My Biggest Fear

2008-02-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

My biggest fear is..losing someone i love or i really care about you.Those that help you out in life and help you out in tight spots and cry when things look bad but still there when you need them and them as well.Those that i really care about i help them out to and if they go thru some trouble im there for them as there there for me.I never wanna lose someone special to me because it would kill me inside and i think i won't ever let go of someone you love you know. yea that's my biggest fear.

Beowulf

2008-02-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

1.Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later king in the Old English epic poem named after him, the oldest surviving piece of literature in the English language.

2.Beowulf was written in England, but is set in Scandinavia. It is an epic poem told in historical perspective; a story of epic events and of great people of a heroic past. Although the author is unknown, its themes and subject matter are generally believed to be formed through oral tradition, the passing down of stories by scops (tale singers) and is considered partly historical

3.The poem is known only from a single manuscript, which is estimated to date from close to AD 1000. Kiernan has argued from an examination.

4. An Old English poem such as Beowulf is very different from modern poetry. Anglo-Saxon poets typically used alliterative verse, a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. This is a technique in which the first half of the line (the a-verse) is linked to the second half (the b-verse) through similarity in initial sound. In addition, the two halves are divided by a caesura

5.The poet has a choice of epithets or formulae to use in order to fulfill the alliteration. When speaking or reading Old English poetry, it is important to remember for alliterative purposes that many of the letters are not pronounced the same way as they are in modern English. The letter "h", for example, is always pronounced (Hroðgar: HROTH-gar), and the digraph "cg" is pronounced like "dj", as in the word "edge". Both f and s vary in pronunciation depending on their phonetic environment. Between vowels or voiced consonants, they are voiced, sounding like modern v and z, respectively. Otherwise they are unvoiced, like modern f in "fat" and s in "sat". Some letters which are no longer found in modern English, such as thorn, þ, and eth, ð — representing both pronunciations of modern English "th", as in "cloth" and "clothe" — are used extensively both in the original manuscript and in modern English editions. The voicing of these characters echoes that of f and s. Both are voiced (as in "clothe") between other voiced sounds: oðer, laþleas, suþern. Otherwise they are unvoiced (as in "cloth"): þunor, suð, soþfæst.

6.Beowulf is considered an epic poem in that the main character is a historic hero who travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts. The poet who composed Beowulf, while objective in telling the tale, nonetheless utilizes a certain style to maintain excitement and adventure within the story. An elaborate history of characters and their lineages are spoken of, as well as their interactions with each other, debts owed and repayed, and deeds of valour.

7.This society was strongly defined in terms of kinship; if someone was killed, it was the duty of surviving kin to exact revenge either with their own lives or through weregild, a payment of reparation.
Stanley B. Greenfield (Professor of English, University of Oregon) has suggested that references to the human body throughout Beowulf emphasize the relative position of thanes to their lord. He argues that the term “shoulder-companion” could refer to both a physical arm as well as a thane (Aeschere) who was very valuable to his lord (Hrothgar). With Aeschere's death, Hrothgar turns to Beowulf as his new "arm." In addition Greenfield argues, the foot is used for the opposite effect, only appearing four times in the poem. It is used in conjunction with Unferth (a man described by Beowulf as weak, traitorous, and cowardly). Greenfield notes that Unferth is described as “at the king’s feet” (line 499). Unferth is also a member of the foot troops, who, throughout the story, do nothing and “generally serve as backdrops for more heroic action.”

8.Jane Chance (Professor of English, Rice University) in her 1980 article "The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel's Mother" argued that there are two standard interpretations of the poem: one view which suggests a two-part structure (i.e., the poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel and with the dragon) and the other, a three-part structure (this interpretation argues that Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother is structurally separate from his battle with Grendel).Chance stated that, "this view of the structure as two-part has generally prevailed since its inception in J. R. R. Tolkien's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics in Proceedings of the British Academy 22 (1936)." In contrast, she argued that the three-part structure has become "increasingly popular.

9.Beowulf begins with the story of King Hroðgar, who built the great hall Heorot for his people. In it he, his wife Wealhþeow, and his warriors spend their time singing and celebrating, until Grendel, an outcast from society who is angered by the singing, attacks the hall and kills and devours many of Hroðgar's warriors while they sleep. But Grendel dares not touch the throne of Hroðgar, because he is described as protected by God. Hroðgar and his people, helpless against Grendel's attacks, abandon Heorot.

10.It is widely accepted that there are three funerals in Beowulf. These funerals help to outline changes in the poem’s story as well as the audiences’ views on earthly possessions, battle and glory. The funerals are also paired with the three battles described above. The three funerals share similarities regarding the offerings for the dead and the change in theme through the description of each funeral. Gale Owen-Crocker (Professor of Anglo-Saxon, University of Manchester) in The Four Funerals in Beowulf (2000) argues that a passage in the poem, commonly known as “The Lay of the Last Survivor” (lines 2247-66), is an additional funeral.

My Weekend

2008-02-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

My weekend was alright.I went to sisters over the weekend.It was boring but mostly fun.I mostly stayed taking care of my little nephues.Mann have you ever taken care of 3 noise kids. Ones like 14 or 15 and he still acks like a little kid.I feel like beating him down,but can't because i feel bad because he's to dumb to learn thats he's annoying me to much ,but its cool I'll still hit him. The other two are like him but they fight more and i just feel like im the mom from the house and there driving me crasy!My weekend was also a bombmer..i was quiet most of the time..i been down lately for some reasen and i don't know why i just feel weak and lonely even tho im at my sisters house and i look up to her more then my other brothers.She's been there more when i need a place to go,But I know that she can't help me out on this.Not even my friends that are really there for me.It's something i need to figure out by my self,But i really don't know what it is and it's really killing me in side..well i think ill figure it out soon..if not then im gonna be in pain for a long while.Well back to the weekend.I had a good time except on sunday i was mostly down. but im good and it was a cool weekend.

Weirdo

My Biggest Fear

Beowulf

My Weekend