Unit One :Heroes Vocabulary

Rachel D. Crum

Epic 

•A long narrative poem, typically one derived

from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history

of a nation

•Example: Beowulf

Epic simile

•A simile developed over several lines of verse, especially one used in an epic poem.

•Example from Beowulf line 218:Then, across the wave's swell, very like a bird, sped by the wind, the boat went sailing

Kenning•A compound

expression in poetry with a metaphorical meaning

•Examples from Beowulf : light –of- battle means sword / Battle-Sweat means Blood.

Alliteration

•The repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line or succeeding lines of verse.

•Examples from Beowulf: 'dragging the dead men home to his den’/'showed sea cliffs shining'

Caesuras

• a grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line. A caesura is usually indicated by the symbol // .

• Example from Beowulf : "Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty.” It is the break between marsh & from.

• Example from The Iliad : "Sing, o goddess, the rage || of Achilles, the son of Peleus."

Metaphor

• Is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike things.

•Examples from Beowulf : "our boasting words had some weight" / "His misery leaped the seas”

Epithet

•An epithet is usually a descriptive word or phrase that is used to describe a person or object.

•Examples: Richard the I – “Richard the Lion Hearted”

In medias res•Technical term for the

epic convention of beginning "in the middle of things," rather than at the very start of the story.

•Example : In both Beowulf and The Iliad the reader starts in the middle of the story.

Romance • A long medieval narrative in prose or verse that

tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes.

• Examples: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table .

Chivalry • The ideal qualifications of

a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms. The rules and customs of medieval knighthood.

• Examples :When Sir Gawain takes the challenge presented to King Arthur. Sir Gawain shows this bravery by standing in front of the Green Knight without fear.

Quest

• The act or an instance of seeking or pursuing something; a search. An expedition undertaken in medieval romance by a knight in order to perform a prescribed feat.

• Example: Sir Gawain’s quest to find the Green Knight in the Green Chapel.

Hyperbole

• An obvious and intentional exaggeration

• Examples from Sir Gawain : descriptions of people or things as the biggest, best, or fairest of them all. King Arthur’s knights are the "most famous warriors in Christendom," his ladies "the loveliest who ever drew breath," he "the finest king who rules the court" (51-53).

Catalog•A traditional epic device consisting of a

long rhetorical list or inventory.

•Example : in The Iliad there is a list of the ships that sailed from Greece to Troy.

Invocation• The act of calling

upon (asking) a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or supplication.

• Example from the Iliad: “Achilles' wrath, to Greece the direful spring Of woes unnumber'd, heavenly goddess, sing”