Godric Literary Elements

Medieval Literature, Novel, Historical Fiction, Biography.

The settings of the novel include riverside, church and a town in the 12th century. The novel has been written in the context of changing one's life. The story propagates the journey from a life of sins to a life of piety.

The narrator of the novel is Godric and the story has been narrated from his point of view. The novel is an honest account of the sinful and virtuous life of Godric.

Religious, Honest, Reverend, Pensive, Solemn, Moral and Awakening.

The protagonist of the book is Godric, who was a merchant. He then transformed into a hermit and later he joined church. The antagonists in the novel are the worldly desires of Godric which entraps him and lead him away from the right path.

The major conflict in the story is between Godric and his inner self. He lives a sinful life for years but then he gets to know about the futility of his life. He was deeply indulged in illegal means of getting money and he wanted to satisfy his worldly desires. After the realization of his wrong ways, he gave away all the sins. His conscious constantly pricks him until he mends his ways.

The climax in the novel comes when the internal struggle begins within Godric. He spends his life as a dishonest merchant and gathers a lot of money but the climax in the story comes when he start thinking of his wrong ways.

The meditating Godric like Buddha on a river side, foreshadows the piety and virtues like Buddha.

The understatement is the universal and eternal struggle of man against the temptations of his life. Godric tries his best to resist the evils that cross his path, when he embarks on a life of piety. Through the example of Godric, the author has understated that every human being is tempted in his life and it is up to us whether we fally prey to the temptations like Godric in the early phase of his life, or we become successful in resisting them like Godric in the later part of his life. Another understatement in the novel is that there is a possibility for pleasure and happiness even in a virtuous life. It has been understated through the instance where Godric does not learn from the dark worldview of his mentor Elric.

There are allusions to peasant life, riverside, hermits, dishonest merchants, meditation, saints, church, treachery, lies, mystics, clergy, Godric the saint of Finchale, riots, cat blood, martyrs, religion and piety.

There are images of a sinful life lead by Godric and then there are images of a pious life. The novel also portrays Godric as meditating on a river side. There is a portrayal of death, riots, bloodshed and murder as well. The book conveys the imagery of robbery, theft and treachery as well. The life of church has also been demonstrated by the author.

The paradox in the story is that during his business of ships, Godric helps people in reaching the holy places through his ships but at the same time he robs them of their money and valuables by fake attacks. Another paradox is that Godric goes to a riverside in order to get rid of his sins and to meditate but he still thinks of his sins there.

The novel depicts a parallelism between virtue and sins and between the devilish life and a life of piety. The parallelism has been demonstrated through the life of Godric who converts from a sinner to a morally upright and religious man. He achieves a self-control which has been paralleled by the instant attraction to the temptations of the worldly life.

An example of metonymy is Godric who represents the struggle of all human beings in a life where they have to choose between right and wrong. An example of synecdoche is church which stands for Christianity and its teachings.

Virtues, Sins, Riots, and eternal life have been personified in the book.