Luis Vargas
Ms.Piefer
English 10 IB
12/1/2011
I am Hrothgar’s herald and officer. / I have never seen so impressive or large/ assembly of strangers stoutness of heart,/ bravery not banishment, must have brought you Hrothgar.”/The man whose name was known for courage,/ the Great leader, resolute in his helmet,/answer in return: “resolute in his helmet, /answer in return: “ We are retainers from/ Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name./ If your lord and master, the most renowned/ son of Halfdabe, will hear me out/ and graciously allow me to greet him in person,/ I am ready and willing to report my errand.”/ Wulfgar replied, a Wendell chief renowned as a warrior , well known for his wisdom/ and the temper of his mind: “ I will take thi message,/ in accordance with your wish, to noble king,/ our dear, friend of the Danes,/ the giver of rings. I will go and ask him/ about your coming here then hurry back/ with whatever reply it please him to give.”(Beowulf 336- 355)
In Beowulf the unknown author uses many fascinating literary devices to emphasize each of the characters, personalities in the book. The author makes Beowulf seem like a strong warrior which is the dominant effect of the story. The author uses connotation, alliteration and diction to create the visual effects of the character; which makes the appreciation of the use of language sound more enthusiastic. The author makes the characters seem alive and realistic throughout the story; which creates the strong of warrior.
The author uses diction and connotation to choose certain words for each character which helps to create the overall impression of him. For example the author chooses the words “Courage”, “Resolute,” “Willing”, “Wisdom,” “Well known,” and “I am ready” to demonstrate the dominant effect of the warrior Beowulf. He uses those words to express the visual effect by making the character seem like a wise, willing, resolute, well known and ready warrior. If the author didn’t use diction to describe character, the reader might have not understood the quality of the warrior Beowulf.
The author also tends to use many alliteration phrases throughout the story. For example he uses “Stranger stoutness”, “Bravery no banishments must have brought” and “Coming here then hurry up.” The unknown author tends to use alliteration in many phrases because it helps many of the sentences flow easier and it draws more attention to the verbs and adjectives that are said in the sentence. The alliteration used in Beowulf creates an effect that is pleasing to the reader’s ear. The repetition of the constant sound pleases the reader and makes him understand more when the author constantly repeats the sounds. For example, when the author uses “Bravery not banishment must have brought you to Hrothgar” the reader creates a connection with the dominant effect which is a strong warrior; with this the author makes the reader understand that the warrior is strong by using the repetition of constant words. This makes the reader remember that the character is a very strong warrior when using the same constant sounds.
The overall dominant affect of a warrior is created through the excellent literary devices the author uses to write Beowulf. These devices affect the whole story and create the dominant effect of a strong warrior by using alliteration, connotation, and diction to create the overall impression.
