provide (a wall of a building) with battlements.

a circular band, typically one made of precious metal, worn on the head as an ornament. a small circular arrangement or object.

powerful imagery

a lock of hair growing just above the forehead. the part of the mane of a horse or similar animal, which grows from the poll and hangs down over the forehead.

There is tons of alliteration throughout this whole poem.

This paints a different picture of King Arthur than we saw in the story about Launfel, where Arthur seemed jealous and petty.

I find it peculiar that the son isn't bitter and confused or asking any questions. Maybe it's the time period but the author only has him express joy.

a piece of armor originally covering only the neck and shoulders but later consisting of a full-length coat of mail or military tunic.

a man or boy acting as an attendant or servant.

Why do they starve the swan?

In this and the Launfal story the maidens fall in love with a knight based solely on his reputation without even meeting him.

Is he contemplating suicide here?

Why does King Arthur not like Sir Launfal? Is he jealous? It's strange that everyone likes him except the King.

I thought this story was very well written. It has a lot of fantasy elements like dragons, hermits, and love potions. It reminds me of Lord of the Rings. Shakespeare might have been inspired by this text to write Romeo and Juliet. I noticed similar themes. I felt challenged by the length of this assignment. I really liked it but it took a long time to get through.

Finally the king gets rid of these guys

I find it odd that with one speech she went from trying to kill him to kissing him on the lips.

Another reference to the number 7

One of the themes of the story is that love is very powerful.

I used to read a lot about medieval knight training, and from what I read, they started training at the age of 7, then after 7 years of training, at the age of 14 they would go out and help fight with the knight that was training them. Then after 7 more years with enough experience they would be eligible to be knighted at the age of 21. The reason why they did it every 7 years was because it was biblical number and they thought 7 was a holy number.

Tristan's tragedy with Iseult mirrors his parents' tragic love story.

I find it surprising that the first paragraph gives away the essence of the story. Just by reading this we already know that they are going to die due to their love.

Why are they taking cursed treasure? Do they not know that it's cursed?

This is a powerful description.

Who was this ancient race that had all this treasure and why was it under a spell?

This description demonstrates the depth of love and respect that Beowulf's men had for him.

The people at that time believed that if something bad happened that it meant that they had sinned and were being punished.

It's interesting that the author describes the thief as desperate as opposed to greedy.

I think Beowulf is an epic tale that has inspired many other works of fiction.I think the author most wants the reader to know that God is in control of man's fate. One question I have is what is the fate of these people after Beowulf's death. How are they going to handle things without him since he was a strong leader?

They valued honor in addition to bravery.

Here the king praises Beowulf, but also strongly warns him against taking too much pride in his accomplishments.

Is this supposed to be literal? Is the sword actually melting?

Beowulf knows that his glory will be greater if he fights the monster with bare hands rather than a sword.

Judges in ancient and medieval Ireland

Everyone was finally relaxed after Grendel's defeat. Grendel's mother's attack was a complete surprise.

This statement shows that the people of that time believed that their fate was in God's hands rather than in the mortal plane.

alliteration

It's interesting how the king first thanks God before Beowulf, and gives the glory to God, instead of giving credit to Beowulf. When he does praise Beowulf, he says that it was only with "the Lord's assistance" that Beowulf won.

I find it odd how the killing of Grendel happens out of nowhere, and it doesn't really describe what happened until much later in the story.

Beowulf knows that Grendel is much stronger than him, but his knowledge in the arts of warfare gives him confidence as he prepares to fight. He has to rely on more than just brute strength, but has to use strategy to fight him.

In addition to courage and bravery, the people at this time also valued wisdom and a clear head.

1 chiefly Scottish : equipment or apparel : accouterments for work, traveling, or war : gear. 2 : possessions, wealth.

a thick rope or cable for mooring or towing a ship

I think that the giants that are referred to here are the Nephilim mentioned in the book of Genesis.

This statement demonstrates that the people at that time thought about death as a transition rather than an ending. This probably gave them courage to fight to the death.

The poem starts off talking about courage and greatness, which shows that those traits were important at that time.

It's interesting that they valued community whereas in modern life, it's the opposite. We are more isolated and lack kinship and community.

I was told that this story was going to be similar to a Viking warrior tale, but come to find out, it's actually about biblical values.

The author wants the reader to know about a legendary warrior named Beowulf, who fended off the demonic forces of that time. However, the story is not necessarily focused on Beowulf. It is focused on the achievement of God, and Beowulf is just an instrument.

I felt challenged by the obscure vocabulary, and also how the author puts some of the details later in the story, as opposed to when they actually occur in the narrative. For example, when Beowulf kills Grendel, it's described simply with no details, and it's not until later in the text that the reader gets the details, when Beowulf is describing it to someone.

I find it ironic that Cuchulainn demanded naked women to meet him, but when they actually showed up, he was embarrassed and covered his face. He's physically supernaturally strong but still boyishly immature.

This encapsulates Cuchulainn's entire character and motivation in one sentence. He wants achieve fame and glory, even if it means his life will be cut short. He is emphasizing this desire even further by saying not only that he would be willing to die young, but he would be willing to live for just one day.

I thought that saying "son of his mother" was a strange, roundabout way of referring to Cuchulainn.

The first thing I noticed about this story is that there is a lot of dialogue and action, but there is no internal dialogue or descriptions of characters' thoughts or feelings. It is based on what the characters say, not what they are thinking. The way the story is written is very different from the modern fiction that I read in Comp II. It reminded me of the myth of Achilles because both are warriors who have supernatural origin.

One challenge I encountered was with the wording. I had to look up words and re-read phrases to understand, which is perhaps due to the translation. I also had trouble figuring out what the point of the story was.

It seems that the author's main purpose in writing the story is to show the character of Cuchulainn, which is bold and ruthless. The descriptions show that he has the strength to match those characteristics.

I found an interesting description of Cuchulainn that says he had seven fingers on each hand, seven toes on each foot, and very bizarrely, seven pupils in each eye: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cu-Chulainn. I thought that was an interesting description to show he was more than just a mere mortal.

I appreciate this piece of artwork. It helps the reader visualize the mythical and action-infused tale of Cu Chulainn.