Personification – It is giving the wind the human-like quality of being able to breathe and/or hold its breath. The dragon roared with anger. Unferth gnawed at his knuckles like an animal trying to rid itself of a wounded and unwanted limb. Her arms winding and unwinding about him like sinewy, swollen snakes.

One example of personification in “Beowulf” comes when Beowulf describes sea monsters as “vengeful creatures, seated to banquet at bottom of sea.” By comparing the hungry sea creatures to humans ready for a meal, he is using personification, the attribution of human qualities to non-human things.

Common Personification Examples

• Lightning danced across the sky.
• The wind howled in the night.
• The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
• Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
• My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.

kennings

Alliteration Examples in Beowulf:

• VIII. 🔒 1. “For fear of a feud were forced to disown him….”
• XII. 🔒 1. “came from the moor then Grendel going…”
• XX. 🔒 1. “The hell-spirit humbled…”
• XXIII. 🔒 1. “Grisly and greedy, that the grim one’s dominion…”
• XXVIII. 🔒 1. “He bound to the bank then the broad-bosomed vessel…”

The kenning is used primarily in Anglo-Saxon poetry and is a metaphorical phrase that provides a visual for a person, place, or thing. Beowulf is loaded with kennings that offer many different phrases to represent the same thing. It is a compound of two words and words that are hyphenated.

Much of Beowulf is devoted to articulating and illustrating the Germanic heroic code, which values strength, courage, and loyalty in warriors; hospitality, generosity, and political skill in kings; ceremoniousness in women; and good reputation in all people.

A literary symbol is something, often an object, that stands for a significant concept or series of ideas. Often a symbol is emblematic of the values of the characters. In Beowulf, some of the most important symbols are Hrothgar’s mead-hall, Grendel’s cave, Grendel’s arm and head, and the dragon’s treasure-trove.

Portrayal of Grendel Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley suggests that John Gardner uses Grendel as a metaphor for the necessity for a dark side to everything; where a hero is only as great as the villain he faces.

An event in a story which predicts a future event in the story (The main prime example of foreshadowing in Beowulf was when the poem started with the funeral of Shield Sheafson which foreshadows Beowulf’s funeral. The second example is the story of Sigemund which foreshadows Beowulf’s fight with the dragon.

Many authors use imagery, or very descriptive lines, in their texts to point out character traits and other literary devices like symbols. In Beowulf, the author uses imagery to point out the superhuman strength of Beowulf and the uselessness of man-made tools like swords in comparison to the epic hero’s strength.

In the novel Beowulf; literary devices are used. These literary devices are alliteration, assonance, caesura, and kenning.

Dramatic Irony- After Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother it says “To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet with her blood” don’t really know if she is dead. Situational Irony- Beowulf has Grendel’s mother on top of him trying to kill him but he is able to regain strength to get back up to fight and out an end to her life.

Epic. A long narrative poem about a hero. Examples: Paradise Lost, Beowulf. Foreshadowing. The use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot.

A literary element refers to components of a literary work (character, setting, plot, theme, frame, exposition, ending/denouement, motif, titling, narrative point-‐of-‐view). These are technical terms for the “what” of a work.

The Top 10 Story Elements for Picture Books

• Character. Characters are the heart and soul of any story.
• Conflict. They say that there are only four real conflicts in literature: man vs.
• Plot.
• Dialogue.
• Theme.
• Pacing.
• Word Play.
• Patterns.

Did you know there are seven basic elements in every successful story?

• Character. This is so important, because unless your reader feels something for the characters, they won’t care what happens to them, and they won’t read on.
• Plot.
• Setting.
• Point of View.
• Style.
• Theme.
• Literary Devices.

8 Elements of a Story Explained

• Setting.
• Character.
• Plot.
• Conflict.
• Theme.
• Point-of-view.
• Tone.
• Style.

This song covers the five main elements of a story: setting, plot, characters, conflict and theme.

The 8 elements of a story are: character, setting, plot, conflict, theme, point-of-view, tone and style. These story elements form the backbone of any good novel or short story. If you know the 8 elements, you can write and analyze stories more effectively.

Character Development. Some people will tell you that character development is the most important element of novel writing. And they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. Characters are the things through which you propel your narrative forward, and they are vehicles through which you explore your theme.

Creative writing, by definition, involves being ‘creative’: making things up, letting your imagination run wild. Essays are about being factual and objective, communicating ideas and arguments in the clearest way possible and attempting to enhance the reader’s knowledge, rather than their imagination.

Read through this list and see if you line up with the 6 most important qualities of an effective writer.

• Attention to Detail. Great writers are observers, always taking mental notes and noting subtle changes around them.
• Discipline.
• Clarity.
• Strong Vocabulary.
• Open to Changes.
• Passion for Reading.
• Strive for These Qualities.

6 Tips for Writing Good Sentences

1. Keep it simple. Long sentences or overly complex sentences don’t necessarily make sophisticated sentence writing.
2. Use concrete rhetoric.
3. Employ parallelism.
4. Mind your grammar.
5. Properly punctuate.
6. Practice writing.

Creative writing, a form of artistic expression, draws on the imagination to convey meaning through the use of imagery, narrative, and drama. This is in contrast to analytic or pragmatic forms of writing. This genre includes poetry, fiction (novels, short stories), scripts, screenplays, and creative non-fiction.

Creative writing is the art of constructing original ideas by synthesizing literary elements and techniques to communicate an overarching theme about life. Here is a list of creative writing assignments that you can give students at the beginning of the school year to spark their imaginations.

There are four main types of writing: expository, persuasive, narrative, and descriptive.

Defining Creative Writing

• Poetry.
• Plays.
• Movie and television scripts.
• Fiction (novels, novellas, and short stories)
• Songs.
• Speeches.
• Memoirs.
• Personal essays.

Learn about the major writing styles: narrative, descriptive, persuasive, expository, and creative, and read examples of each.