Beowulf Essay

Beowulf could be compared to many heroes in modern time. The last superhero movie I watched was The Avengers and I really enjoyed it. A superhero I would compare Beowulf to would be a character from that movie. To me Thor is such a great example to compare to Beowulf, because they both have some of the same attire. Also, they both were there to protect a country they cared for and didn't have to think twice about it. A few literary devices that are used in Beowulf are alliteration, assonance, and caesura.

Thor's character was someone who was strong and wanted to help and didn't seem to have to be asked more than once. He dressed as someone who was ready for battle in a way. Thor wore armor and had a mallet, he was the real deal. He was determined to fight and have everything safe and back to normal. Beowulf is very much the same as Thor. Beowulf and his soldiers dressed the same as Thor had and seemed very respected. Beowulf without being asked heard about Grendel invading Heorot and was well on his way to stop the demon and return Heorot back to normal. A safe place is what they both had in mind when they were protecting their land.

In Beowulf, examples of those literary techniques would be, (starting with alliteration), "Marshes, and made his home in hell," in "The Wrath of Grendel." This alliteration is used to describe Grendel's home as a hellish place. The way that Grendel's home is described creates an image in the listener's mind of Grendel's home as this horrible, frightening, and terrible place. This imagery makes appear Grendel as this monster because he lives in this "Hellish place." All of this makes the listener gain a sense of fear. An example of assonance is "By God, punished forever for the crime," in "The Wrath of Grendel." This helps show that Grendel is being punished in the passage. This assonance gives an explanation as to why Grendel continues to show his fury on the city. All of this portrays an image of Grendel being a cruel individual. The listener gets this image of an evil beast that is being punished for all eternity. The assonance is significant because it show how the monks' perceived Grendel. The monks' saw Grendel as a murderous creature just like Cain and that he must be punished by God.An example of caesura is, "Then, when darkness had dropped," in "The Wrath of Grendel." It is stressing the setting by emphasizing that it just became night. This aids in the passage by setting the stage of Grendel's arrival. The caesura gives an image of the setting as well. The caesura helps show motion in the passage which is, now that it is night, Grendel is coming. These show the examples of literary techniques in the story Beowulf.

In Beowulf's time he seemed to be the only person that could save the land he wanted to protect. Beowulf had the power of thirty men in each hand and was the only hope to have Heorot restored. On the other hand Thor was a very powerful hero but he did not do it on his own. He had his whole team help. Thor had a lot of power also but he couldn't defeat his evil brother Loki on his own, he needed his team, his friends. Eventually, both Heorot and America were safe thanks to Thor and his team and also, Beowulf.

In conclusion, Beowulf resembles modern day character and superhero Thor. They both have similar styles and attire. The safety of the people and land was both on their minds when they embarked on this journey. A few literary techniques used in Beowulf  are alliteration, assonance, and caesura. Beowulf and Thor are very similar but also different at the same time. Beowulf had his men there to help but did not really need them as he fought the demons off himself. As for Thor he had his team and he needed their help because they were in this together, and he knew he couldn't fight his evil brother alone.