Beowulf Commentary

Katie Kipp

Ms.Peifer

English 10 IB

19 December 2011

Beowulf Commentary

"No man can tell,/ no wise man in hall or weathered veteran/ knows for certain who salvaged that load./ Then it fell to Beow to keep the forts./ He was well regarded and ruled the Danes/ for a long time after his father took leave of his life on earth. And then his heir,/ the great Halfdane, held sway/ for ass long as he lived, their elder and warlord./ He was four times a father, this fighter prince:/ one by one they entered the world,/ Heorogar, Hrothgar, the good Halga/ and daughter, I have heard, who was Onela's queen,/ a balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede./  The fortunes of war favoured Hrothgar./ Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks,/ young followers, a force that grew/ to be a mighty army. So his mind turned/ to hall-building: he handed down orders/ for men to work on a great mead-gall/ meant to be a wonder of the world forever;" (Beowulf, lines 50-70)

                 

                  In lines 50-70 of Beowulf, Hrothgar is introduced and brought into the story at this point. It talks a lot about how great he is and how great he is in battle. With him being so good during battle he is able to create an army to protect the people. In the section Beow's heir Halfdane was introduced. He was said to be a leader and great. "the great Halfdane, held sway for as long as he lived, their elder and warlord." (Beowulf, lines 57-58). Kennings, alliteration, and tone are used throughout this section to develop the scenes of battle and greatness.

                In this section, tone is a big part of the story because it sets the mood for the story. The tone has a little force and power to it, it is more formal and relaxed. The tone is also important because of the way that power was passed down, and it has to express how Hrothgar was great in battle. "one by one they entered the world, Heorogar, Hrothgar, and the good Halga and a daughter, I have heard, who was Onela's queen, a balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede." (Beowulf, lines 60-63). This quote is formal and relaxed.

               In this section alliteration was used to express the great Halfdane. "He was four times a father, this fighter prince:" (Beowulf, line 59). This quote is important because it expresses that Halfdane was a father and a fighter. It shows us how powerful he was. This alliteration is important because it makes the line stand out more then the other lines. This is because the "four times a father, this fighter prince:" (Beowulf, line 59) catches attention because of "f". This make the line powerful and memorable.

             Kenning were also used in this section. Kennings are attention getting because it is a poetic phrase for a thing or a name of a person. In this section of Beowulf the kennings are used to describe the hall. "great mead-hall" (Beowulf, line 69). This is describing the hall that Hrothgar told the men to work on. Another kenning is "a balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede." (Beowulf, line 63) This kenning is "a balm in bed" meaning relaxed and gives more of a description to the story.

             This section is important because it introduces many new people to the story. It describes how Hrothgar is strong in battle and how important his legacy was. 

Antigone is Guilty

Antigone is guilty for breaking the law. She knew that she was going to get 

in trouble for it, but still did it. She can’t go against the law and think it is alright.


There is no way that she didn’t know she would be punished for burying her brother. She

 even said “... But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down

 with him in death,” (Sophocles, 1, 1, 57-59). This is evidence to show that she knew what she 

was getting herself into, by burying him. Ismene even reminded her that the new law forbids it.

There are many reason why Antigone deserves what happened to her. Many people had

 warned her of the punishment she would encounter. 
Antigone kept telling Creon to kill her, but

 you can tell that she didn’t want to die. “I knew I must die, even without your decree: I am only

 mortal. And if I must die Now, before it is my time to die, Surely this is no hardship: can anyone

 Living, as I live, with evil all about me, Think Death less than a friend? This death of mine Is of 

no importance; but if I had left my brother Lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. Now

 I do not.” (Sophocles, 1, 2, 73-81). When she says this she tells Creon to kill her and that she

 won’t suffer now because she buried her brother. Antigone would say that to Creon, but she kept 

thinking that it was not fair for her to die, just because she buried her brother.


Therefore Antigone should have gotten her punishment and she deserved it.

Katie Kipp-About Me

My name is Katie Kipp. I am a sophomore in high school at Saint Paul Central. I have lived in Saint Paul my entire life and have attended Saint Paul Public Schools. I live with my mom, dad, and older sister. My sister is a senior at Saint Paul Central. I play tennis for Central and I love it, I have been playing for two years and will continue for many more years. I am also an Irish Dancer, I dance for Rince Na Chroi. I dance with my sister, and my cousin. We have been dancing for five years and we all love it. In my free time I like to hang out with friends, play tennis, dance, read, and go shopping.
In the future I would love to attend Saint Catherine's University. I am still unsure of my major. Various interests of mine include writing, and performing arts. I am also good with kids and enjoy interacting with people. I want to travel to many different places in my life time, but I want to live in Minnesota when I am older. My goals for this year in English 10 IB are to become better at analysing poetry and prose,  to try different styles of writing, and get good grades.