Seamus Heaney

kinship, bravery, and pride were of utmost importance. They believed that the ideal leader would be a strong and capable person, someone almost godlike. Beowulf was the epitome of what the Anglo-Saxon’s desired. As depicted in Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, the qualities that would be most admired by his society included determination, confidence, and superhuman strength. As previously noted, Beowulf is a determined hero. Determination is a trait that the Anglo-Saxons admired because…

At the beginning of the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the speaker introduces cold and uncomfortable images to relay the tone of the poem: Regret for not respecting his father. Hayden uses “blueback cold” in the second line, presenting a tone of sadness and loneliness throughout the house that the speaker and his family like in. The word “blueblack” is such an uncommon word that it carries an extremely negative feeling, exemplifying the cold feeling of distance throughout the…

“From where he crouched at the king’s feet, Unferth, a son of Ecglaf’s, spoke contrary words.” (Beowulf 34). This is the first mention of a notable minor character in Beowulf. In Beowulf, Translated by Seamus Heaney, originally written circa 1000 ad., many minor and seemingly unimportant characters still have drastically driving effects in the story. Beowulf tells the story of a hero who has to fight demons and a dragon throughout the course of his life while aided by many minor characters. One…

After a grueling day of midterm exams, I trudge back to my dorm with a few of my friends to drop my school bag off before going to the Michigan Union to eat at Panda Express. Panda Express is one of my favorite restaurants ever, and I always get the same thing: one medium lemonade and one bigger plate with chow mein, fried rice, and a side of kung pao chicken. The noodles and fried rice already taste delicious, but the spiciness of the chicken combined with the two entrees simply explode in my…

Beowulf Of all the people we meet in life, few are heroes. A Hero is defined as “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” In the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf could be considered a hero. He displays many heroic traits such as bravery when he defeated Grendel, fearlessness when he killed Grendel's mother, and loyalty when he became king of the Geats fifty years later. When Hrothgar’s hall was being attacked, Beowulf…

10 MASTERS DEGREE IN ENGLISH (MEG-03) THE BRITISH NOVEL ASSIGNMENT (BASED ON BLOCKS 1-9) Maximum Marks: 100 Programme : MEG-03 Section I is compulsory. Attempt four questions from section 11. You must attempt -five q uestions in all. All questions carry equal marks. Section I 1. In what ways can we look at fiction as history? Give suitable examples. 20 Section I1 How does Fielding's social consciousness affect his point of view in 'Tom Jones'? 20 Discuss the use of humour in 'Pride…

A hero and a villain are two of the characters that appear in almost every movie we see. On one hand, I see a hero as a being that fights against evil to see more good happening in the world. On the other hand, a villain for me is a person who does evil to the world because its heart is filled with pure evil. In the poem Beowulf and the book Grendel, both of these characters are described differently, using both hero and villain features. In the two pieces of literature Grendel and Beowulf are…

key literary device used by Heaney is imagery used to express ideas of death with the use of the extended metaphor to describe the only mark on the boy's body a ‘poppy bruise’. A poppy is red; hence he has a red bruise on his forehead from where the car hit him. The poppy is also symbol of death. Many people wear a poppy to commemorate those who died in war. The deadly bruise is retranslated as a ‘poppy’ a symbol of remembrance and another wasted life. Another image Heaney wants us to imagine is…

had he met a man whose hands were harder,” (Burton Raffel 273). Most importantly, the Burton Raffel version of the tale has a purpose, as it’s intended for a High School audience. Another text similar to the textbook is written by a man named Seamus Heaney, who grew up in a conflicted Northern Ireland area. As for his interpretations, it’s as close to the original as possible. The plot leaves nothing out, and is true to the Anglo-Saxon culture. This text is significantly more formal then the…

Although there are many different interpretations of the term “monster”, it is often a word that is feared by people and can bring about many negative connotations. The term has evolved and changed over time but still can be interpreted to mean something that causes fear for people. In the epic poem Beowulf, one of the main monsters is a character named Grendel. Grendel has caused grief for the Danes for a long time, and has put people in danger because his destructive nature. Beowulf is seen as…