is land of the free home of the brave website satire

However, provoked by the singing and carousing of Hrothgar’s followers, Grendel, a monster in human shape who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. He builds a lavish hall, called Herot (or Heorot), to house his vast army, and when the hall is finished the Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate. Hrothgar is well loved by his people and successful in war. Madani weaves a tale of contemporary resistance, and once again language provides a potent weapon.The poem begins with a history of the Danish kings, starting with Shild (whose funeral is described in the Prologue) and leading up to the reign of the current king Hrothgar, Shild’s great-grandson. But in today's world, the threat comes as much from poverty, official corruption, the abuse of human rights, and the lingering effects of colonialism as from the power wielded by individual men. Like her brave-hearted predecessor, Madani's modern-day Scheherazade is fighting for her own life as well as the lives of her fellow sufferers. Through the courage and wit of young Scheherazade, who volunteers to be the king's bride and then invents the legendary tales that go on for a thousand and one nights, Shehriyar is healed of his obsession and the kingdom's virgins are saved. In the ancient tales, the insanely distrustful King Shehriyar vows to marry a new wife each night and have her beheaded the next morning, thus eliminating the risk of being cuckolded. In Tales of a Severed Head, Madani addresses present-day issues surrounding the role of women in society-issues not unlike those explored a thousand years ago in the enduring collection of Arab tales known as The Thousand and One Nights. A brilliant retelling of the classic Arab tale of Scheherazade, set in the present day This volume brings Moroccan poet Rachida Madani's remarkable poems to English-language readers for the first time.

Is land of the free home of the brave website satire