Imagery, Setting and Motif

Setting

• Definition: When and where a text takes place.
• Time Period: The time is the Dark Ages, between 500 and 700 A.D.
• Location: The action takes place in a Denmark kingdom ruled by Hrothgar (mead hall & lake), in Sweden 50 years later fights dragon

Setting Example

• Ex. "He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone's/Answer; the heaving water covered him/ Over. For hours he sank through the waves; At last he saw the mud of the bottom."
• This is included to show the difficulty of reaching this dreaded destination.

Imagery

• Definition: Uses senses to create descriptive figurative language
• Description: The graphic battle scenes and bravery of warriors

Imagery Example

• Ex. "The water was bloody, steaming and boiling/In horrible pounding waves, heat/ Sucked from his magic veins"
• Imagery is used to convey the disgusting image of the bloody aftermath of Grendel's death

Motifs

• Repeated element, idea, phrase or theme in a literary work
• Motifs: Monsters, religion, good/evil, supernatural elements

Motif Example

• Ex. Beowulf's strength
• The idea of strength is repeated in each battle, "The iron sang its fierce song,/Sang Beowulf's strength..." "doubled his sterength, he threw her to the floor"
• This is included to show that Beowulf has supernatural strength.

Directions: