Snorris Prose Essay

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Reaction Paper: “Gylfaginning” “Gylfaginning” translated as the Tricking of Gylfi is the 2nd of the 4 sections in the Prose Edda, which is composed by Snorri Sturluson, a very famous Medieval Icelandic writer. The original text was written around the year 1220, but a newer version, translated by Jesse Byock in January of 2006, captures all of what existed in the original. “Gylfaginning” contains a series of stories about the Norse Gods; it is told to cover their history from the creation of the world to its end and rebirth. Its main character is King Gylfi, and it tells about his journey to the court of the AEsir, who are a tribe of gods. While here, Gylfi asks a series of questions to the AEsir. They are answered by the AEsir in a way that not only gives structure to the story but also information to Gylfi and the reader about the origins of the world, its gods, and the destruction of the universe. In the end everything vanishes and Gylfi is left alone; he is tricked into believing that the AEsir are real gods and returns home to spread the stories he has learned. “Gylfaginning” follows the prologue section of the Prose Edda and is composed of small tales that are enjoyable to read and written in a skillful manner. Snorri composes “Glyfaginning” as a frame narrative that contains many small stories within it. Its literary style and dialogue displays Mr. Sturluson’s very impressive artistry and also makes the narrative much more interesting and entertaining to read. The author’s use of a framed narrative in “Gylfaginning,” coupled with the main characters dialogue with the AEsir, serves to bring together a longer prose narrative and a number of enjoyable shorter myth stories. Gylfi’s dialogue with the AEsir constitutes the frame for the various stories the tribe of gods tells Gylfi. Much of the framing narrative is structured as flashbacks and
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