7 Comments
Feb 11Liked by Stuart McNair

This was a very interesting read- noting how Egils' poetry is unique and reflects on his character. Such a violent man but really beautiful and deep words he shared. It's almost like we didn't expect such a man to have such words.

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Feb 9Liked by Stuart McNair

This was a great read I hadn't thought about the comparison of loyalty between those two poems and how the two individuals Egil was citing these narratives about were very much alike. Thanks for pointing that out!

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Feb 5Liked by Stuart McNair

I like the way you look at the words of the poem and view them in the way that you do in contrast to the anger of sorts that lies in the rest of the text.

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Feb 5Liked by Stuart McNair

I believe that Egil's ethical code is fascinating, as his poetry portrays an agreeable ethic. Egil seems to act contrarily to the poetry that he makes. The violent nature of Egil is certainly something to note as a way to contextualize his poetry as we assess his character.

Well said!

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author

Thanks for the comment, Jonathan. I agree that Egil's verse and his actual actions are two completely different things!

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Feb 4Liked by Stuart McNair

I really enjoyed the deep dive into the actual poetic portions of the saga. Egil is a very interesting guy to say the least; however, his poetry should not be skipped over. I feel like your interpretations are spot on and I feel similar in the way you do to the message Egil is giving in his lines.

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Feb 4Liked by Stuart McNair

I like how much you focused on the actual poetry of the Saga, as I've seen some other commentary dial in on more niche parts of the story. As for how you've interpreted the poetry, I think you're spot on. You see a lot of themes surrounding loyalty in these early Medieval works, and the way loyalty is so often rewarded in stories like Egil's Saga or Beowulf really speaks to the importance of that quality.

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