Post by hannahboe on Sept 4, 2013 4:54:00 GMT
When reading “Grendel,” I was captured by the language and cadence of Gardner’s piece, more so than I was the story (not to say that I don't like the story because I really do!). I think perhaps I have been too thoroughly brainwashed by AP Language & Comp. because I was more fixated on the writing style than anything else after reading the first three sentences of the book. I am intrigued that Gardner gave Grendel, who initially struck me as a very primitive being, such complex thoughts – maybe not even complex thoughts, rather such an artful narration of simple thoughts and simple observations. Furthermore, I applaud Gardner’s ability to use so many “big words” so consistently without coming off as a pretentious git! Certainly, it seems to me, every word in every sentence was chosen carefully and serves a purpose and very few words are used as fillers or are found in excess.
Word choice and motifs including color and specific animals are especially powerful. Gardner writes:
Many of the colors Gardner describes are similar to those in the above quote: greens, blacks, browns – generally dark, ominous, or cool colors. Similarly, animals most commonly referred to in the novel are fearsome wolves, venomous snakes, or powerful dragons. These motifs give the novel a dark tone, perhaps insinuating the regular gloom that is Grendel’s mind.
The compilation of these linguistic intricacies in “Grendel” gives rise to its poetic style and I find the rhythm inherent in the writing reminiscent of epic poetry. Is this an intentional structure meant to enhance the parallel between “Grendel” and it’s original story, “Beowulf” (a true epic poem)? I think yes!
Word choice and motifs including color and specific animals are especially powerful. Gardner writes:
“I nosed out, in my childish games, every last shark-toothed chamber and hall, every black tentacle of my mother’s cave, and so came at last adventure by adventure, to the pool of firesnakes. . . . They were gray as old ashes; faceless, eyeless. They spread the surface of the water with pure green flame” (15-16)
Many of the colors Gardner describes are similar to those in the above quote: greens, blacks, browns – generally dark, ominous, or cool colors. Similarly, animals most commonly referred to in the novel are fearsome wolves, venomous snakes, or powerful dragons. These motifs give the novel a dark tone, perhaps insinuating the regular gloom that is Grendel’s mind.
The compilation of these linguistic intricacies in “Grendel” gives rise to its poetic style and I find the rhythm inherent in the writing reminiscent of epic poetry. Is this an intentional structure meant to enhance the parallel between “Grendel” and it’s original story, “Beowulf” (a true epic poem)? I think yes!