Lecture Notes Beowulf Essay Example for Free

Lecture Notes Beowulf Essay Genre A heroic folk epic rooted in the oral tradition of the Anglo Saxons, Beowulf is an anonymous poem committed to paper by an unknown Christian monk in 1000 Common Era, some 300 years after it was first composed. The manuscript is part of a document known as Cotton Vitellus A housed in a British Library. Beowulf belongs to the epic genre of long, narrative poems dealing with heroic deeds against a background of war and the supernatural and themes of grandeur and significance. Full of legendary myths and somber, elegiac cadences, it has been composed in the Anglo Saxon vernacular and can be classed amongst other great epics such as the Illiad, Odyssey, Aenied and Paradise Lost to name a few. The name Beowulf is a kenning, Bee-Hunter reflecting the warrior heritage of the central character Basic Plot The poem is eponymously named for its hero Bewoulf, a great warrior and later King, who sets out to rescue King Hrothgar and his people from the monster Grendel. During the course of the poem, we see Beowulf slaying first Grendel and then his revenge seeking mother. Beowulf’s final conflict takes place with the Dragon angered by the plundering of the treasure it is guarding. Structure of the Poem There are three prevailing views as to the structure of the poem: -the structure is defined by the three increasingly difficult conflicts Beowulf faces -the structure can also be viewed in terms of kingship for instance, young Beowulf and old Beowulf with a different set of problems to be faced during each phase -the structure is that of interlacing of memories with narratives of present, a cyclical process of action, memory and reflection Background Although the poem is rooted in the Anglo Saxon as well as early Christian traditions, it reflects two distinct value systems frequently at odds with each other. For instance, in line with its Anglo-Saxon origins, the poem celebrates the Germanic heroic code, which, exemplifying the pagan warrior culture, lays stress upon family ties, genealogy, immortality through fame and revenge for wrongs done to one’s kith and kin. It values ancestral heritage and individual reputation. Christianity, on the other hand, believes in immortality in terms of the afterlife and teaches that vengeance is best left to God. Bewoulf and Grendel Bewoulf is not just a warrior and king. He also serves as a cultural ideal and as an incarnation of Anglo Saxon values and beliefs. The ‘Cain-descended’ Grendel, with his innate desire to tear asunder whatever has integrity, represents chaos and disorder, in contrast to Bewoulf, who represents order and cosmos. Grendel is the ultimate exile. Unferth Unferth acts as a foil to Beowulf by accentuating through contrast the character of the latter. He redeems his earlier verbal taunting (flyting) of Beowulf by offering him his sword in a later conflict. Literary devices/techniques Litotes-understatement e. g, ‘Cain had no pleasure from that find’ Kenning-metaphorical descriptions combining two words to offer evocative alternative to original Caesura-a pause in the line of a poem Alliteration- In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words or phrases.

Nothing in Common :: Personal Narrative Essays

Nothing in Common    After 19 years of marriage I decided it was time to try living on my own. It took another year and a half for me to actually do it. I had married my husband when I was barely out of high school and promptly gave birth to three sons in rapid succession. I won't go into the details of those 19 years. My husband was a good husband and an okay father. After about 10 years I realized that we were two completely different people with absolutely nothing in common except for our sons.    Moving out was the most devastating and liberating thing that I ever did. I first set myself up in a small above-garage apartment. I had no furniture except my bed and my computer. My first night there I sat in the empty living room listening to the sirens in downtown Lake Worth, a far cry from the peaceful cocks crowing in Jupiter Farms. The emotions running through me were a strange and horrible mix of elation, sorrow, and fear. What had I done?    After a few weeks I began to settle in. I had a full-time job with FPL, I saw my sons often, and I discovered the joy of solitude - something I hadn't known in a very long while with three boys and their friends always under foot. In the mornings I would have a cup of coffee on my balcony and then take a walk to the Intercoastal, which was only two blocks from my apartment. My chaotic soul started to slowly heal and slow down to a peaceful pace.    In the silence of that apartment I had plenty of opportunity to look hard at myself. I took advantage of the silence and finished writing the two books on healthcare and childcare in the late 1800's that I had barely begun a few years before. Those two books were published a year later. I renewed my love of poetry and spent hours reading the works of Pound, Rich, Atwood, and others. I decided to return to college.    I spent four months in my sanctuary over the garage. Then I went home. Everyone thought I would be the same, that life would be the same.

Production Criticism of Oedipus the King Essay

The directorial concept of the play started with an overall picture of melancholy and a suggestion that the story is indeed a tragedy. The stage, as the foundation of the entire scene, has been designed to differentiate the levels of society, thus, it has different levels of platforms and steps, but leaving the center of the stage flattest, where most of the characters will be performing. The materials used for the platforms are of different types. The higher steps leading to the outskirts of the stage look like they were made with ordinary flat rocks, much like the ones we see in the old Jerusalem. The steps were made simply for the purpose of being pathways men can walk on. Nothing fashionable. The center of the stage has a different design, because I noticed that the flooring is much more modern than the flat rocks around it. The material of the floor of the center stage has a much smoother quality, although it was carved like bricks, like the ones on the streets of Paris, France. The floor carvings are designed like segmented rings that all leads to one focal point, much like the bytes in a compact disc. The most prominent part of the stage is the palace of Oedipus, the King. It stands so proud with its walls extending all the way to the top that it scares you of its command of authority and power. It stood so high and proud that it looked like it reached the heavens and looks infinite. The material of it was the smoothest of all. It has the most modern design in the stage. The cement has a slate gray color mixed with white streaks that suggested it must be made of marble†¦the strongest among the rocks on stage. That’s how powerful Oedipus, as a king, is. He is believed to be the savior of Thebes when he defeated the Sphinx by answering the most difficult riddle. The play is an obvious â€Å"non-dramatic pageantry,† because the elements of it were present and done in the stage. There is an â€Å"icon† or focal point, which usually is a â€Å"religious artifact or a saint. † (Theatrical Production, Encyclop? dia Britannica. ). There was a huge cross with a white cloth resting on its arm at the middle of the highest outstkirt platform. This is its focal point because it looks religious enough to suggest it’s the cross of Jesus Christ. Overall, the environment of the stage is melancholic. The color of the stage’s floor to the very tall palace is in the neutral shade. Again, nothing special. This just suggests the hue of sorrow, which is the shade of gray. The sorrowful environment was coupled with the stage lights, which made the scene look softer and mellower. The lights come from under the outskirts’ platforms, which gave a lot of shadow on the stage. The second light will be coming from directly above the stage, which gives all little bit of glow on the heads of the characters, but not enough light to brighten the faces of every actor. The poor lighting made it felt like the characters are speaking to me personally, in my deepest thoughts. It dawned to me that whenever I am depressed or whenever I wanted to be alone, I tend to hate bright lights. Such is the feeling of someone in wakes, especially those wakes inside chapels. The serene, soothing look of a funeral scene in a chapel is the aimed environment here. The background lights on the outskirts of the stage changes as the mood of the scene changes too. Even though the shadow was effective enough to suggest sorrow, the light blue hue of the background defined the mood. When the ugly truth of Oedipus’ character was nearly revealed, the background light turned into a reddish hue, as if the sun was setting. It gave a red glow that suggested the horrible feeling of the moment. It also made the blood coming out from Oedipus’ eyes look thick and black, which made the suffering grievous enough to die. Sounds make the hearts beat rapidly and loses one’s breath. From beginning until the end, the background music created the feeling that it is tragic. When Tiresius, the seer, showed up, there was annoying background music created by a type of violin, which made it felt like there was great irony and perversity in the scene. The horting sound of the violin made my heart twist and my throat a bit choked because I felt the tension due to the sound. It is interesting though, how the director was able to coordinate all aspects of production to make the playscript fit his directorial concept. Of course, the playscript was changed to make it more dramatic and the words appealing to the audience. The playscript was â€Å"Bowdlerized,† or words were changed to fit the lingo of the modern audience. (Dr. Eric W. Trumbull. ). Although there weren’t any fancy or colorful props on the stage, the characters are the ones that still mattered the most. Though the faces of the characters generally remained stiff throughout, their voices are full of color. Loudness and softness of the voices stated the mood. There was also a striking difference on the characters’ costumes, each has it’s own different era to represent; a group will be wearing costumes of Sophocle’s generation, another wearing the fashion of the early twentieth century, while another wearing the fashion of the latest trend. Still, the colors of the costumes were nothing fancier than red, white and gold. The colors of the cloths are in plain solid colors too. The characters’ spotlight are their white costumes, or something white in their costumes. For example, the choruses were all dressed in black except the ribbon on the neck, which is pure white. This gives the picture that their heads are floating and the rest of the body is invisible. The director’s aim to present a non-dramatical pageant play that won’t bore the modern audience so far caught my attention. He may have aimed to make the production profit a lot more by involving â€Å"famous† actors to play the role, as part of his marketing strategy. (Dr. Eric W. Trumbull. ). The production is an art in itself, and Don Taylor would’ve still passed as very good theatrical director. The play is directed gearing away from the Shakespearean concept of production, which made it quite different to the taste of theatrical fans, and thus, worth watching and recommending.

Early Stage Chronic Renal Failure - 973 Words

Signs symptoms ESCRF is often considered an asymptomatic condition with a reduction of up to 70% in kidney function symptoms may still not be present (5). Insert Fatigue etc here in bullet points Associated conditions Commonly associative conditions of ESCRF were obesity, glomerular disease (glomerulonephritis), heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, cerebrovascular accidents, urinary tract infections, urinary and kidney stones, polycystic kidney disease, anaemia, oedema, delirium, streptococcal infections and, incontinence (Reference). Course/prognosis Early Stage Chronic Renal Failure (ESCRF) is defined as stages 1-3 of renal failure determined by the Glomerular Filtration rate (GFR) a formula incorporating Age, Gender, and Creatinine levels in the blood to determine how much waste product is being filtered every minute. A GFR of 30 to 99 mL/min is considered (ESCRF), GFR 30mL/min is considered End Stage Renal Failure with less than 30% functioning kidney, dialysis or transplant is essential for survival. A client can move through different Early stages, however progression usually progresses to more severe end stage, once GFR is 30mL/min damage cannot be reversed. Appropriate Intervention and reducing risk factors can prolong progression by months and up to years. ESCRF isn’t usually fatal diseases which shares common risk factors (diabetes and CVD) usually prove fatal, in Australia cause of death is often recorded as CVD and ESCRF is listed as an associatedShow MoreRelatedEssay on Acute Renal Failure 1307 Words   |   6 PagesAcute Renal Failure is when the kidneys abruptly stop functioning by excreting wastes of the body. 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