 |
| "Muhammad Ali" by Rob Pratt is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 |
Think of these examples:
“So…we’ll start by boasting, will we? Just like old times! Very well, demigod.”"I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ‘em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillfullest fighter in the ring today.”
― The Lost Hero
“As I leave my competition respirator style, climb the ladder to success escalator style.”
– Biggie Smalls
Although your parents may have told you not to boast, as mine did, there are a few occasions where boasting is appropriate:
- In a cover letter or a resume
- On a job interview
- On a date (?)
- In a sales job
- When presenting your art, proposal, project
- In court
Beowulf's first boast:
Resolute in his helmet, Beowulf spoke:
“Greetings to Hrothgar. I am Hygelac’s kinsman, One of his hall-troop.
When I was younger, I had great triumphs.
Then news of Grendel, Hard to ignore, reached me at home:
Sailors brought stories of the plight you suffer
In this legendary hall, how it lies deserted,
Empty and useless once the evening light
Hides itself under Heaven’s dome.
So every elder and experience councilman
Among my people supported my resolve
To come here to you, King Hrothgar,
Because all knew of my awesome strength.
They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies
When I battled and bound five beasts,
Raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea
Slaughtered sea-brutes.
I have suffered extremes ...
my one request Is that you won’t refuse me, who have come this far,
The privilege of purifying Heorot,
With my own men to help me, and nobody else.
I have heard moreover that the monster scorns
In his reckless way to use weapons;
Therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame
And gladden his heart, I hereby renounce Sword and the shelter of the broad shield,
The heavy war-board: hand-to-hand
Is how it will be, a life-and-death Fight with the fiend. ...
If the battle takes me, send back
This breast-webbing that Weland fashioned
And Hrethel gave me, to Hygelac. Fate goes ever as fate must.” (Heaney)
Boasts in Beowulf include the following elements:
- Ancestry
- Kennings
- see the 2-word expressions with metaphorical meanings (couch potato, rug
rat) in blue
- Alliteration - notice the repeated use of the first letter in yellow
- Boast of past achievement and athletic prowess
- Boast of achievements to come
- Caesuras - a break in the middle of a line of verse in orange
- Epic diction and style - elevated word choice
One of my students allowed me to show you her boast - enjoy!!
Daughter of a daring seamstress with the hands of God
and eyes that have seen sunsets in several skies
And of the wise jungle native, that has every answer to any question
Born under a roof where angels freely roamed,
Made me the honest, brave person I am today
because of their guidance and protection
As talent pulsed by through my parents blood
It was only fair for me to inherit a few gifts
A gift from God where a touch of strings
and vocals of an angel can reach the depths of the soul
But the grace of God did not begin with me
In order to understand my depths and who I am today
you must know of the others my mom birthed
The Abel of my family with a hot head and Thor's fist
Pushed me into becoming the fierce warrior I am today
And the middle child, the ferocious queen of
"I am the oldest sister" that kept me humble,
Pushed me into learning my place and never getting on a high horse
We are a strong family of earth-steppers that enjoy
seeing sun rises in skies that are not from home
Our last name to match our earth loving souls--
Diana Campoverde
_____________________________________________________________________
Work Cited
Heaney, Seamus,
translator. Beowulf.
No comments:
Post a Comment