Beowulf Literary Terms

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BeowulfLiterary Terms

• p. 14-37

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Literary Terms
Iamb a metrical foot or unit of measure
consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by
a stressed syllable.
Iambic tetrameterfour iamb in a line that
produce a poetic pattern/beat.

• Alliteration is the repetition of initial
  consonant sounds in words such as rough and
  ready.

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Literary Terms

• Kennings- descriptive compound word used to name
  a person, place or thing indirectly.
• whale-road

Epic-- long narrative poem that relates the
great deeds of a a larger than life hero who
embodies the values of a particular society. 4
Components that make up an epic poem are as
follows Vast Setting-- Imposing
Hero-- Super Human Action-- Super Natural
Forces--
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Literary Terms

• Motif reoccurring theme, idea
• Imagery language that appeals to our 5 senses.
• Symbol a noun that represents something greater
  than itself
• Characterization how the writer reveals the
  personality of a charactertraits etc..
• Central conflict struggle or clash between
  opposing forces.
• Internal
• External

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Literary Terms

• Themecentral idea the writer wishes to convey
  about a piece of literature.
• Elegy and Elegiac mooda poem that mourns the
  death of a someone or laments something lost.
  The mood of the poem is solemn or melancholy.
• Allusionwhen the author makes reference to a
  person, place, event, or something known from
  literature, history, religion, mythology, sports,
  science, etc
• Caesurarhythmical pause or break in a line of
  poetry. (divides the 4 beat lines in half)