LITERARY TERMS ALLITERATION Alliteration is the repetition of consonantsounds in words usually at the beginning ofthe word that are close together . Example Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers Example from Beowulf Grendel went up to Herot wondering what thewarriors would do in the hall once their drinking.was done An elegy is a poem that mourns the death ofa person or laments something lost An epic is a long narrative poem that relatesthe great deeds of a larger than life hero who.embodies the values of a particular society Most epics share standard characteristicsand formulas known as epic conventions which the oral poets drew upon to help themrecall the stories they were recounting . Epic Conventions An invocation or formal plea for aid to a deity Action that begins in the middle of the story then flashes back to events before thenarrative s current time. Predictable metrical structure An epithet is an adjective or other descriptivephrase that is regularly used to characterizea person place or thing Examples . Richard the Lion Hearted King Alfred the Great America the Beautiful The Lord of all Life The Ruler of Glory. A kenning is a metaphorical phrase orcompound word used to name a person place thing or event indirectly Examples from Beowulf whale road the sea. shepherd of evil Grendel A caesura is a pause or break within a line ofpoetry usually indicated by the naturalrhythm of the language Example . Out from the marsh from the foot of misty Hills and bogs bearing God s hatred Grendel came hoping to kill A scop is an Anglo Saxon minstrel or poet Scops are the Anglo Saxon equivalents to the.ancient Celtic bards VERNACULAR A way of speaking that is characteristic of aparticular region or group of people Also known as dialect. Beowulf is the oldest piece of vernacularEnglish literature FORESHADOWING Foreshadowing is the use of clues to hint atwhat is going to happen later in the plot . Arouses the reader s curiosity and builds Example Hrothgar warns Beowulf of the dangers of aprideful life and how such a life will ultimatelylead to ruin This warning actually foreshadows.the events that will take place during Beowulf slater years ALLUSION An allusion is a reference to a statement person place event or thing that is known.from literature history religion mythology politics sports science or popular culture Example from Beowulf References to Biblical stories HYPERBOLE. A figure of speech that uses exaggeration toexpress strong emotion to make a point orto evoke humor Example My aunt uses so much makeup Marilyn Manson.freaked out when he saw her PERSONIFICATION A figure of speech in which an animal anobject a force of nature or an idea is givenhuman characteristics. Example Computers hate me METAPHOR A figure of speech that is an impliedcomparison between seemingly unlike things. Example Their love was sickening She was a colony ofE coli growing on him the room temperatureCanadian beef A figure of speech that makes comparisons using.the words like as or than Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem inthe English language It was written in Old English the language ofthe Saxons . Originally untitled in the 19th century thepoem began to be called by the name of itsScandinavian hero whose adventures are itsprimary focus Historical elements run through the poem .yet both the hero and the story are fiction THE ARCHETYPAL OR EPIC Unusual circumstances of birth sometimes indanger or born into royalty Leaves family or land and lives with others. An event leads to an adventure or a quest The hero has a special weapon only he can The hero always has supernatural help The hero must prove himself many timeswhile on adventure. The Journey and the Unhealable Wound Hero experiences atonement with the father When the hero dies he is rewardedLiterary Terms:Beowulf. Alliteration. ... Elegy. An elegy is a poem that mourns the death of a person or laments something lost. Epic. ... epic conventions, which the oral poets drew upon to help them recall the stories they were recounting. Epic Conventions . An invocation, or formal plea for aid, to a deity.