EPIC

ep·ic /ˈepik/ noun

noun: epic; plural noun: epics

1. a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and
adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.

BACKGROUND

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines. It is possibly the oldest
surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old
English literature. It was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th
century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the
“Beowulf poet.”

The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king
of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel.
After Beowulf slays him, Grendel’s mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious,
Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats.
After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle.
After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland.

The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, located in the British Library. It
has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story’s
protagonist. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through Ashburnham
House in London that had a collection of medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce
Cotton.

KENNINGS

Kenning is a compressed metaphor or description using two nounsto describe a subject place and
objects.

Examples - Using a Kenning in a Sentence

 Story keeper - Book.

 Word fisher - Poet.
 Web maker - Spider.
 Sky climber - Mountain.
 Kenning is used in poetry to create different effects, They can be combined to make a
poem called a Kennings in which a collection of kenning lines are combined to describe
an object.

There are many examples of kennings in Beowulf and they are used with great variety throughout the
story. Some more examples include: Many of these words appear in other readings of Anglo Saxon
poetry.
The kenning is another poetic device that was used by the oral poet.

Examples of kennings from Beowulf:

A B

gold-shining hall = Herot

guardian of crime = Grendel

strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf

cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon

helmet bearers = warriors

earth hall = burial mound or barrow

stone cliffs = rocks wall stone

stout hearted = bravery

shield warrior = fighter behind the shield

SUMMARY OF BEOWULF

Summary With loyalty and heroism in mind, Beowulf comes to the rescue of the Danes and King
Hrothgar. They have suffered at the hands of an evil monster, Grendel, who has pillaged their
kingdom for more than 12 years and killed many men. Beowulf, nephew to the king of the Geats, sails
across the seas to try to defeat the beast. Once he has convinced Hrothgar and Unferth of his many
feats, they allow Beowulf to defend the hall from the monster. Because of his code of honor, Beowulf
lays down his armor and sword so that he is Grendel's equal and has no unfair advantage. Upon
Grendel's arrival a great battle ensues, and Beowulf—with his mighty strength—tears Grendel's arm
from his body. Mortally injured, Grendel retreats home to die. Prepared to avenge her son's death,
Grendel's mother arrives the next day and kills one of Hrothgar's elders. Beowulf follows her down
into her swampy home and attempts to fight her, but his sword doesn't make a scratch on the horrible
beast. He grabs a magical sword hanging on her wall and wields a deadly blow. Then, he spots
Grendel's corpse and severs his head. Grendel's poisonous blood melts and destroys the sword
down to its hilt. Beowulf comes to the surface and presents Grendel's head and the hilt to Hrothgar. A
grand celebration in Beowulf's honor ensues. Beowulf then returns to the Geats, where he is
proclaimed a hero. Eventually, Beowulf becomes a great king of the Geats. But, as with Hrothgar, all
good things must come to an end. Fifty years into his reign, a great dragon is disturbed. A man
happens upon the beast's lair and steals some of the treasure the dragon has been hoarding for
years. The dragon seeks his revenge and wreaks havoc in Beowulf's kingdom. Beowulf knows that it
will be difficult to defeat the beast, but he has the best armor and swords. With his loyal warriors, he
sets out to defeat the dragon. Beowulf orders his men to stay back while he battles the dragon alone.
The warriors agree and, upon seeing the dragon, all of his warriors run from his side—except a young
thane called Wiglaf. Although Beowulf fights heroically, he is fatally wounded. Before Beowulf dies,
Wiglaf presents him with some of the riches from the dragon's hoard. The story ends much like it
starts: with a death and an elaborate burial. Beowulf is laid to rest with a mountain of treasure to mark
his heroic life. Sadly, at his death Beowulf finally shows some fallibility and dies without naming an
heir—a kingdom without an heir is at great risk of pillaging, death, and enslavement.

First battle: Grendel

Beowulf begins with the story of Hrothgar, who constructed the great hall Heorot for himself and his
warriors. In it, he, his wife Wealhtheow, and his warriors spend their time singing and celebrating.
Grendel, a troll-like monster said to be descended from the biblical Cain, is pained by the sounds of
joy. Grendel attacks the hall and kills and devours many of Hrothgar's warriors while they sleep.
Hrothgar and his people, helpless against Grendel, abandon Heorot.
Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland, hears of Hrothgar's troubles and with his king's permission
leaves his homeland to assist Hrothgar.
Beowulf and his men spend the night in Heorot. Beowulf refuses to use any weapon because he
holds himself to be the equal of Grendel. When Grendel enters the hall, Beowulf, who has been
feigning sleep, leaps up to clench Grendel's hand. Grendel and Beowulf battle each other violently.
Beowulf's retainers draw their swords and rush to his aid, but their blades cannot pierce Grendel's
skin. Finally, Beowulf tears Grendel's arm from his body at the shoulder and Grendel runs to his home
in the marshes where he dies. Beowulf displays "the whole of Grendel's shoulder and arm, his
awesome grasp" for all to see at Heorot. This display would fuel Grendel's mother's anger in revenge.

Second battle: Grendel's mother

The next night, after celebrating Grendel's defeat, Hrothgar and his men sleep in Heorot. Grendel's
mother, angry that her son has been killed, sets out to get revenge. "Beowulf was elsewhere. Earlier,
after the award of treasure, The Geat had been given another lodging"; his assistance would be
absent in this battle. Grendel's mother violently kills Æschere, who is Hrothgar's most loyal fighter,
and escapes.
Hrothgar, Beowulf, and their men track Grendel's mother to her lair under a lake. Unferð, a warrior
who had earlier challenged him, presents Beowulf with his sword Hrunting. After stipulating a number
of conditions to Hrothgar in case of his death (including the taking in of his kinsmen and the
inheritance by Unferth of Beowulf's estate), Beowulf jumps into the lake, and while harassed by water
monsters gets to the bottom, where he finds a cavern. Grendel's mother pulls him in, and she and
Beowulf engage in fierce combat.
At first, Grendel's mother appears to prevail, and Hrunting proves incapable of hurting the woman;
she throws Beowulf to the ground and, sitting astride him, tries to kill him with a short sword, but
Beowulf is saved by his armour. Beowulf spots another sword, hanging on the wall and apparently
made for giants, and cuts her head off with it. Travelling further into Grendel's mother's lair, Beowulf
discovers Grendel's corpse and severs his head with the sword, whose blade melts because of the
"hot blood". Only the hilt remains. Beowulf swims back up to the rim of the pond where his men wait.
Carrying the hilt of the sword and Grendel's head, he presents them to Hrothgar upon his return to
Heorot. Hrothgar gives Beowulf many gifts, including the sword Nægling, his family's heirloom. The
events prompt a long reflection by the king, sometimes referred to as "Hrothgar's sermon", in which
he urges Beowulf to be wary of pride and to reward his thegns.

Third battle: The dragon

Main article: The dragon (Beowulf)

Beowulf face to face with the fire-breathing dragon

Beowulf returns home and eventually becomes king of his own people. One day, fifty years after
Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother, a slave steals a golden cup from the lair of a dragon at
Earnanæs. When the dragon sees that the cup has been stolen, it leaves its cave in a rage, burning
everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but Beowulf tells his men that
he will fight the dragon alone and that they should wait on the barrow. Beowulf descends to do battle
with the dragon, but finds himself outmatched. His men, upon seeing this and fearing for their lives,
retreat into the woods. One of his men, Wiglaf, however, in great distress at Beowulf's plight, comes
to his aid. The two slay the dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded. After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf
remains by his side, grief-stricken. When the rest of the men finally return, Wiglaf bitterly admonishes
them, blaming their cowardice for Beowulf's death. Afterward, Beowulf is ritually burned on a great
pyre in Geatland while his people wail and mourn him, fearing that without him, the Geats are
defenceless against attacks from surrounding tribes. Afterwards, a barrow, visible from the sea, is
built in his memory (Beowulf lines 2712–3182).

PUNCTUATIONS

Punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs and certain typographical devices as aids to the
understanding and correct reading of written text whether read silently or aloud.

Full stop punctuation( Period)

Period (punctuation) A period (in America) is a full stop (.) It is apunctuation mark (.) at the end of
a sentence. It shows that the sentence has finished.
Comma
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the
same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs from
them in being placed on the baseline of the text.
Colon
The colon is a punctuation mark consisting of two equally sized dots centered on the same vertical
line. A colon precedes an explanation or an enumeration, or list.
Semicolon
The semicolon or semi colon is a punctuation mark that separates major sentence elements. A
semicolon can be used between two closely related independent clauses, provided they are not
already joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Dash
The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to U+002D - HYPHEN-MINUS and
U+2212 − MINUS SIGN, but differs from these symbols in both length and height.
Exclamation Point
The exclamation mark, also sometimes referred to as the exclamation point is a punctuation mark
usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume (shouting),
or to show emphasis, and often marks the end of a sentence, for example: "Watch out!" Similarly, a
bare exclamation mark (with nothing before or after) is often used in warning signs.

Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The
use of hyphens is called hyphenation. Non-hyphenated is an example of a hyphenated word.
 30 item QUIZ (from whole topic)

Direction: Answer the following question and write the answer on your paper.

1. a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures
of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.

a. EPIC
b. DASH
c. HYPEN

2. The ____ is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word.

a. DASH
b. EXCLAMATION POINT
c. HYPEN

3. The _____ is a punctuation mark that separates major sentence elements.

a. SEMICOLON
b. COLON
c. COMMA

4. The _____ is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the
same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs
from them in being placed on the baseline of the text.

a. COMMA
b. SEMICOLON
c. EXCLAMATION POINT

5. The ____ is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to U+002D - HYPHEN-MINUS and
U+2212 − MINUS SIGN, but differs from these symbols in both length and height.

a. HYPEN
b. DASH
c. EPIC

6. This punctuation it shows that the sentence has finished.

a. PERIOD
b. DASH
c. COLON

7. is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines

a. BEOWULF
b. EPIC
c. KENNINGS
8. ______ is a compressed metaphor or description using two nouns to describe a subject place and
objects.

a. EPIC
b. DASH
c. KENNINGS

9. ______ is the use of spacing, conventional signs and certain typographical devices as aids to the
understanding and correct reading of written text whether read silently or aloud.

a. KENNINGS
b. PUNCTUATION
c. BEOWULF

10. What is the other name of Period ?

a. DASH
b. SEMICOLON
c. FULL STOP PUNCTUATION

Direction: Match the Column A to Column B . Write your correct answer on your paper.

A B

1. gold-shining hall Herot

2. guardian of crime Grendel
3. strong-hearted wakeful sleeper Beowulf
4. cave-guard and sky-borne foe dragon
5. helmet bearers warriors
6. earth hall burial mound or barrow
7. stone cliffs rocks wall stone
8. stout hearted bravery
9. shield warrior fighter behind the shield
10. light of battle sword