Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges

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Book Reviews of Saint George and the Dragon

Book Review: Best Introduction to the Genre
Summary: 5 Stars

I think this is probably the most literate children's book I've read. The first line of most pages always includes some brief alliteration, beginning with the opening lines.

>In the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lifvind in England, a noble knight was riding across a plain.

>The dreadful dragon was the cause of her sorrow.

>After many days the path became thorny and led up to a steep hillside, where a good old hermit lived in a little house by himself.

>It is time for me to tell you that you were not born of fairy folk, but of English earth.

>Then they heard a hideous roaring that filled the air with terror and seemed to shake the ground.

>The knight brandished his bright blade, and it seemed sharper than ever, his hands even stronger.

There is just enough to create the effect without going overboard. Sometimes, at key points, the alliteration is stepped up to alert the reader to pay attention.

>In his tail's end, two sharp stings were fixed. But sharper still were his cruel claws. Whatever he touched or drew within those claws was in deadly danger. His head was more hideous than tongue can tell, for his deep jaws gaped wide, showing three rows of iron teeth read to devour his prey.

There are also instances of anaphora

>Once more the Red Cross Knight mounted and attacked the dragon. Once more in vain.

internal rhyme

>Yet the beast had never before felt such a mighty stroke from the hand of any man, and he was furious for revenge.

and Homeric similes.

>Like a sailor long at sea, under stormy winds and fierce sun, who begins to whistle merrily when he sees land, so Una was thankful.

These are all tropes I would have pointed out when I was teaching Medieval and Renaissance Lit. and are spread thinly enough not to be over done. They are in fact very appropriate to the material, being standard Anglo-Saxon techniques. The surrounding prose is also extremely well written. There were only three alliterations which I felt were overdone, but-hey-that's also true for equivalent portions of Beowulf!

I can't think of a better introduction to the dragonslayer genre.

Summary of Saint George and the Dragon

Animals Books

• Books > Subjects > Children's Books
• Action & Adventure
• Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Dragons