Search results for 'tag:Literature tag:Present tenses' matching tags 'Literature' and 'Present tenses'

revision/thought on my final paper would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:04:17 GMT

The paper is in MLA format and I had some trouble keeping it in present tense, block quoting a speech from poetry, and siting the poetry inside the paragraphs themselves help would be very very appreciated. sorry its so long. also I dont know if i like my closing statement, should I add more or take a more traditional approach to it?
thank you,
frantic senior.

   (already corrected)Throughout time there has been a constant struggle between light and dark, good and evil, heaven and hell. This everlasting conflict is depicted most famously in Beowulf, a timeless Old English epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon time period between 449 and 1066. The original creator is unknown, but was first composed by Christian monks after years of paganistic oral illustration. In Anglo-Saxon culture, along with literature, one not only had to be a strong, intelligent, and brave warrior but also show devout loyalty to his brethren. Beowulf embodies the quintessential Anglo-Saxon hero. He sails the seas to a neighboring country to gain fame by defending and defeating seemingly impossible super-natural forces, while showing his unparalleled god-like strength.(already corrected)

    Beowulfâs super-human strength compares to no other of his time. Several points throughout the story Beowulf Displays such strength that one can hardly believe heâs a mortal man. Beowulf exhibits this incomprehensible strength when he is clashing with Grendel. While leaning up on one arm he locks on to Grendelâs flaying limb and violently heaves, yanking so hard he tears skin, muscle, and bone clean off Grendelâs shoulder (âGrendel,â lines 265-270). Once again, in the heat of battle with Grendels revenge thirsty mother, Beowulf exhibits this spectacular brawn when he spots âa [massive] heavy swordâ¦/hanging on the wallâ¦/so heavy no mortal man could lift [it]â(âGrendelâs Mother,â lines 215-220). He snatches the sword off the wall like it was an ordinary feat and brings it crashing down upon the evil she wolfâs neck, slicing it clean off.

Almost equivalent to his mind numbing strength is his wisdom and intelligence that far surpasses his young age. Before making the journey over seas to Herot the young hero has to first ask for recourse from the elders. With zero hesitation the elders agreed with his request to gain fame by defending his fatherâs allied domain and the slaying of evil demonic monsters. Later in Beowulfâs life, at an old age of 60, heâs informed of a dragon pillaging his countryside in search of an appropriated item. Beowulf feels such a substantial amount of guilt that he feels he must act on behalf of his compatriots. Beowulf believes that anything that goes askew in his country or to his countrymen is his responsibility. âHe accus[es] himself of breaking gods lawâ(âDeathâ lines 17-18) and that he has brought âThe Almightyâs anger down upon his peopleâ(âDeathâ lines 19-20). The old stout king, humbled by many years of a war torn life, suits up for his last confrontation.

One of the most important qualities of this Anglo-Saxon hero is his exceptional bravery, exclusively in the face of eminent death. Early in his life Beowulf is portrayed as slightly over confident. When he arrives in the court of Hrothgar and he declares:

âGrendel is no braver, no stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not, easy as it would be. This fiend is a bold and famous fighter, but his claws and teeth scratching at my shield, his clumsy fists beating at my sword blade, would be helpless. I will meet him with my hands empty-unless his heart fails him, seeing a soldier waiting

weaponless, unafraid. Let God in His wisdom extend His hand where

He wills, reward whom He chooses!â(âGrendelâ lines 133-143).

After successfully fulfilling his prophecy, Beowulf hunts down the wicked mother of the forlorn beast whom he had just slain. He finds himself and his men at a pool swarming with serpents and water beasts yet he throws on his hauberk and dives through the serpents. Pushing his way towards the essence of all-evil with only a vest of chain mail to protect him.

Beowulf, still today, stands as a record of values and customs from an unrefined and heroic time. It embodies the message: "Do your utmost to gain a good name and fame because, after death, itâs all of you that can remain in this world. It is the courage to strive for this, not success, that ultimately and eternally enshrines a true hero in legend."

Re: tense in literature

Mister Micawber — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 05:24:39 GMT

I think when we write an essay about literature, we use 'present tense' no matter if the literature itself is in past tense

Not at all.
And you are not creating reported speech when writing an essay; you are narrating the story.

Do your example this way:

Ben always remembers his glory in high school: he was a such popular student. Teachers loved him. However, now he is not well-liked by his boss or co-workers.

Having said that, all possible combinations of tenses are probably possible in the course telling about a story in an essay.

tense in literature

MIA6 — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:33:28 GMT

I think when we write an essay about literature, we use 'present tense' no matter if the literature itself is in past tense. But for example, "Ben suddenly recalled his high school life. When he was in the ninth grade, he was very popular. But now, he was not. He was such an ordinary man. No one would notice him." Then, if I want to say his past, should I use past tense to make a contrast with present tense, so that reader will understand which is Ben's past life, and which is his present? Let's say: Ben always remembers his glory in high school, he was/is a such popular student. Teachers loved him/love him. However, now he is not well-liked by his boss or co-workers.

Thanks for help.

Re: when your writing as a fourth person

Vorpar — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:37:03 GMT

Answer the questions based on their tense.

When we write about literature or films, we write in the present tense (an exception would be if we are including some kind of chronology.)

1. Alexander tames Bucephalas by...

2. The first piece of advice given is...

3. Demosthenes, during the battle of Greece,...

4. The leadership of the Greek army choose to marry the women of Persia because...

Re: help with exercise

Chariot — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:27:29 GMT

Thank you, Nona de Brit.

The blue answers are my alternatives. I have two questions about these exercises.

1. If you visit the Lincoln Memorial, you will see a giant statue of Lincoln _dominating_/which/that dominates_ (dominate) the center of the Memorial.

2. The Washington Monument _was built_/is built_ (build) in honor of George Washington, the first president of the United States.

3.. Abraham Lincoln's famous speeches _were engraved_/ are engraved (engrave) on the interior walls of the Lincoln Memorial.

4. The Oval Office, _situated_/which is situated_ (situate) in the White House, is the office of the President of the United States.

5. Amelia Earhart was the first woman _to fly_/that/who flew_ (fly) solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

6. Ernest Hemingway was a famous American writer who _won_/winning_ (win) the 1954 Nobel Prize for literature.

8. Queen Victoria _was_/is_ (be) the first sovereign to reside in Buckingham Palace.

Are the blue answers correct? Thanks for your help.

a. In 1, 4, both participles and relative clauses work. Can I conclude that participles and relative clauses are interchangeable when it comes to modifying a noun? Irregardless of the tense in the main clause and the relative clause? In 6, I meant to remove "who" and write the sentence as this:" 6. Ernest Hemingway was a famous American writer winning_ (win) the 1954 Nobel Prize for literature."

b. In 2, both answers are correct. I understand that "were engraved" means an action, which took place in the past, and "are engraved" describes the condition of the monument. In 5 and 8, I thought the sentence states a fact which do not change and should be expressed in the present tense. Could you explain to me why the correct answers are in the past tense.

c. Sentences 5, 8: infintives are used following the noun, not relative clauses. Is it because the noun is modified by "the first"?

I feel confused with these modifier issues, they are very confusing. If there is a rule governing/that governs the modifiers, I'd be very happy to hear about it.

Re: Native-speaker intuition.

Cool Breeze — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:36:44 GMT

Englishuser wrote:
A non-native speaker who has immersed himself or herself with highbrow literature written in a foreign language could very well have a more vivid vocabulary and a better knowledge of the grammar of the language than the average native speaker. At least as far as the 'standard version' of the language is concerned.

Englishuser

Hi Englishuser

I agree, learning the grammar of a language can be relatively easy for a person who is familiar with the grammatical structures of his native language. As far as I am concerned, English grammar was a piece of cake for me even though it differs considerably from Finnish grammar. It was easy because there is so little of it; an English word has very few forms: write, writes, writing, wrote, written. That's all there is written as single words. Of course has written, having written etc. exist in addition to the five basic forms.

However, in Finnish, for instance, you need six forms just to say something affirmative in the present tense, a different inflection for every person (I, you, he, we, you, they). You need another six forms to ask a question etc. Nouns have more than a hundred forms and an adjective has hundreds of inflected forms. Some English people have said to me they don't belive me when I say that. That's because they think the languages they may have some knowledge of, usually German or French, are as complicated in structure as a language can be. They know of nothing else.

What is difficult about English are the countless idioms and spelling.

By the way, when I am abroad I try not to sound British or American even though I have been told that I am able to mimic the American accent quite well. Finland was never a major country in world politics or colonization and I often get good service just because people don't really know anything about my country. They have no preconceived notions.

I was once having a drink in a hotel bar in New Orleans. The man sitting next to me asked me: "Where do you come from?" I said: "Finland." He said: "Which state is it in?" So I got wise and a couple of days later when a fiftyish woman asked me the same question, I said: "I'm from Europe." Her face lit up: "That's marvelous! I've got relatives in the same country."

Cheers
CB

Re: How to talk about TV shows

Lazarus — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 17:58:02 GMT

When speaking about literature, film, etc., you should use the present tense, as that story is forever ongoing.

Re: subjunctive or not?

davkett — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 01:11:40 GMT

This is not strictly what you are asking, Taka, but there would not be much question about the present tense here:

(which is the way I would want to see it written in the first place)

No one would say of a work of music or literature that it is better than an earlier work just because it is later. A recent work by L. Berino is not, because of its modernity, better than Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and it would be just as hard to say that Brahms' Violin Concerto is better than Beethoven's.

Re: Story with a diverse use of tenses

jack112 — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 22:19:30 GMT

Okay thanks.

What about paragraph #16? Why doesn't she use present tense instead of past? How does she know what to use?

I have wrote something about this story. When you're writing about literature you should write in the present tense right? With this story, it has so many tenses. I don't know how to communicate my ideas.

Can you take a look at this, I think my tenses are incorrect but at the same time I don't know. She talks about her past experience in past tense but she also relives them in present, so should I change all my tenses to present or past? Or I need both where it is necessary? If so, could you show me?

Here it is:

1. In the story âPlay to win,â Whitneyâs daughter is marginally interested in sports. She isnât good at games at first and she is beautiful. Not soon Whitneyâs daughter becomes a jock, changes Whitneyâs views on her and her experience influences her mother.

2. The first insight to Whitneyâs daughterâs influence on her mother may be shown when she was in high school. Her daughter joined track in her eighth grade and she ran for miles and was soaked by the rain and it distorted her makeup. Her mother thinks that physical appearance doesnât go along with her being an athlete. She thinks that she should be more feminine, and one should consider what others think about you, âWait until Lady Astor sees herselfâ. Soon she realizes that this is not a concern for her anymore because she â..love sports..â just like how her daughters do.

3. Her daughter experiences a lot of hardship through sports and hard personal opinions that make her feel down and lose hope. When her daughter looks for help, she goes for her dad for advice. Her dad supports, motivates, and eases her. From that experience her mother thinks about the advices she could have gotten when she was young, maybe it would have move her towards something, âif my own paroxysms of uncertainly would be eased had more people urged me..â

4. When her daughter has revived she wants to play for a particular position and she canât let anybody else get her spot. When she goes through times like these she seeks her dad for help. Her mother learns that when she goes through times like these âdoubt my own abilitiesâ, she says âGet intenseâ just like her daughter.

5. In the beginning Whitney didnât get her hopes up for her. Itâs all because of her daughterâs determination and dadâs support. That changes her views on her. Now she is being supportive for her. She takes sports seriously.

I don't understand how I should use my tenses. I'm totally lost. Could you correct my tenses if they are wrong or if they don't make any sense or if they are used inappropriately? And tell me why they are wrong. Thanks a bunch.

Re: To Pedanticus

sextus — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 04:46:24 GMT

Hi Mr. P. Many thanks for your suggestions, which are really useful.
Shoot! It seems that Iâll never stop having doubts with the bloody article. Here I have some new doubts:

1) âThroughout Sextusâ other writings one finds the Skepticâs distinctively agnostic attitude coexisting with negative conclusions.â
Iâm not completely sure about the difference between using âdistinctivelyâ or âdistinctiveâ. In theory, before an adjective one should use an adverb, but one could perfectly well say (or so it seems to be): âthe typical Skeptical attitudeâ.

2) âNow, in the event that this change of end took place, it would still be the Skeptic who searches for the new tevlo", so that the fact of giving up unperturbedness as his aim would not entail that he stops being a Skeptic.â
Is it ok to use the present tense (searches for, stops)?

3) âFor if this is the case, why would Sextus be ironic when saying that the Skepticâs choice of arguments is determined by the effects they have upon those he wants to persuade, given that his aim is precisely to persuade them?â
It seems to me that âif this is the caseâ is ok, but it occurred to me that perhaps I should say âwere the caseâ, or âwas the caseâ.

4) I have some doubts with my use of "make" and "caveat" in these sentences:

a) "First, it is clear that what is said here also applies to the Skeptic âthat is, that there are things which appear to be good to himâ, given the caveat Sextus makes at AD v 18â20. "

b) "At PH i 4 Sextus makes a much stronger caveat which reveals his extreme caution".

5) May I say either "philosophy book" or "philosophic/philosophical book", or is there any difference?

As we have been talking a little about literature, is Camus read over there? I started reading him while I was at high-school, and even now (or particularly now) I can't help finding his works as masterpieces. I mean, not only he handles French in an excellent manner, but above all his perception of the problems or situations he talks about is magnificent.

Sextus