Slavic mythology is characterized by the fact that it is a comprehensive creation story. It represents not a separate branch of the national representations of the world like a fantasy, or religion; but is embodied even in the home – whether it is rites, rituals, worship or agricultural calendar or demonology. Therefore, practically destroyed in past, it continues to live in images, symbols, rituals and in the language itself. Paganism covers the entire field of spiritual culture and much of the
name in the Norse sagas include Hervor in The Saga of Hervor and Heidreks, Brynhildr of The Saga of Bosi and Herraud, the Swedish princess Thornbjǫrg in The Saga of Hrolf son of Gautrek, and Princess Hed, Visna and Veborg in Gesta Danorum. (Shieldmaiden, n.d.). The Gesta Danorum is an essential source for Danish history and is known for being one of the oldest documents written about the history of Latvia and Estonia. The documents speak of legendary shield-maidens that participated in the Battle
ironic death. The conception of this character dates back to as early as the 13th century. The first story that Hamlet’s tale can be traced back to is Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum (“History of the Danes”). Many of the earlier Hamlet story elements are interwoven in Vita Amlethi (“The Life of Amleth”), part of Gesta Danorum (Mabillard). Some of the strong similarities between the two legends are the mother’s hasty marriage to the brother of the murdered king, the prince pretending to be insane
Julius Caesar, another well-known play and tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1599, is a tragedy about the tyrannical Roman emperor Julius Caesar and the events that lead to the murder of Julius Caesar. This tragedy is most famous for the line “Et tu, Brute?” (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 3.1.77). This quote shows the disbelief present in Julius Caesar after he was murdered with the aid of his friend Brutus. Even though the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar has some definite historical ties
Unferth in Beowulf and Odysseus in the Odyssey Kemp Malone in his essay “Beowulf” comments that the hero’s swimming match with Breca, an episode of more than 100 lines, is “not told as such,” but set in a frame: “the flitting between Unferth and Beowulf” (Malone 144). This contention or challenge between the hero and a rude challenger appears not only in Beowulf but in other heroic poetry like the Odyssey. When Beowulf and his crew of brave Geat warriors arrive to the court of King Hrothgar
Wiglaf vs. Unferth in Beowulf In the heroic poem Beowulf, not only does Wiglaf demonstrate the importance of heroism to society and the necessity of loyalty to one’s kinsman and lord, but he also sets the context of the final part of the poem. Unferth, on the other hand, presents a rude challenge to the hero, which is not without precedent in heroic poetry, and thus becomes in the eye of the audience a sort of villainous type. Let us consider the more noble of the two first. As Beowulf
This essay explores the research question “In what ways does the use of supernatural elements in literature serve to reflect the nature of humanity?” and focuses on fairy tales, Hamlet, and Macbeth. It begins by outlining and examining the role of supernatural elements in promoting struggles between both the characters and groups within the plot. It then proceeds to showcase how using these elements to create struggles within the plot helps the author to outline the societal struggles of his or her