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Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
A Feast at Heorot (Lines 491–701)
Explanation and Analysis:
Befitting its status as an epic poem, the tone of Beowulf is exciting and adventurous, written in an engaging manner that tends to focus on scenes of action. In the story, brief periods of calm are interspersed with dramatic conflict. Further, when characters find time to relax in social settings such as the mead-hall, they tell stories of thrilling adventures and fierce battles. After Beowulf is publicly accused of losing a swimming contest by Unferth, for example, Beowulf responds by narrating his own recollection of the contest, including his fight with several sea-monsters. His language here reflects the adventurous tone of the poem in general:
ME thus often the evil monsters
thronging threatened. With thrust of my sword,
the darling, I dealt them due return!
Nowise had they bliss from their booty then
to devour their victim, vengeful creatures,
seated to banquet at bottom of sea;
but at break of day, by my brand sore hurt,
on the edge of ocean up they lay,
put to sleep by the sword [...]
And so it came that I killed with my sword
nine of the nicors. Of night-fought battles
ne'er heard I a harder 'neath heaven's dome,
nor adrift on the deep a more desolate man!
Here, Beowulf recounts his exciting story to an eager audience. At sea, Beowulf and his friend Breca were engaged in a challenging swimming contest when Beowulf found himself under attack by “evil monsters.” He responds to their threat with decisive action, thrusting his sword at the monsters and returning their blows. Though Beowulf is at a disadvantage in this battle, which takes place in the sea at night, he is successful in defeating the monsters. In the end, he kills nine sea-monsters, putting them “to sleep by the sword.” In his narration of the events, Beowulf proves himself to be an able story-teller, using suspense to heighten the drama of the scene. These storytelling techniques are reflected in the tone of the poem in general, emphasizing action and adventure.
