
Second person- “you” “us” “we”
Third person limited- “he” “she” but we see
one character’s thoughts
Third person omniscient- “he” “she” but we
see all characters’ thoughts
Point of View of Beowulf
Third
person omniscient
“That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,/
Knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had
he met a man whose hands were harder;/
His mind was flooded with fear […]”
“That mighty protector of men/ Mean to
hold the monster till its life/ Leaped out,
knowing the fiend was no use/ To anyone in
Denmark.”
Motif
A
recurring subject, theme, idea, etc. in a
literary work
These
motifs can also be symbolic, which
can make them also symbolism
Motif in Beowulf
Fate
“Fate will unwind as it must!”
“But Wyrd denied it,/ and victory’s honors.”
“At home I bided/ what fate might come,
and I cared for mine own;/ feuds I sought
not, nor falsely swore/ ever an oath.”
Monsters
Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, the dragon
Symbolism
Items
or characters that represent larger
ideas and concepts
Symbols in Beowulf
The
Mead Hall- a place of unity and
celebration
Beowulf’s chain mail- God’s grace/ the
“chosen one”
Mead Cup- all soldiers drink from it = the
symbol of unity
Literary
Techniques
Through Beowulf
Allusions
Referring
to a famous person, place,
thing, etc. in a literary text
Allusions in Beowulf
Several
allusions to God and heaven:
“That was their way,/ And the heathen’s
only hope, Hell/ Always in their hearts,
knowing neither God/ Nor His passing as He
walks through our world, the Lord/ of
Heaven and earth […]
“God must decide/ Who will be given to
death’s cold grip.”
Foreshadowing
Hints
in the text of what is to come
Foreshadowing in Beowulf
“But
fate, that night, intended/ Grendel to
gnaw the broken bones Of his last human
supper. Human/ Eyes were watching his
evil steps,/ Waiting to see his swift hard
claws.”
Alliteration
Two
or more words begin with the same
sound
Alliteration in Beowulf
“Long
while of the day/ fled ere he felt
the floor of the sea./ Soon found the fiend
who the flood-domain sword-hungry held
these hundred winters,/ greedy and grim,
that some guest from above,/ some man,
was raiding her monster-realm.”
Assonance
Rhyme
in which the same vowel sounds
are used
Assonance in Beowulf
“[…]
Up from his swampland, sliding
silently […]”
“Now Grendel’s/ Name has echoed in our
land: sailors have brought us stories of
Herot, the best/ Of all mead-halls,
deserted and useless when the moon/
Hangs in the skies […] Light and life fleeing
together.”
Consonance
Repetition
of the same consonant sounds
anywhere in the word
Consonance in Beowulf
“[…]
if in thy cause it came that I/ should
lose my life, thou wouldst loyal bide/ to
me, though fallen, in father’s place!”
“Bloody the blade: he was blithe of his
deed/ Then blazed forth light.”
“Tore its fasteners with a touch/ And
rushed angrily over the threshold.”
Simile
A
comparison using like or as
Simile in Beowulf
“Bright
within/ As when from the sky there
shines unclouded/ Heaven’s candle.”
Metaphor
Direct
comparison that does not use like
or as but directly states that one thing is
another
Metaphor in Beowulf
Kennings and epithets are also metaphorical
“shepherd of evil, guardian of crime”
“Prince of the Weders”
“The Son of Ecgtheow”
“The Geatish hero”
“sky-candle”
“long sleep”
“whale road”
About the Dragon: “thus he moaned his woe,/ alone,
for them all, and unblithe wept/ by day and by night,
till death’s fell wave/ o’erwhelmed his heart.”
“God must decide/ Who will be given to death’s
cold grip.”
Understatement
Saying
less than reality in order to
emphasize the emotion of a situation
Understatement in Beowulf
When
Grendel’s Mother refers to Beowulf
as her “guest from above” when he’s
come to kill her
Personification
Giving
human qualities to inanimate
objects
Personification in Beowulf
“Death’s
cold grip”
“Herot trembled”
Apostrophe
Directly
addressing a someone or
something that cannot respond either
because it’s not living or is not present/
oftentimes a digression as a sign of
desperation
Apostrophe in Beowulf
“O
mighty Lord!”
“God, the Almighty, we call for you to
come”
Hyperbole
Using
extreme exaggeration for emphasis
Hyperbole in Beowulf
“Courageous
men/ carried the head from
the cliff by the sea/ an arduous task for all
the band,/ the firm in fight, since four
were needed/ on the shaft-of-slaughter
strenuously/ to bear to the gold-hall
Grendel’s head.”
Beowulf’s feats– not realistic
Irony
Three
types:
Situational- when the opposite of what you
expect to happen actually happens
Dramatic- when we know something a
character does not know
Verbal- sarcastic sayings or
understatement/ overstatement in speech
Irony in Beowulf
Situational-- The giant’s sword hanging on the
wall
Dramatic– the soldiers think Beowulf has died
“’Mid the battle-gear saw he a blade
triumphant,/ old-sword of Eotens, with edge of
proof,/ warriors’ heirloom, weapon unmatched”
“To many it seemed/ the wolf-of-the-waves had
won his life.”
Verbal- understatement/ Beowulf brags
“No small band of men had gathered to hear
Beowulf’s boast.”