Kennings In Beowulf

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Recommended: Symbols and themes in beowulf

Genre
The main genre for Beowulf [The Fight with Grendel] is a narrative poem which is falls under the category of epic. An epic usually concerns a serious subject containing elements of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.
Literary devices
The poem is known for its usage of kennings (compound words), throughout the stanzas the kennings are being used metaphorically to imply things or characters in an unnoticeable way. Grendel is identified as “shadow-stalker”, “terror-monger”. “Mist-bands” indicates the army of fog, “cloud-murk” is fog, “bone-lappings” represents ligaments which serve as connective tissues that connect two bones or cartilages to hold a joint. ”mead-benches” are pews in the hall. “hell-serf” signifies …show more content…

The guards are all asleep except one and the monster couldn’t do anything. Grendel lurks around to hunt his prey; he goes into the hall and roams his way to stronghold. Becoming enraged, he rips open the mouth of the building with his mighty strength. The monster is a real killing machine, he kills for his joy. It is not merely trashing and slashing around, what is more terrifying is that he would devour his victim alive, savaging comes first then he would start indulging himself by chomping on ligaments of his victims which is pictured as someone guzzle on Kentucky fried chicken and subsequently drinks up their blood. The rising action occurs when Grendel is about to attack Beowulf at his vulnerable spot but turns out as Grendel gets arm locked and pinned down by Beowulf, it is the superhuman strength that the monster ever faced. The story rushes to a climax as the battle of good vs evil ensues between the two, one fights for righteousness and wants justice to be served the other is driven by hatred, jealousy and greed; a man-slaughter machine that enjoys seeing agony in dying men. As the two struggles to take each other’s lives out, furnishings and concrete were destroyed. The battle ends up with Grendel fatally wounded with a broken arm and the soldiers want to ensure the monster is dead by amplifying the damage with their swords but the monster

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