Language of Epics

Language of Epics

metaphor, simile, personification, kennings,

epithets, allusion, assonance, alliteration,

paradox, etc…

SWBAT:

Identify characteristics of an EpicIdentify language of an Epic.

Epics: Rewind!

A long, narrative poem written in a lofty style, set in a remote time and place, involving heroic characters and deeds.

Structural Elements:

Larger than life heroSupernatural forces influence actionVast settingLofty languageOften opens with an invocation, an appeal to the Muses for inspirationOften begins in media res

Middle of actionLong, formal speeches

Examples of Epics:

BeowulfParadise LostThe OdysseyThe IliadAeneidBraveheartLord of the RingsGladiatorTroy

The Scop

Composers and storytellers who travelled from court to court- the entertainers of the Anglo-Saxon times. Expected to know a broad repertoire of tales and compose tales in tribute to patrons who financed them

Comitatus

Germanic code of loyalty. Thanes, or warriors, swore loyalty to their king, for whom they fought and whom they protected. In return, the king was expected to be generous with gifts of treasure and land.King protected his thanes, was highly praised for generosity and hospitality. Warriors expected to be brave, courageous, and loyal. Their reputation for such qualities was very important, as evidenced by Beowulf’s description of the swimming match in Brecca.

Wergild

Germanic custom; “man-payment”Practice of paying a slain man’s family to atone for the deed and to prevent them from taking revenge against the manslayer.Wergild is mentioned in Beowulf. Hrothgar paid a wergild to Beowulf’s father.

Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Society

Fellowship and communityRitual of mead hallAllegiance to lord and king/relationship between leader and followerLove of glory as ruling motive of every noble lifeBelief in the inevitability of fateRespect for forces of nature

Dependence on the seaNatural world as pawns of gods, monsters, magicSense of the beautiful

Metaphor

a comparison between two unlike things not using like or as:

Fame is a beeIt has a songIt has a sting

Ah, too, it has wings!

Simile

a comparison between two unlike things using like or as:

I’m as hungry as a horse.The flower was as yellow as the sun.

Personification

assigning human characteristics to non-human objects:

The wind whispered through the trees.Fear crept slowly up my spine.

Kennings

A literary device in which a noun is renamed in a creative way using a compound word or union of two separate words to combine ideas.

whale’s road: oceanstorm of swords: battle

KenningsMatch the following kennings with their meanings.breaker of rings shipsword dance sunoar steed battlewhale-road Beowulfworld-candle ocean

knowledge-giver kingSea-Geat teacher

Epithetsa descriptive word or phrase expressing some quality or attribute; a way to identifyadd variety and poetic imagerypraise the hero and add information about the hero; such as lineage, “The son of Healfdeane” (Hrothgar); “my shoulder-companion” (AEschere)aid in the memorization of these originally oral epic talesusually “______ of ________”usually attached to a nameMs. Cafarelli = Giver of Knowledge

Epithets and Kennings:

These “formulas” helped to establish tone and reinforce essentials of character and settings!

Create your own Old English

Create 3 epithets based on people everyone in the class knows

Must conform to standards of epithets (not used as a put-down!)

Create 1 epithet for yourselfCreate 2 kennings for common objects unfamiliar to the Anglo-Saxon world– cars, computers, cell phones, etc.

Paradox

a statement that, at first, appears to be contradictory but is actually true:

The silence of midnight rung in my ears.This statement is false.

Alliteration

repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words:

The breakers were right beneath her bowstongue twisters

Allusion

A reference to something with which the reader is already familiar. Usually a literary or historical person, place, event, or some other aspect of cultural significance.

Assonance

the repetition of identical vowel sounds in non-rhyming words

Some ship in distress, that cannot live

Caesura

Space in the middle of the line in Anglo-Saxon poetry which indicatesa pause.

Appositive

Noun or pronoun followed immediately by another noun or pronoun that identifies or explains.Ex. Beowulf, the warrior, fought bravely against Grendel.