• Beowulf Summary
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/summary.html
• Canterbury Tales Prologue Summary
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section1.rhtml
• Wife of Bath’s Tale
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/section10.rhtml
The Poetry in Beowulf
Kennings
a. Compound metaphor (usually two words)
b. Most were probably used over and over
For instance: hronade
literally means “whaleroad,” but can be
translated as “sea”
More Kennings
Other kennings from Beowulf:
“bone-house” = body
“gold-friend of men” = generous prince
“ring-giver” = lord
“flashing light” = sword
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds in words.
Examples:
 Closed my lids, and kept them closed
 Lay like a load on my weary eye,
Epic Hero Traits
https://quizlet.com/12321584/13-characteristics-of-an-epic-hero-flash-cards/
Making Inferences
An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and
reasoning. To make an inference based on a reading passage, look fo
 Supporting details
 Character’s actions
 Descriptions
 Dialogue
Practice on next slide
Theme
The theme in a story is its underlying message, or 'big idea.' In
other words, what critical belief about life is the author trying
to convey in the writing of a novel, play, short story or poem?
This belief, or idea, transcends cultural barriers. It is usually
universal in nature. When a theme is universal, it touches on
the human experience, regardless of race or language. It is
what the story means.
Characterization
The concept of creating characters for a narrative. Characters
may be presented by means of description, through their
actions, speech, thoughts and interactions with other
characters.
Context Clues
Hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual
word. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the
word to which it refers, or it may follow in a preceding
sentence.
Order and structure of an article and how it creates
an overall effect
*Scroll to the bottom to see examples of
http://www.adlit.org/strategies/23336/ different kinds of text structure.
Analyzing the effect of the author’s perspective (opinio
and purpose (what he hopes to accomplish)
https://prezi.com/7fxckus1g_wa/ri06-analyzing-point-of-view-purpose-andrhetoric/
Tone (Informal versus formal)