Prompt, Week 4: Close Reading Poetry

DUE: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Explanation

Last week we began looking at poetry in a new way. Rather than reading a poem and trying to say something general about it, we began with the poem itself, looked at its rhetorical effects, and then derived meaning from those effects. This process results in careful reading and true interpretation. In fact, it can be considered a kind of invention. From the language of the poem we invent meaning.

For this week, you will be required to perform this kind of close reading on a poem of your choice. Just as we did in class last week with Wordsworth’s “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal,” you will begin by identifying and examining particular rhetorical effects. Remember, this process is akin to observing and describing the parts of an image. During this initial phase you don’t yet make any judgments or create meaning; instead, you catalogue what’s there. Some of these things will be important, some will not, but try to see everything you can.

In the second phase, you will select the most important rhetorical effect and begin to interpret its meaning. In “A Slumber,” we identified two significant rhetorical effects, parallelism and ambiguous pronoun use, and we then did interpretive work on both effects, deriving meaning from each. In interpreting your poem, you will do the same work. After selecting the most important rhetorical effects for interpretation, you will argue for a particular understanding based on those effects. For example, in class we noticed the ambiguous use of the pronoun “she,” and from that effect, we came up with different ways of interpreting it. For your reading you will do the same, but you will argue for only one meaning, the meaning you feel is best.

Method

First, Observe

• Carefully read your target text 
• Identify all rhetorical effects that you can. Use your Bedford Glossary or the Figures of Speech posted on the blog site. Do not limit yourself to the master tropes, but look at all figures of speech and versification. 
• Ask questions about what things mean, either effects or particular words (when we identified parallelism, we then began to ask what things were parallel and why did it matter). 
• Narrow down those rhetorical effects you believe are the most significant 

Then, Interpret

• Think about how your chosen rhetorical effects influence the meaning of the entire poem 
• Form an argument for reading the poem based on your interpretation of the effects. 
• Writer your interpretation in a valid argumentative form: begin by asserting your argument, follow by close reading the rhetorical effect/s that support your argument, describing how the effect operates in the poem, and finally interpret the meaning of those effects. 

If you get stuck, think about the work we did in class last week. We effectively performed this exact process, we just didn’t write it down in argumentative form.

Logistics

• Read the poems assigned for week 4 and choose one. 
• Perform a close reading and interpretation on one and only one poem, focusing on only a single, important rhetorical effect. 
• Write your argument in 350 to 550 words. 
• EMAIL ME YOUR WRITTEN ARGUMENT IN .DOC OR .RTF FORMAT. 
• All assignments must be EMAILED TO ME by Wednesday, 6 pm. All late posts will automatically receive half credit. If the post is not EMAILED TO ME by Friday, 6 pm, it will receive no credit. 

NOTE: You will no longer post assignments to the blog. Instead, all assignments will be emailed to me, and I will publish a small selection of them to the blog on a weekly basis.

Week 3: Nina- Dante, Infernos, Cantos

Dante starts off being woken by the morning sun during Easter when it’s a time of resurrection. The rest of the chapters have similar religious themes and sayings. However, being of the non-religious type, I read it as more of a intervention type reading. I felt that in order for Dante to understand heaven, he must experience hell itself. That’s where Virgil plays his roll in guiding Dante through this journey.

“‘Master, what is the meaning of his harsh inscription?’

And he then as initiate to novice:
‘Here musty you put by all division of spirit and gather your should against all cowardice.

This is the place I told you to expect.
Here you shall pass among the fallen people, souls who have lost the good of intellect.’

So saying, he put forth his hand to me, and with a gentle and encouraging smile he led me through the gate of mystery.” (12-18)

After this passage, Dante is then led to the shore where he must cross. However, the guard there realizes he is human and refuses to let him pass. This stood out to me because why would any living man want to cross into such a deathly place when it is not necessary? Virgil persists and, overcome with fear, Dante passes out and awakens on the other side. This goes back to my theme that if Dante wants to truly understand heaven, he must be lead by Virgil into the depths of hell. You don’t have to be religious to understand the meaning of this story. It’s context reaches farther than that and explains that sometimes it’s necessary to see evil to comprehend the good in life.

“I saw a banner upon the mist.
Circling and circling, it seemed to scorn all pause
So it ran on, and still behind it pressed

a never ending rout of souls in pain.
I had not thought death had undone so many
as passed before me in that mournful train.

And some I knew among them; last of all
I recognized the shadow of that soul
who, in his cowardice, made the Great Denial.



At once I understood for certain: these
were of that retrograde and faithless crew
hateful to God and His enemies.
These wretches never born and never dead
ran naked in a swarm of wasps and hornets
that goaded them the more the more they fled,

and made their faces stream with bloody gouts
of pus and tears that dribbled to their feet
to be swallowed there by loathsome worms and maggots.”

I feel that this is where Dante truly saw hell and all of it’s evil. He describes the souls of the dead who made it down here and how much pain they will go through the rest of their after life. The Sage told Dante that you will feel this when you cross into the Joyless beach.

Week 3: Brittany Shiroma

In this short passage from Seamus Heaney and Daniel Donoghue’s Beowulf A Verse Translation, the formation of identity is shown. The people of Heorot, so-called, loved or admired Hygelac’s “thane” (pg.4, line 194) or warrior. They did not stop him from going on his journey to stop Grendel, the demon who haunts Heorot. Hygelac’s warrior and his men went off to their destination; they spoke with King Hrothgar and informed him on their mission to purify Heorot from Grendel. Beowulf, Hygelac’s warrior, makes his journey to Heorot he identifies himself as the son of his famous father, Ecgtheow. When he and his men are introduced to King Hrothgar, the King instantly identifies Beowulf as the young boy who is son to the great Ecgtheow and has come to follow up on some old friendship (pg.12, lines 372-376). Within this epic poem, Beowulf’s identity is repeated upon different characters; he is well known by his ancestry and by his heroic actions.

“In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth,

high born and powerful…

whilst he moved about

like the leader he was, enlisting men,

the best he could find”

(Heaney & Donoghue, Beowulf, A Hero Comes To Heorot, Lines197-198 & 205-207)

This passage resembles to Culler’s Literary Theory A Very Short Introduction when he states, “there are narratives where identity is essentially determined by birth” (Culler 110). When a character is born he/she is either, in this case, high born and powerful, or of a lower class and born with nothing. Identity is made by fate or through ancestry. If a character’s identity is made through fate, the character gains his/her identity through actions that he/she does throughout his/her life or through a prophecy. Now, if a character’s identity is made through ancestry, the character has a “title” to live up to and show that he/she will do good/bad deeds that his/her ancestors has done in the past. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf’s identity is made from his ancestry and his past battles and gives others the image of a man who is a hero and will be able to defeat the demonic Grendel. Identity plays a role in any poem, short story, novel, or text; it just takes time to point out when and where identity in a character is mentioned.

Week 3 Conor Therrien

“Grendel was the name of the grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens, he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts”( Beowulf lines 102-106).

In this passage the Grendel identity is that of a monsters, it even states that he is a monster. But I noticed that even though his identity is that of a monsters it is not that different from a Hero in the Danes society. In the Danes society a hero is supposed to be wise,strong, courageous, and to win all of his fights and never lose. The Danes tested these traits in battle where they fought, and killed others, then took the losers land for themselves. This sounds remarkably similar to the Grendel who stole Heroet hall, and killed around thirty of the Danes. The Grendel is considered a monster though, and Beowulf who is a famous warrior is considered a hero. Why is Grendel a monster while Beowulf is a hero?

Both Beowulf and Grendel have killed, and conquered, but they have remarkably different identities, and the only reason I can tell of their difference of identities is because the point of view of the story is of the Danes, and their hero is Beowulf. If the author had the point of view of monsters the Grendel would have been the hero, after successfully conquering the danes before Beowulf arrived, and his death would have been that of a tragic one dying by the villain Beowulf. So in a sense the identity of a character is made up by not only his actions, but what point of view you are looking at in the novel. Because no matter what your actions are, what determines your identity, is the point of view the novel is at, and that of the person who is reading the novel.

Identity is a major theme in Beowulf, every character has one no matter how minor it may be or how bad it is such as Grendel.

Week 3: Shelby Kirk

“There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful. He ordered a boat that would ply the waves. He announced his plan: to sail the swan’s road and seek that king, the famous prince who needed defenders. Nobody tried to keep him from going, no elder denied him, dear as he was to them.” (194-203)

In this passage of Beowulf, the author is describing Beowulf’s plan to sail overseas to help destroy Grendel. In Culler’s Literary Theory, it states that, “A literary work- Hamlet, for instance- is characteristically the story of a fictional character: it presents itself as in some way exemplary, but it  simultaneously declines to define the range or scope of exemplarity- hence the ease with which readers and critics come to speak about the ‘universality’ of literature.” (Pg. 36)

This quote from Beowulf shows that the story is a literary work at its face value. As the quote states, “there was no one else like him alive.” Beowulf is the hero of this story. One could argue that he was destined to be the one to slay Grendel. Beowulf knew that he had a good chance of dying and never seeing his home land again, but he says “I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches.  And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall.” To him it did not matter that he could die. “He was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful.” If Beowulf could not defeat Grendel, then no one could.

This passage is important to think about because this is the true heroic story. This lead today’s standard story-line, of the hero overcoming a great obstacle and defeating the bad guy. This can be seen in almost every great story from Beowulf to Shakespeare’s, Hamlet to Disney’s, Sleeping Beauty. The hero always wins in the end.

Katie Greene Week 3

After reading The Odyssey I had a deeper understanding of the historical content of Grecian life and what the people of Greece actually were about, culturally and what was most important to them. What their values were. It became a pattern. The hero always triumphing over evil, and having Odysseus come out on top. Having that leader to look up to was important to the people of Greece, to have a, not always a fictional character, but to have someone they can be proud to have represent their home land.

The Odyssey tells a tale of a man that could easily be described as a god because of the way he speaks about himself, and where he comes from. The events that Odysseus had gone through were only to be achieved by one true hero. A leader of a crew that could not have gone on with out his strength, determination, knowledge, and courage. All of these virtues make up the identity of Odysseus and the man that he was. “I dragged it from the flames, my men clustering round as some god breathed enormous courage though us all” (Homer pg.223).

Homer then goes into detail about how Odysseus was the man behind that action, the stabbing of Polyphemus’s eye with the steak. No one out of the crew even bothered to come forward and volunteer to do the dirty work, they all assumed their captain would, and he did with out a doubt. He made the brave decision to harm the creature so their crew could escape, well what was left of them anyway. Being able to understand the fact that it was no ones responsibility to stab the Cyclopes, but Odysseus.Even after Polyphemus had awoken other Cyclops’s earlier in the poem Odysseus had told Polyphemus that his name was ‘Nobody.’ With his cunning, and clever ways, this had come to his advantage. No on came to Polyphemus’s aid, he Cyclops was left to die. “They lumbered off but laughter filled my heart to think how nobody’s name-my great cunning stroke-had duped them one and all” (Homer pg. 224).

Once Odysseus and what was left of his crew got out of the Cyclops’s cave, did he have the edacity to cried back “So, Cyclops, no weak coward it was whose crew you bent to devour there in your vaulted cave-you with your brut force!” (Homer pg. 226).By Odysseus doing this, it proves that he had no fear of what was left to come if anything. By dissecting what Homer meant by having Odysseus taunt the Cyclops even after defeating him with out any struggle.

In the end of this passage what the reader is left with is the identity of Odysseus. A strong willed hero that will always come out on top, and that is part of why the Odyssey was so important to Greece, they hero was someone who they could possible relate to and who they could look up to as a character.

Week 3: Kat Sung

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem written in England, consisting of 3,182 lines. The translator’s introduction included in the text suggests that it was written, “some time between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the first millennium.” During this time, Anglo-Saxon England was slowing beginning to convert their religion from Paganism to Christianity due to the efforts of Pope Gregory I.

This conversion to Christianity, is shown throughout the text through the actions of the characters (specifically the reason behind their actions). But, although they believe they are Christian (thank the Lord, bless each other, and relate biblical stories in their lives), it could be argued that they are not truly Christian due to their Germanic warrior-culture.

Lines 26-50 describe the extravagant funeral of Beow’s father, who died a Christian. The warriors

“stretched their beloved lord in his boat,

laid out by the mast, amidships,

the great ring-giver. Far-fetched treasures

were piled upon him, and precious gear.” (Lines 34-37)

The narrator does not describe this as the warriors’ intention for the burial. It was done this way because this is what the deceased,

“bade them

when he laid down the law among the Danes” (Lines 28-29)

The narrator goes on to say that he or she has

“never heard before of a ship so well furbished

with battle-tackle, bladed weapons

and coats of mail.” (Lines 38-40)

Although it may be normal for warriors to bury their leaders in this way, commanding your army to bury you in this fashion seems kind of ironic for a Christian. Ships and gold and treasures are all worldly possessions that are unable to accompany you into the afterlife. You would not need them in heaven. As part of the funeral, the warriors also “bewail[ed] him and mourn[ed] their loss.” Although it may be hard for them to not feel sad after a death, they should also feel happy for him because he is able to go to heaven and meet God.

One thing I found interesting was the way the narrator, who is supposedly Christian, described the Pagans in lines 175-180. The narrator described the Pagan hopes as “heathenish” and kind of looked down on their ways of “vow[ing] offerings to idols, swear[ing] oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save their people.” (Lines 175-178) He or she also goes on to say, “Oh, cursed is he who in time of trouble has to thrust his soul in the fires embrace, forfeiting help; he has nowhere to turn. But blessed is he who after death can approach the Lord and find friendship in the Father’s embrace.” (Lines 183-188) implying that Pagans will not enter heaven as the Christians will.

Similar to The Odyssey, another theme in this story, is identity. The characters of this story (Beow) identify themselves by stating who their ancestors were and their acts of courage and heroism.

“We belong by birth to the Geat people

and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac.

In his day, my father was a famous man,

a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow.

… All over the world

men wise in counsel continue to remember him.” (lines 260-266)

This type of identification was important because it helped them define their own character. Their ancestors were their idols, and they strove to become as heroic as they were as well as declare a name for themselves and create their own reputation.

Week 3: Susan Schroeder

Throughout Dante Alighieri’s Inferno the focus is on identity; identity of not only the narrator, but also of all those trapped within the circles of hell.  When analyzing these identities as outlined in Culler’s Literary Theory, it is evident that they are primarily seen as figures whose self is socially constructed.  The first example of this is from Virgil himself as he recalls his identity

  

“Not man, though man I once was and my blood

                                was Lombard, both my parents Mantuan.

                                I was born, though late, sub Julio, and bred

Inferno, Canto I, lines 67-69, John Ciardi Translation

The use of socially constructed culture groups by Virgil, indicates the dependence of Dante on these social norms.  Culturally, at this point in time, (1300 CE) socially constructed identity was everything.  You were told who you were, which social class you fitted into, and how you related to others within and without your class.  Identity was rigidly defined, and breaking these socially constructed norms made one an outcast of that society.  This is the world in which Dante created the Divine Comedy.  Again, in this example of dialog between Virgil and Dante, the identity of the damned are socially constructed as those who are lost to the living. 

This is the place I told you to expect.

                                Here you shall pass among the fallen people,

                                Souls who have lost the good of intellect.”

Inferno, Canto III, lines 16-18, John Ciardi Translation

Even though identity was socially constructed at this time, Dante did incorporate the idea that an individual can create their identity, as seen in the opening lines of Inferno.

Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray

                from the straight road and woke to find myself

                alone in a dark wood.  How shall I say

Inferno, Canto I, lines 1-3, John Ciardi Translation

Here, at the beginning, Dante sees his identity as a sinner, someone whose inner ‘self’ is revealed by his actions.  However, throughout the journey, from hell, to purgatory, and eventually to heaven, we are shown how Dante’s identity is changed as he over comes each interaction with the damned.  Dante is no longer a sinner damned, but a repentant sinner who is worthy to enter the gates of heaven and see God. 

                These two forms of identity found within the Inferno are the basis for analysis of this complex and dense text.

Work Cited

Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Week 3: Phillip Ada

Assertion:
Whoever transcribed Beowulf threw Christian themes into the poem to facilitate conversion from the Scandinavian paganism beliefs to Christianity.

Citation:

·      Note from the translator: “…and they [scholars] devoted themselves to a consideration of the world-view behind the poem, asking to what extent (if at all) the newly established Christian religion, which was fundamental to the poet’s intellectual formation,” – Seamus Heaney, Translator’s Introduction.

·      Examples of discontinuity problems or paradoxes.

o   Lines 473-479.

§  Quote: “It bothers me to have to burden anyone with all the grief that Grendel has caused and the havoc he has wreaked upon us in Heorot, our humiliations.  My household guard are on the wane, fate sweeps them away into Grendel’s clutches—but God can easily halt these raids and harrowing attacks!”

§  Analysis: This is Hrothgar lamenting that Beowulf has to be troubled with such a task as killing Grendel when God can easily make the problem disappear if he wanted to.  The king of a culture based around a warrior code and masculinity would never lament in public, especially to guests.  Also, both fate AND God are mentioned in this excerpt.  You can’t have fate and an interfering god in the same universe.

o   Lines 799-804.

§  Quote: “When they joined the struggle there was something they could not have known at the time, that no blade on earth, no blacksmith’s art could ever damage their demon opponent.  He had conjured the harm from the cutting edge of every weapon.”

§  Analysis: Grendel’s body is impenetrable by any weapon through some sort of magic, a power separate from God.  This is blasphemous to Christian dogma.

·      Examples of fatalism.

o   Lines 32-36, 43-46.

§  Quote: “A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbor, ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.  They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships, the great ring-giver. … They decked his body no less bountifully with offerings than those first ones did who cast him away when he was a child and launched him alone out over the waves.”

§  Analysis: This scene describes the funeral of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father.  They put him in an ornate watercraft and set him adrift into sea keeping with the style he originally arrived to them.  Ecgtheow was bestowed upon his people through some preternatural means.  However, the Geats did not believe in the Judeo-Christian god and had a kind of Deist credo.  They accepted that they had no power over their lives and were fated to be thrown around at the whim of some divine being or beings.  While they accepted divine gifts given to them, they did not thank whatever god may exist for if a god did exist, it was also responsible for the curses visited upon them.

o   Lines 202-203.

§  Quote: “[When Beowulf decides to repay his father’s debt to Hrothgar, despite the danger] Nobody tried to keep him from going, no elder denied him, dear as he was to them.

§  Analysis: As everyone is powerless to the eventuality of one specific and unpredictable death, courage is not a hard trait to develop.  Fear of the deaths of loved ones is severely diminished for the same reason.

o   Lines 634-638.

§  Quote: “I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches.  And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”

§  Analysis: Here, Beowulf nonchalantly talks about his death.  Why?  Because it doesn’t matter if he dies now or later; his death will come when it comes.  He simply doesn’t care.

·      Examples of implanted Christianity.

o   Lines 90-98.

§  Quote: “[Grendel hears] a skilled poet telling with mastery of man’s beginnings, how the Almighty had made the earth a gleaming plain girdled with waters; in His splendor He set the sun and the moon to be earth’s lamplight, lanterns for men, and filled the broad lap of the world with branches and leaves; and quickened life in every other thing that moved.”

§  Analysis: Why would a poet in Hrothgar’s hall be singing about Genesis?

o   Lines 104-114, 121, 169, 711.

§  Quote: “[Grendel is from] Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.  For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from committing that murder because the Almighty made him anathema, and out of the curse of his exile there sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms and the giants too who strove with God time and again until He gave them their reward. … God-cursed brute … he was the Lord’s outcast … God-cursed Grendel …”

§  Analysis: Such evil earthly creatures, if any, would have been destroyed in the deluge.  This translation of Beowulf temporally places it after Christ’s sacrifice which was well after the deluge.

o   Lines 128-129.

§  Quote: “[Survivors of Grendel’s initial attack] wept to heaven and mourned under morning.”

§  Analysis: Why would the Danes, who were fatalists like the Geats, cry to the skies?

o   Lines 175-188.

§  Quote: “Sometimes at the pagan shrines they vowed offerings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save the people.  That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.  The Almighty Judge of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, Head of the Heavens and High King of the World, was unknown to them.  Oh, cursed is he who in time of trouble has to thrust his soul in the fire’s embrace, forfeiting help; he has nowhere else to turn.  But blessed is he who after death can approach the Lord and find friendship in the Father’s embrace.”

§  Analysis: Any non-Christian ritual was considered pagan devil worship.  This is the original transcriber’s depiction of the moral wrongness of anything non-Christian.

o   Lines 227-228.

§  Quote: “[Upon arriving on the shores of their destination:] They thanked God for that easy crossing on a calm sea.

§  Analysis: This is the transcriber’s reinterpretation of the party’s offhanded notice of their uneventful trip as the seas were usually teeming with danger (sea monsters and storms in particular).  The warriors assumed that they were on the right track to their destinies since they crossed the waters unharmed.

o   Lines 316-318.

§  Quote: “[The guide to Beowulf and friends:] May the Almighty Father keep you and in His kindness watch over your exploits.”

§  Analysis: This seems randomly thrown in after the scene in which the guide takes the warriors to Hrothgar’s hall.

o   Lines 381-383, 626-628.

§  Quote: “[Hrothgar says] Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel.  [Later, Hrothgar expresses similar thanks] …With measured words she welcomed the Geat and thanked God for granting her wish that adeliverer she could believe in would arrive to ease their afflictions.”

§  Analysis: Why would any Dane, the king no less, thank God?  God didn’t deliver Beowulf, he came out of his own volition to repay a life debt.

o   Lines 440-442.

§  Quote: “[Beowulf about the possible outcome of his death says] Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgment by God.  If Grendel wins, it will be a gruesome day…”

§  Analysis: This is an example of the exact opposite of something a warrior as youthful, cocky, brave, and obnoxious as Beowulf would ever say.

Explanation:

It is important to realize the presence of the didactic Christian lines in this epic in order to take in the story separate from them.  The fatalist themes of Beowulf are important and can be easily overlooked if God is taken into account.

George Stearn: Week 3

“Not Man, though man I once was and my blood

 was Lombard and both my parents Mantuan

. I was born, though late, sub Julio, and bred

In Rome under Augustus in the noon

 of the false and lying gods. I was a poet

and sang of old Anchises’ noble son

Who came to Rome after the burning of Troy.

 But you- why do you return to these distresses

 instead of climbing that shining mount of Joy?”

- (Dante’s Inferno, Canto I, 67-75)

One central theme in Dante’s Inferno is identity, and why wouldn’t it be? What is the Inferno but Dante’s own interpretation of the afterlife, a central belief in any Religion and an integral part of the identity of anyone living in the Middle Ages.  Identity first shows up as a theme early in the novel. After avoiding the Lion and She-wolf, Dante meets Virgil, who identifies himself by relating his parentage and country of origin. “…and my blood was Lombard and both my parents Mantuan…and bred in Rome under Augustus and the false and lying gods” (Canto I, 67-71). Virgil’s connection with his ancestry is evidence of a preoccupation with ancestry not present in today’s society. In many cultures, parentage and land of origin had a great deal to do with the social standing of citizens. Indeed, the Odyssey and Illiad are essentially ancient celebrations of everything Greek.

 Later in the passage it becomes evident that Virgil’s death brought some significant changes in belief, and no doubt brought his identity into question. “…I was born, though late, sub Julio in Rome under Augustus in the noon of the false and lying gods.” (Canto I, 69-71). In Life, there is little doubt that Virgil ascribed to the Polytheistic deity system propagated by the Roman Empire, so it is interesting that in death he would openly defame the gods he once worshipped. He even goes so far as to call them “false” and “lying”. If one descends deeper into the mythos created by Dante however, Virgil’s bitterness becomes clear: because in Life he failed to worship the one true God, in death he was sent to the uppermost tier of the Inferno. It seems a cruel fate for a poet that Dante held in high esteem, but Virgil’s pagan beliefs were unacceptable in Dante’s time, resulting his placement with the Virtuous Pagans.

At the end of the selection, Virgil poses a question to Dante: “why do you return to these distresses instead of climbing that shining mount of joy?” (Canto I, 74-75). That question relates back to identity as a theme in Dante’s Inferno. The woods in the first Canto are symbolic it seems of Dante’s own confusion with his identity, and Virgil is the heavenly spirit that lifts him out of the fog. Virgil, a fellow writer and inspiration of Dante’s, takes the author on a journey through a construct of his religion, affirming his faith and belief in himself. Dante’s ultimate victory comes when he reunites with Beatrice in Il Paradiso, an event symbolic of his own spiritual awakening, and as history reveals, the author’s disturbing desire outside of the fictional world he created. 

Week 3, Noah Aigner

In many novels, scenes are lavishly
laid out; giving detail after detail until eventually the reader is bogged down
with words that begin to mean nothing. It takes a great writer to be able to
lay out a scene that the reader can vividly see using only a few words. A good
example of this use of diction is in “Beowulf”. The author is able to use a
limited number of words but in such a way that the entire scene is laid out
before us as readers without bombarding us with a barrage of details.

I find
the best examples of this method of writing in the attacks of the monster
Grendel. The author knew that there were insignificant details that could be
left out of these sections and still be able to get the picture across. For
example, when Grendel comes in the night to feast on the nobles he is “creating
havoc: greedy and grim”. (Line 121-122) The word havoc can tell a reader much
more about the scene than an entire line can. It tells the reader of the
atmosphere created by the monster and how it is such a terrible happening, while
greedy and grim clearly explain the mood of Grendel. The author could have used
an entire paragraph to explain every occurrence of the attack but was able to
use creative diction to easily get across the point using a few choice words.
An important method that the author used to succeed in word choice was the
choice of narrator. If the narrator had been either Beowulf or Grendel the view
and opinions given to the reader would have been greatly limited. But with the
narrator as the omniscient viewer he is not limited to a single way to see the
happenings in this story. “The monster
back-tracking, the man overpowering. The dread of the land was desperate to
escape, to take a roundabout road and flee to his lair in the fens.” (Line
760-764) Had this passage merely been from one of the combatants’ point of view
there would of course be some special input as to how they were feeling, but in
this situation those details are unnecessary, and so the existing narrator is
able to give a sufficient view of the encounter and the intentions of the beast
all in one fell swoop.

Though
it doesn’t always rise to the top as a significant part of literature, the use
of diction plays a significant role in writing. When properly used, a paragraph
explaining, in great detail, the hellish attack on a home can easily be
translated into but a few words which are able to give almost exactly the same
experience to the reader.

Kate Boothman Week 3

Grendel, the bloodthirsty and fearsome monstrosity, reigned in the land, using fear and horror to keep his control over the people. Through his poetry, the author shows that, at his heart, Grendel, though a formidable foe, was really an unworthy coward, accustomed to running back home to his lair.  The author addresses the issue of being a coward and shows that it caused the end of Grendel.

“At heart he feared,
sorrowed in soul, -- none the sooner escaped!                                                                                                    Fain would he flee, his fastness seek,
the den of devils: no doings now
such as oft he had done in days of old!” ( lines )

This passage in Beowulf especially addresses the issue of being a coward.  It is illustrated using this monster Grendel and his ultimate foe, Beowulf. Grendel, though mighty and terrifying, is suddenly realizing that he has met his match. The creature of terror is himself terrified, and finds himself to be a coward wishing to be home with mother. Beowolf is the greater for finding his heart ripe for the battle, unmatched as he is to the great evil monster.  His heart and his bravery win the day over fainthearted brawn. Later we find that Grendel is ripped apart by Beowulf. 

Giving a closer view, the poet shows that Grendel could not run and use his swiftness to escape. That is the point, Grendel was used to running away, to slink away in the night from whence he came, doing his shameful and wicked deeds and then disappearing.  The poetry shows that he was nothing but a coward at heart, not willing to match skill with skill, without any honor to match Beowolf’s honor.

“God's foe sounding his grisly song,
cry of the conquered, clamorous pain
from captive of hell. Too closely held him
he who of men in might was strongest
in that same day of this our life.”

As this passage addresses the issue of cowardice, it contrasts that with Beowolf’s bravado, and it helps to give listeners or readers the courage to conquer, the will to win, the heart to face the troubles that are prevalent, even life-threatening.  It shows the honor and beauty of good conquering evil.

 At the time this poem was written, there were always hostilities between differing people groups and much fighting ensued. Young men were asked to fight and risk their lives for their community. After the hearing of this story, warriors would have been bolstered with new courage to conquer their enemies. The poem would help them to view their enemies as just cowards at heart.  This poem, Beowolf, gave the people a “super-hero” to look up to---someone whom they could imitate. When Beowulf revealed the heart of Grendel being filled with fear, it gave people hope to have the strength to overcome their adversaries.

Week 3: Lauren Greb

"Then down the brave man lay with his bolster

under his head and his whole company

of sea-rovers at rest beside him. 

None of them expected he would ever see

his homeland again or get back

to his native place and the people who reared him.

They knew too well the way it was before,

how often the Danes had fallen prey

to death in the mead-hall. But the Lord was weaving

a victory on His war-loom for the Weather-Geats.

Through the strength of one they all prevailed;

they would crush their enemy and come through

in triumph and gladness. The truth is clear:

Almighty God rules over mankind

and always has." 

-Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney, lines 688-702

 This passage of Beowulf stands out because in today's modern world, fate or a higher power plays quite a small role, if any. When looking at the arts of the Dark Ages, the early Renaissance, and the Roman Empire era, God, gods, and goddesses make several appearances. Considering the manuscript of Beowulf is believed to be created between the 10^th and 11^th century, it is no surprise that God makes an appearance. If we look at modern works of literature, it is uncommon for the main character to be driven by fate or believe that God is guiding them through life. In Literary Theory, it is said that “literature… [engages] the mind in ethical issues, [and induces] readers to examine conduct (including their own) as an outsider or a reader of novels would” (Culler, 37). If this is so, Beowulf does this; it makes the reader question their own beliefs and wonder if it is possible that the main character is guided by fate or by some higher being.

In the beginning of this passage, the author says that “none of them expected he would ever see his homeland again or get back to his native place,” (691-693). This shows how they, meaning the people of the city, were lacking in faith. And why shouldn’t they be? All other previous men who had tried to defeat Grendel had failed. They did not think Hrothgar was any different. As the passage moves on it says that the “Lord was weaving a victory in his war-loom,” (696-697). Despite the people’s lack of faith, the Lord will restore it by providing Hrothgar to help defeat Grendel. Also in this phrase, it includes a fate perspective intertwined with a religious one. God, the ruler of the universe, acts like the fates by weaving a tapestry. The passage concludes by saying that “Almighty God rules over mankind and always has,” (701-702). This is where the questioning of personal beliefs is brought to life. We’ve been built up with faith being the main focus and then it gives us a statement saying that God rules all. There is no faltering to the statement which in essence makes the reader wonder if maybe the character is meant to defeat Grendel or if he has faith that God will help him succeed. It makes the reader a third party to a situation and they are then able to determine their thoughts on it.

It is extremely important for readers to be unsettled on their ethics and conduct when reading a piece of literature. For example, in Woman at Point Zero, the main character is a prostitute. In general, the word prostitute conveys a negative connotation and so when she declares herself as one, she automatically receives a negative label. But as you read on, you cannot help but feel like she is actually the heroine. When a reader’s morals and ideas are shaken, they are then able to open their eyes and see new possibilities. Perhaps Beowulf is sending a religious message about faith. Maybe it is about pride. The point is these thoughts would have never occurred if this passage of faith and religion had not appeared. Personally, when my ideas are shaken is when I am able to analyze a text the best.

Week 3: Michelle Dennis

During the time The Aeneid was written, it was believed that everything happened for a reason and destiny or fate would always be the determining factor. This epic poem teaches us that one should never let their emotions make them lose sight of reality. In a sense, it is warning us that giving into human emotions, such as infatuation or love, can be a weakness that comes with serious consequence.

Dido was once viewed as a courageous leader and Queen of her city of Carthage. This began to change once she was “consumed with passion to her core” (line 144), causing her to lose her grip on reality.

When Dido’s infatuation with Aeneus began, she sought guidance from her sister, Anna, who began to fill her mind with things that were escaping reality.

Lines 67-70

What a great city you’ll see rising here,

And what a kingdom, from this royal match!

With Trojan soldiers as companions in arms

By what exploits will Punic glory grow!

Dido got caught up in this “fairytale.” She allowed herself to become vulnerable to love, letting her emotions get the best of her; sacrificing everything she had for love and the idea of what could be. Dido believed her union with Aeneas was legitimate like a marriage, when in reality it was more like “a roll in the hay."

From the beginning, the author uses adjectives and imagery with a negative connotation when referring to Dido’s emotions for Aeneas. He hints that Dido is not going to come out of this for the better. She is not described as feeling happy or giddy about her infatuation, but rather tortured by it. In line 3, Dido’s passion for Aeneas is described as “a wound or inward fire eating her away.” In line 10 Dido is described as “this queen, far gone and ill …” In other words she is now a woman that is so lovesick she has lost her senses, she was once strong but is now weak.

Aeneas, on the other hand, is portrayed as strong. He had enough strength to resist the lure of love focus on his destiny to return to Italy and provide a kingdom for his son to rule. He controlled his human emotions and followed his duty to follow fate.

Line 95-102 refers to Dido as “unlucky Dido, burning in her madness…” the author uses the imagery of the doe “hit by an arrow shot from far away by a shepherd hunting…” (98) to hint to the reader that Dido is not going to come out of this in a positive manner. He says “The fatal shaft clings to her side,” suggesting that she is blinded by love and it would ultimately lead to her demise. After the union between her and Aeneus, line 233 confirms for the reader the future fate of Dido. “That day was the first to cause death, and first of sorrow.”

In the end fate, destiny, and divine intervention overpower the human emotion of love, suggesting that they are often at odds with each other. Just as Dido’s unreturned love had caused her to feel there was no other alternative than to take her own life, this outcome also hints that her city of Carthage fall to Italy when Aeneas accomplishes his duty and follows his destiny to Rome. This reminds us that fate cannot be altered, even by love.

Week 3: Miles Bruck

After reading the poem the Odyssey I was able to make some connections throughout the story regarding battle tactics, the difference between good and evil, and finally the historical context in which this story took place.

The Odyssey is considered an epic poem because it’s thought to be a long narrative which critically analyses and explains a hero or god’s life. Throughout the poem Odysseus is faced with many hardships and challenges which ultimately test his abilities as a leader and as a man. One of many of Homer’s points throughout the poem is that although Greece has a strong military, there are other ways to deal with war and with battle. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is challenged with an enemy 5 times his size and happens to be very hostile. Instead of fighting the Cyclops monster vs. man, he devises a plan to outsmart the Cyclops in order to return his crew and himself home safely. As a part of this plan when the Cyclops asks Odysseus his name, he tells the beast that his name is “nobody”. After he tricks the beast into drinking lots of wine, Odysseus gouges the Cyclops one eye with a burning torch. As the Cyclops is screaming with pain he asks his friends, and family to help but when they ask who is hurting him the Cyclops simply responds “Nobody’s killing me not by force but by fraud” (Homer pg. 224). Polyphemus and the other residents of the island do not believe the Cyclops, and therefore Odysseus escapes. This proves that although man for man the humans were beat it’s really the intellectual battle which wins the war.

Throughout the story Homer tries to separate the good and evil characters but as I was reading the poem I almost felt bad for the Cyclops because of the mistreatment he received from Odysseus. I do not approve of the Cyclops eating people, but I still felt a sense of sadness because that was how the Cyclops basic instincts and that’s how he’s supposed to act. I asked myself the question why it is okay for us to eat meat and not okay for the Cyclops to eat humans. I know coming from the human perspective that’s a tough concept to comprehend but I tried to put myself in the monsters shoes in order to broaden my view and perspective on the issue. In addition after Odysseus clearly defeats him he continues to taunt the Cyclops from his boat which clearly shows his disrespect for other creatures.

In conclusion I in fact really enjoyed learning about this story and it has really given me a new perspective on old literary works. Previously I couldn’t necessarily find the value or information in ancient literature but after dissecting and analyzing this story so profusely I have a new desire to learn from these records.

Week Three: Ashley Fisher

A well-read person understands that there are many different levels that accompany any text. Text does not just sit on a page, but it speaks to the reader, evokes emotions, deepens understanding and lastly, performs. In The Odyssey by Homer, there are many levels of performance that take place within the text and story, and understanding those levels can help the reader take more away from this epic poem.

In Book Nine of The Odyssey, a textual example of performative language is when Odysseus declares to the Cyclops “Nobody-that’s my name. Nobody so my mother and father call me, all my friends,” (Homer 223). When Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody,” it is an example of performative language since by saying that he is “Nobody,” Odysseus is taking on the role of “Nobody.” Odysseus is also now performing a new character in front of the Cyclops and his fellow comrades. While this performative language is occurring in the story, another performance in happening at the same time. At the beginning of Book Nine, the first line describes how “Odysseus, the great teller of tales, launched out on his story,” (211). This shows that in the poem, two performances are happening; one within the story itself where Odysseus is fighting the Cyclops, and another where Odysseus is telling the tale of his journey to the Phaeacians after King Alcinous demands to know who he is, where he has been, and where he hopes to travel next.

This information about the different levels of performance influences how one can look at Odysseus’ travels. The readers have already witnessed Odysseus’ intense thirst for glory, which makes readers question whether the story that Odysseus tells the Phaeacians about tricking and defeating the Cyclops is true, or whether he may have curved the truth to make him appear as the powerful and confident leader that he aspires to be. Whether or not the story Odysseus tells is entirely truthful or not, he does tell his story with an excessive measure of pride which is something readers should take into account when analyzing his character.

Furthermore, The Odyssey is believed to have been composed sometime during the end of the eighth century B.C., and was an ancient oral performance. It was a story that was meant to be heard rather than read, and was likely performed by an aoidos - epic poet and singer, - or a rhapsode - a professional performer. What does this mean to the story itself? One can begin answering this question by identifying how the story differs to an audience when it is read opposed to when it is performed out loud. This answer may differ from person to person, however, the fact that it was intended to be multiple performances inside a performance reveals a different side to this poem that should be taken into account while reading it.