Beowulf A Dual Language Analysis

Poems are designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way. They usually use literary techniques such as similes, metaphors and rhyme to make their work appear more personal, memorable and persuasive. The poem Beowulf is an old English poem about a young warrior and his quest through life. The poem was written in England between the 8th century and the early 11th century by an anonymous author, who was referred to as Anglo-Saxon poet. The poem is set in Scandinavia and it survived as a manuscript known as Newell Codex. The poem is said to be the oldest surviving long poem in the old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of old English literature. The style of writing in the poem Beowulf …show more content…
Stated in book titled “Beowulf A dual Language “written by Arthur Howell, one third of the vocabulary compound is words and for the concept of “the sea” in the poem , there are 50 different compound; likewise there are 50 compounds for the concept of “a battle”, and 30 words for “king” “, (checkering 5).This quote illustrates how the poem Beowulf is constructed and how the author uses the vocabulary words throughout the poem to their advantage to bring it together. Stated in another article titled “Oral-Formulistic character of Anglo Saxon Narrative Poetry”, “In examining the poem, considers it probable that a high percentage of the language in Beowulf is formulas (88-89), formed from a common “word- hoard “that all scopes drew on for their vocabulary. On average there is a nominal or adjectival compound in every third line. Many of these compounds did not exists in the average Old Englishman’s vocabulary; some are found only in this poem and nowhere else.”(Prof. Magoun).Vocabulary in the poem is highly important, I believe the author arranged the words used in the poem to achieve an upper hand over other powerful poets that was around in same time period. The words chosen are powerful and the meaning and interpretation behind each word will varies based on the reader …show more content…
They were used in the poem when comparing two person, places or thing that is being written about and this is seen in the text when Beowulf‘s part in sailing toward Dane land. “Away she went over a wavy ocean, boat like a bird, breaking seas, wind-whetted, white –throated”, (216-218).The quote shows that the literarily device was used by the author in poem. The author used it when creating various stanzas in the poem. The placing together of stanzas is what uniformed the poem in becoming a masterpiece. Similes were also used in the poem Beowulf to bring nonliving things to life. The phrase “like a bird is also a simile in the passage; “Woexstan kept this war-gear many years, swords and breast- armor,till his son was able to perform manly deeds his father had of