God's Use Of Alliteration In Beowulf

Shattered dreams, crippled bodies, and pulverized bones paint the scene as the devil’s spawn slaughters everyone in sight. In Beowulf, the unknown poet tells the tale of Beowulf, king of the Geats, and his afflictions. Throughout the poem, Beowulf endures hardships that take him on a journey of a lifetime. Beowulf grows stronger spiritually and physically through every tribulation he prevails. The reader travels the journey alongside Beowulf through the author’s use of alliteration, epithets, and vivid imagery. These literary devices convey the concept that, against the worst odds, God’s presence is more powerful than any weapon in existence. The author depicts Beowulf’s importance through alliteration, epithets and vivid imagery. As a

Beowulf’s new problem was Grendel’s mother. She had a heart full of sadness and greed that sent her on the pathway of revenge. The “female horror” (1259) and “mighty water witch” (1519) took it upon herself to avenge her son’s death. The she-wolf inhabited a “...murky cold lake assigned her since Cain had killed his only brother… God drove him off… and branded him with a murderer’s mark” (1260-1264). This section of the poem exhibits all three literary devices. The first literary devices that can be identified are epithets. The two epithets classify Grendel’s mother as the awful horror and witch she is. Nobody with the presence of God inside them could be so disgraceful. Secondly, vivid imagery is used to illustrate the home of Grendel’s mother. The imagery also gives a little history of how and why she occupies the lake The lines of the poem explain that Grendel’s mother was assigned to the cold murky lake since Cain killed his brother. Lastly, alliteration emphasizes how dishonorable Cain’s descendants are by their murderer’s mark.. Each of these literary devices have their own way of supporting the idea that God grants victory. Grendel and his mother were so blinded by their own wishes and did not know the love of God. In fighting Grendel’s mom, and even Grendel, Beowulf had trust in God. For a moment however, during the battle with Grendel’s mother, he was

Beowulf served as king for fifty winters until a dragon denied him victory in battle, and ended his reign. The dragon was awoken from its slumber when a runaway slave stumbled upon a hidden path that led to its’ den. The slave stole a cup from the dragon’s treasure in hopes to buy his master’s forgiveness. The cup pardoned the slave’s punishment from his master but resulted in terror for the rest of Geatland. Beowulf’s pride and supremacy led him to fight the dragon alone. Beowulf did not fight the dragon to protect others, but rather for fame. The poet’s narration of the battle includes literary devices that reinforce the concept that failures occur when we lose sight of God.The battle begins with the dragon breathing fire as Beowulf repeatedly swings his sword. Beowulf struck the dragon with his sword, but the sword broke before injuring the dragon. The vivid imagery, “the dragon leaped with pain, thrashed and beat at him, spouting murderous flames, spreading them everywhere” (2580-2582), allows the reader to imagine Beowulf’s last battle. Alliteration also proves that Beowulf is losing the battle. The author says, “and for the first time in his life that famous prince fought with fate against him” (2573-2574), to emphasize Beowulf’s decline and defeat. Beowulf knew that his life was coming to an end, for he had lost God’s presence and started fighting for his own gain and glory. The last piece of