Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries. It follows the story of Beowulf, a Geatish hero who aids the Danish king Hrothgar by defeating the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother. The poem explores Anglo-Saxon cultural ideals of loyalty, bravery, strength and honor through Beowulf's heroic acts and encounters with supernatural beasts. Written in Old English alliterative verse, Beowulf provides valuable insight into early medieval Scandinavian paganism as well as early English history, literature and culture.
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries. It follows the story of Beowulf, a Geatish hero who aids the Danish king Hrothgar by defeating the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother. The poem explores Anglo-Saxon cultural ideals of loyalty, bravery, strength and honor through Beowulf's heroic acts and encounters with supernatural beasts. Written in Old English alliterative verse, Beowulf provides valuable insight into early medieval Scandinavian paganism as well as early English history, literature and culture.
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries. It follows the story of Beowulf, a Geatish hero who aids the Danish king Hrothgar by defeating the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother. The poem explores Anglo-Saxon cultural ideals of loyalty, bravery, strength and honor through Beowulf's heroic acts and encounters with supernatural beasts. Written in Old English alliterative verse, Beowulf provides valuable insight into early medieval Scandinavian paganism as well as early English history, literature and culture.
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries. It follows the story of Beowulf, a Geatish hero who aids the Danish king Hrothgar by defeating the monster Grendel and later Grendel's mother. The poem explores Anglo-Saxon cultural ideals of loyalty, bravery, strength and honor through Beowulf's heroic acts and encounters with supernatural beasts. Written in Old English alliterative verse, Beowulf provides valuable insight into early medieval Scandinavian paganism as well as early English history, literature and culture.
Beowulf Background catastrophic situations in which the supernatural often intervenes BACKGROUND INFORMATION BACKGROUND INFORMATION • Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat to society • 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry survive today • Destiny discovered through a series of episodes punctuated by • 3, 182 (10%) of the lines are from violent incidents interspersed with Beowulf SETTING idyllic descriptions. SETTING ELEMENTS ELEMENTSOF OFANGLO-SAXON ANGLO-SAXONPOETRY POETRY • Denmark and Sweden • Chant-like effect of the four-beat AUTHOR AUTHOR line • Unknown, probably a monk • Alliteration (“Then the grim man in • Composed in the 7th or 8th century green gathers his strength”) • Oldest surviving English poem • Caesura-pause or break in a line of ANGLO-SAXON CULTURE poetry (“Oft to the wanderer weary • Belief in fate (Wyrd) of exile”) • Accumulated treasures amount to • Kenning-metaphorical phrase success used instead of a name (“battle- • Fame and fortune zealously sought blade” and “ring-giver”) after • Epithet-description name to • Loyalty to one’s leader crucial characterize something (“keen- • Importance of pagan, Germanic, edge sword”) and Christian ideals to people • Hyperbole-exaggeration whose lives were often hard and TITLE TITLEOF OFEPIC EPICPOEM POEM uncertain • Anglo-Saxon word Beo means • Fierce, hardy life of warrior and “bright” or “noble” seamen • Anglo-Saxon word wulf means • Strength, courage, leadership “wolf” abilities appreciated • Beowulf means bright or noble • Boisterous yet elaborately wolf • Other sources say Beo ritualized customs of the mead-hall means “bear” • Expected the hero to boast HOW WE HOW WEDATE DATEBEOWULF BEOWULF ANGLO-SAXON ANGLO-SAXONIDEALSIDEAL CODESCODES OF OF • Some Important Dates: CONDUCT CONDUCT o 521 A.D. – death of Hygelac, • Good defeats evil who is mentioned in the • Wergild--restitution for murder or poem expect revenge from victim’s o 680 A.D. – appearance of relatives alliterative verse • Boasts must be backed with o 835 A.D. – the Danish actions started raiding other areas; • Fate is in control after this, few poets would • Fair fights are the only honorable consider them heroes fights o SO: This version was likely EPICPOEM EPIC POEM composed between 680 • Long narrative poem that recounts and 835, though it may be the adventures of a hero set earlier • Elevated language THEPOETRY THE POETRYIN INBEOWULF BEOWULF • Does not sermonize • Alliterative verse • Invokes a muse o a. Repetition of initial • Begins in media res sounds of words (occurs in • Mysterious origin, super powers, every line) vulnerability, rite of passage o b. Generally, four feet/beats per line o c. A caesura, or pause, Christian references to between beats two and four God’s will. o d. No rhyme MAIN MAIN CHARACTERS CHARACTERS • Kennings • Beowulf o a. Compound metaphor o Epic hero (usually two words) o Geat (from southern o b. Most were probably used Sweden) over and over o Nephew of Higlac (King at o For instance: hronade story’s start) literally means “whale- o Sails to Denmark to help road,” but can be translated Hrothgar as “sea” • Hrothgar o Other kennings from o Danish king Beowulf: o Builds Herot (banquet hall) ▪ “bone-house” = for men body o Tormented by Grendel for ▪ “gold-friend of men” 12 years = generous prince o Loses many men to Grendel ▪ “ring-giver” = lord o Joyless before Beowulf’s ▪ “flashing light” = arrival sword • Grendel SETTING SETTING: o Referred to as demon and • Beowulf’s time and place Europe fiend today Insert: Time of Beowulf o Haunts the moors (swampy land) o Descendant of Cain o Feasts on 30 men the night of 1st attack • Grendel’s Mother o Referred to as she-wolf o Lives under a lake o Challenges Hrothgar when she kills one of his best men • Fire Dragon o Lives in Beowulf’s kingdom o Wakes up when thief steals SOMETERMS SOME TERMSY cup • scop o Guards countless treasures o A bard or story-teller. The scop was responsible for praising deeds of past heroes, for recording history, and for providing entertainment • Thane o A warrior • mead-hall o The large hall where the lord and his warriors slept, ate, held ceremonies, etc. o Wyrd o Fate. This idea crops up a lot in the poem, while at the same time there are