Read the excerpt from Grendel. It wasn’t because he threw that battle-ax that I turned on Hrothgar. That was mere midnight foolishness. I dismissed it, thought of it afterward only as you remember a tree that fell on you or an adder you stepped on by accident, except of course that Hrothgar was more to be feared than a tree or snake. It wasn’t until later, when I was full-grown and Hrothgar was an old, old man, that I settled my soul on destroying him—slowly and cruelly. What does the author use in this excerpt to develop Grendel’s character?

Cancer, ‘the big c,’ as it is often called. her doctor felt sure but ordered more tests to confirm his suspicion. while cervical cancer in a woman julianne’s age was rare, her doctor admitted, it certainly was not unheard of in her demographic group. her doctor explained that this type of cancer is often caused by a common virus that many women do not even realize they have. the human papilloma virus can lead to this type of cancer if a woman’s immune system does not fight off the virus in its initial stages. julianne was devastated. her doctor began to discuss treatment options and suggested an oncologist specializing in this type of cancer, but julianne heard very little of what he said. her head was spinning with questions. overwhelmed, she wondered how she would break the news to her family and friends. according to the article, a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is called

“tell me o swan, your ancient tale” by kabir “the swan” by rilke “spanish dancer” by rilke “your laughter” by pablo neruda “birthplace” by shaffarzadeh “it’s this way” by nazim hikmet “counting small-boned bodies” by robert bly choose two poems that you would like to write about. analyze each poem. study the perspective, or point of view, of the speaker in each of the two poems that you select for this assignment. consider these questions: who is the speaker in each of these poems? what is the speaker’s tone? is there a conflict? is there a message? what does each of the poems have in common? what is different about each of the poems? which literary devices are used in the poems? are these literary devices found in both of the poems? what does the speaker hope to achieve in each of the poems? how are these achievements/goals been met? directions: using the two poems of your choosing, write a clear, concise, two hundred and fifty word essay that compares and contrasts the two poems. make sure you include at least two of the following to support your thesis: tone, point of view, literary devices, and meter.

How does the literature of this period influence future generations of american literature? where have you seen traces of these themes and how were they presented in the other literature you read?