|
Have questions?
Contact us
Already a member? Sign in
|
Get every literary device explanation for GrendelPlus so much more...
Sign up for LitCharts A+Get instant access to every literary device explanation, plus so much more...
Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Gluey Whine:
In Chapter 5, Grendel speaks to the dragon, perched atop his pile of gold in a secluded cave. The dragon speaks ruefully about humans and their faith in connectedness but acknowledges that they sometimes see the capricious nature of their world. Only the Shaper's stories give humans the framework to understand the world, which the dragon describes in a metaphor:
Connectedness is the essence of everything. It doesn’t stop them, of course. They build the whole world out of teeth deprived of bodies to chew or be chewed on. They sense that, of course, from time to time; have uneasy feelings that all they live by is nonsense. They have dim apprehensions that such propositions as ‘God does not exist’ are somewhat dubious at least in comparison with statements like ‘All carnivorous cows eat meat.’ That’s where the Shaper saves them. Provides an illusion of reality—puts together all their facts with a gluey whine of connectedness.
According to the dragon, humans understand that much of their world is built on widely-held beliefs held with little evidence. The Shaper, though, can tell a story of a world that makes sense, one with heroes who bravely conquer monsters and then rule as good kings. The dragon calls this "connectedness," that each event follows logically from the other. This is the Shaper's "illusion of reality," that he can create a fictional world with simple narratives; furthermore, the Shaper's stories can be so powerfully affecting that they change the actual perception of the world itself.
The dragon describes the Shaper's "illusion" as combining all of the facts of human life using "a gluey whine of connectedness" to hold them together. This metaphor casts "connectedness" as a "whine," powerless speech cried out in reaction to pain. But that whine is "gluey": it holds together all the various stories and morals that the Shaper manipulates. This conversation with the dragon will define how Grendel imagines the Shaper for the remainder of the novel: the poet has a powerful ability to manipulate the world by combining various stories and narratives, only through careful use of language.
Monthly
Annual (Best Value)
$595USD/mo
Charged $71.40 USD every year
Teacher$795USD/mo
Charged $95.40 USD every year
Literature Guide PDFs
LitCharts PDFs for every book you'll read this year.
Instant PDF downloads of all 2252 LitCharts literature guides and of every new one we publish. Try a free sample literature guide.
"Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!"
Quotes Explanations
Find the perfect quote. Understand it perfectly. Then rock the citation, too.
For all 50,213 quotes we cover.
For all 50,213 quotes we cover.
Teacher Editions
Close reading made easy for students.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Common Core-aligned
PDFs of modern translations of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 3 longer poems.
Literary Terms and Devices
Definitions and examples for every literary term and device you need to know.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Try a free sample literary term PDF.
Advanced Search
Refine any search. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more.
Related Themes
Comparing and contrasting texts? Find where any theme occurs across all of LitCharts in seconds.
Poetry Guides
Line-by-line explanations and analysis of figurative language and poetic devices.
For every lyric poem we cover.
For every lyric poem we cover.
