Day 2: English Literature

English Lit
1. Log in to computer and sign on to Moodle and then turn
monitor off, please
2. Turn Introduction to Anglo-Saxon unit and epic/epic hero notes
in to tray (or electronic submission to Moodle)
3. “TICKET IN: EPICs” (no notes/no books for this)
4. Moodle (“clifford”)/Syllabus/Classroom rules (completed)
5. Lit terms logs: Review epic hero; add epic plot, epic poetry and
kenning
6. Beowulf introduction via PowerPoint
7. Before you leave: “TICKET OUT: EPICs” (no notes/no books)
8. HOMEWORK: Read Beowulf, pages 24-top of page 34 and
complete reading guide for that portion
 Learning Targets
• Students will learn and understand historical
elements of Anglo-Saxon culture, to later draw
connections between Anglo-Saxon history and
the AS literature in Beowulf.
 Ticket IN: Epic and Epic Hero
Recalling information from your reading for class
today, please describe characteristics of the
following:

1. Epic
2. Epic hero
3. Epic plot
 Class Rules
• Water bottles or capped bottles are allowed
• NO SNACKS or eating (computers are easily damaged)
• NO language that is offensive to some or to all
– Race
– Sexual preference
– Mental status or classifications
– Religious considerations
• NO COMPUTER GAMES…my biggest referral writing efforts are in this
category
• Dress code considerations: Cover your body, purses must remain on floor
• Housekeeping: What to do before you leave
– Tidy area, push in chairs and lower them, turn monitor lights off and fold
monitors up
• Bulletin boards and white boards: For your viewing pleasure only (I write; you
read)
• Room tour: Please stay out of all teacher areas
• Goal: To foster a learning environment of mutual respect and fun, while
preparing for the real world that is coming quickly!
 Literary Elements Logs
• Must include:
Use Microsoft
– Term in bold
Excel template
– Definition on Moodle
– Example

• Epic Poetry: A long narrative poem that recounts,

in formal language, the exploits of a larger-than-
life hero.
• Example: The Anglo-Saxon story Beowulf is an epic.
Lit Term: Epic Hero

Usually a man of high social status

who is often important to the history
of his people.
In Literature, he always represents
good and forces that threaten the
epic hero represent evil.
A hero often boasts, or brags, in
what is called flyting.
Lit Term: Epic

– A long narrative poem that

recounts, in formal language, the
exploits of a larger-than-life hero.
Lit Term: Epic Plot

Usually involves:
Supernatural events
Long time periods
Distant journeys
Life and death
struggles between good and evil
Kenning

 Metaphorical circumlocution (talking around

something without using its specific name)
signifying a person or thing by a characteristic
or quality of that person or thing.
 A compound expression in Old English or Old
Norse poetry with a metaphorical meaning

– “whale road” = the sea

– “Higlac’s follower” = Beowulf
The Anglo Saxons
and
Beowulf
 Great Britain
• Great Britain
– England
– Scotland
– Wales
– Northern Ireland

• Southern Ireland is
NOT considered a
part of Great Britain
The First People
• Britain first settled by
Celts
• Celts came from
continental Europe
between 800-600 B.C.
• 2 tribes of Celts:
– Britons (settled in
what is now Great
Britain)
– Gaels (settled in what
is now Ireland)
 The Invasion
• In 43 A.D., Romans invaded and
Britons were either forced
northward or into slavery;
introduced the concept of
Christianity
• Eventually (449), the Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes invaded (these
are Germanic tribes). They took
over and called the island “Angle-
land.” They enslaved the people
who were there
• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes carved
the land into tribal kingdoms, but
they came to think of themselves
as one people: the English (a.k.a.
Anglo-Saxons)
• By 650, most of England was
Christian (but held onto pagan
beliefs, too)
 The Norman Conquest: 1066
• King Edward died
• William (the Duke of
Normandy)** laid claim to
the throne (Edward may
have promised the throne
to William)
• Instead, the English council
of elders chose Harold II as
king
• Duke William attacked,
defeated the A/S and killed
Harold at the Battle of
Hastings. He became King
William I
**Remember: France = Vikings
 Typical Themes
• Contains typical themes of seafaring warriors, a society
bound by military/tribal loyalties
• Bravery of warriors and generosity of rulers highly
valued
• Combines pagan folklore (monsters) with Christian
themes (good vs. evil)
– ex: Grendel is a monster, described as an enemy of God and
descendent of Cain (first murderer in the Bible)
Mead Hall
 Beowulf: The Setting

**Beowulf is NOT set in England, and

the characters are NOT English: it’s
set in Scandinavia and involves the
Geats of southern Sweden
(Beowulf’s tribe) and the Danes of
Denmark.
Beowulf
Information

                                                                  
Beowulf Information

 Oraltradition: This story was

meant to be told
– Lo! (Listen!)
– Story is told by:
A SCOP
Grendel

 Grendel has been

terrorizing the Danes for 12
years and has killed at least
30 people!
 Grendel is covert
 What the people believed
 Polytheism: Woden most
powerful.
 Hopes of Valhalla – presided over
by Valkyries.
Heroism and Male Society
 Heroes: courage, strength, loyalty!
 Only heroes had mounds built for
them when they died (more later)
 Time of harsh war-like conditions
where only the fittest survived by
raiding and pillaging.
Role of Women
 Ceremonial: peace pledges
or political moves
 Passed the mead cup
 Sang dirges at funerals
 Made urns for ashes
Comitatus

 Any group of leaders and

fighters (voluntary
arrangement)
– A good ruler: “ring giver”
– Loyal retainers (underlings)
Weird Wyrd
 Wyrd (fate) is the most powerful
force in Anglo-Saxon times.
– Blind—strikes without rhyme or
reason
– Hostile—out to get you!
– Controls nature and the landscape
Funeral Types
 Inhumation
– Beowulf’s wish: barrow (mound)
The People

Danes
– (Grendel trouble!)
Geats
– (helped the Danes—Beowulf was one!)
Flyting

Boasting = Flyting
Flyting has 2 parts:
– The past: resume
– The present promise
The Story

 3,128 lines vs. 1,135 lines

 Starts with funeral, ends with
funeral—what pessimists!
 Courage: Boar’s head
Lit Term: Epic

– A long narrative poem that

recounts, in formal language, the
exploits of a larger-than-life hero.
Lit Term: Epic Hero

Usually a man of high social status

who is often important to the history
of his people.
In Literature, he always represents
good and forces that threaten the
epic hero represent evil.
A hero often boasts, or brags, in
what is called flyting.
Lit Term: Epic Plot

Usually involves:
Supernatural events
Long time periods
Distant journeys
Life and death
struggles between good and evil
 Ticket OUT: Epic and Epic Hero
Recalling information from your reading for class
today, please describe characteristics of the
following:

1. Epic
2. Epic hero
3. Epic plot