POETRY

POEMS
They are forms of literature usually written in
lines or verses.
The lines or verses make up stanzas.
The lines and stanzas may be of various length.
Sometimes, poems have rhymes and meter.
POEMS
It is considered as the earliest forms of literature, poems
belong to the oral tradition of literature so they are
designed to be recited or read aloud.
TYPES OF POEMS
Lyrical Poems – are traditional poems with meter
and rhyme and usually describe a sense, explain a
sentiment, reveal ideas, or express emotions.
IDYLLS AND PASTORALS
POETRY
- Describe objects or scenes in nature.
SONGS
They are emotional verses to be sung for various
occasions.
SONNETS
They are composed of 14 iambic pentameter lines
of either Shakespearian or Petrarchan tradition.
ELEGY
It is a lamentation for the dead.
ODES
They are ceremonial lyric poems on solemn rite in
which personal emotion and meditation are observed.
TYPES OF POEMS
Narrative poems – tell a story of love, adventure,
or romance.
BALLADS
They tell the story of ordinary persons.
EPIC
It is a long narrative poem about the exploits of a
supernatural hero.
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
(449-1066)
The first Angles, Saxons and Jutes
transferred to England their highly
organized tribal units.
Each tribe was ruled by a king.
The king was chosen by a witan, or
council of elders.
THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
(449-1066)
Each community had four distinct
classes.
FOUR DISTINCT
CLASSES
FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES

Earls
- hereditary class of ruling warlords
who owed their position to the king.
FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES
Freemen
- They were allowed to own land and
engage in commerce.
- This class included the thanes, early
barons, who were granted their status as
a reward for military service.
FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES

Churls or Serf
- Lower on the social scale.
- They were bonded servants who
worked the land in return for military
protection.
FOUR DISTINCT CLASSES

Thralls or Slaves
- Lowest of all in classes.
- They were military prisoners or
people being punished.
THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
(449-1066)
Tiu- god of war and the sky.
Woden- chief of the gods.
Fria- Woden’s wife and goddess of the
home.
These gods were abandoned with the
coming of Christianity.
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE

Anglo-Saxon literature began not

with books but with spoken verses and
incantations.
Their purpose was to pass along
tribal history and values to an audience
that could not read.
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
The Celtic Druids were the
priests who assumed the
function of storytelling,
memorizing and reciting long,
heroic poems about Celtic
leaders and their deeds.
RUNES
They are the letters in a set
of related alphabets known
as runic alphabets, which
were used to write various
Germanic languages before
the adoption of the Latin
alphabet.
ANGLO-SAXON POETRY
The recitation of poems often occurred on
ceremonial occasions such as the celebration
of military victory.
The performers usually the professional
minstrels known as scops, and their assistants,
called gleemen.
ANGLO-SAXON POETRY
These recitations, which lasted for hours and
even days, took place with the accompaniment
of a harp.
The poems follow a rigid pattern of word
stresses that gives it a snappish, sing-song
effect.
ANGLO-SAXON POETRY
These recitations, which lasted for hours and
even days, took place with the accompaniment
of a harp.
The poems follow a rigid pattern of word
stresses that gives it a snappish, sing-song
effect.
BEOWULF

Beowulf is the longest and greatest

surviving Anglo-Saxon poem.
The setting of the epic is the sixth
century in what is now known as
Denmark and Southwestern Sweden.
BEOWULF
The 3,182-line epic poem Beowulf is
considered by many to be the first piece of
English Literature.
Examining the history of this poem of
monsters, battles, and heroic deeds can teach us
a lot about the people who lived during its
time.
BEOWULF
Even though most scholars think that the surviving
copy of the epic poem Beowulf was written down
sometime around the year 750 CE, there is so much
unknown about the poem that conclusively dating it is
a nearly impossible task.
For instance, no one knows who wrote the poem
down, or how long it existed in oral form before then.
But there are clues to its age in the poem itself.
BEOWULF
First of all, we need to say the poem was
composed, rather than written.
In the Anglo-Saxon age, the vast majority of
people couldn't read, so the poem would have been
passed down from poet to poet, memorized the way
we memorize phone numbers or Amazon
passwords, and then repeated.
 Beowulf
Anonymous

At a time when Spear Danes were without a

king, a ship came sailing into the harbor.
 Beowulf
Anonymous

It was filled with treasures and weapons of

war; and in the midst of these warlike things
was a baby, sleeping.
 Beowulf
Anonymous

The ship came of itself bringing the child

whose name was Scyld.
Question:

What was the name of the baby?

Describe.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Scyld grew and became a mighty warrior

and led the Spear Danes for many years as
their king.
 He had a son named Beowulf, who became
a great warrior and king.
Questions:

What happened to Scyld?

Who was his son?
Describe the son.
 Beowulf
Anonymous

 Our story begins with Hrothgar, king of the

Danes, a descendant of Scyld.
 Hrothgar, in his old age, built a splendid hall
where his thanes (noble followers) gathered
nightly to feast and listen to the songs of the
gleemen (minstrels).
 This hall was called Heorot.
Questions:

Who is Hrothgar?
What was he built in his old age?
What was the purpose of the hall?
Beowulf
Anonymous

 One night, as all were sleeping, a frightful

monster, Grendel, broke into the hall, killing
and carrying away with him thirty of the
sleeping warriors to devour them in his lair
in the sea.
Questions:

Who was the monster mentioned in the

story?
What did he do in Heorot?
How many men did he kill and carry?
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Nighty the visit was repeated and fear and

death came over Heorot.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 The warriors tried to fight the monster and

free the Danes but no weapon could harm it.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 At last the rumor about Grendel reached a

young hero named Beowulf, whose uncle,
King Hyegelac, ruled over the Geats.
Questions:

Who was the hero mentioned?

Who was his uncle? Describe him.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Beowulf was a man of immense strength

and courage.
 When he heard the story of Heorot, he
decided to fight the monster and free the
Danes, who were his father’s friends.
Questions:

Describe Beowulf.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 With fourteen companions he crossed the

sea to liberate the Danes.
Questions:

How many companions did he bring?

Beowulf
Anonymous

 Beowulf was welcomed in Heorot with

feasting and storytelling.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 But when night fell, the fear of Grendel fell

upon the Danes and all left the hall after
King Hrothgar had warned Beowulf about
the frightful danger of sleeping in the hall.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Beowulf expressed his intention of sleeping

in the hall with his men, proudly saying that
since weapons had no effect upon Grendel,
he would fight the monster with his bare
hands.
Questions:

What would Beowulf do in order to kill

Grendel since no weapon could harm
him?
Beowulf
Anonymous

 He seized one of Beowulf’S warriors,

crushed his head, tore him from limb to
limb, and swallowed him.
Beowulf
Anonymous
 At midnight Grendel came bursting the door
inward, laughing at the thought of the feast
of men-flesh before him.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Beowulf watched the monster approach the

bench where he lay and as Grendel drew
near, he reached out to grab the hero.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Beowulf clutched the monster’s arm in a

grip of steel.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Terror struck the monster and he tried to

flee from Beowulf’s clutch.
 Tables were overturned, benches were
ripped from the walls; the whole building
rocked as the two struggled.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 In the monster, attempt to get away from

Beowulf, the sinews of his arm snapped; the
shoulders snapped; a wide wound opened in
his side, and the whole arm was wrenched
off at the shoulder.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Grendel escaped to his sea home to die,

shrieking and howling in pain.
 Beowulf hung the monster’s arm on a beam
on the roof.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 The Danes came and everyone rejoiced in

Beowulf’s victory.
Beowulf
Anonymous
 That night a great feast was held to honor
Beowulf and the Danes once more slept in
Heorot.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 But the mother of Grendel, an equally

horrible monster, came and again, like her
son, carried off Hrothgar’s men.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 The old scenes of sorrow were renewed in

the morning, so Beowulf determined to kill
Grendel’s mother.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 He followed the tracks of the monster

across the fen to an inland sea and dove into
the dull, murky waters.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Grendel’s mother rushed at him, crushing

him down.
 She bit and clawed at him, but his thick,
strong armor saved him.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 On a wall of the cave, Beowulf caught a

sight of a magic sword.
 Snatching it, Beowulf swung it at the
monster and killed her.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 He saw her dead before him and as he cut

off the monster’s head, the magic sword
melted in his hands.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 The poem ends with Beowulf’s last

adventure.
 Beowulf, now an old man, had reigned for
fifty years, greatly beloved by his people.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 One of his people had stumbled upon a

great treasure guarded by a dragon.
 The man had seen the treasures and had
taken a beautiful vase away with him.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 That same night, the dragon, belching fire

and smoke, descended upon a village and
killed all the inhabitants
Beowulf
Anonymous

 Again Beowulf went forth to champion his

people.
 In this fight with the dragon, Beowulf fought
the fire-breathing dragon, and although he
slew the dragon, he swallowed some of the fire.
Beowulf
Anonymous

 He met his death amidst the enormous

treasures of the dragon.
 He was buried in sorrow and received signal
honors from his men.
 Why did Beowulf decide to free the Danes from Grendel?
 Why did Beowulf fight Grendel with his bare hands? What
does this reveal about his character?
 Why was it harder for Beowulf to kill Grendel’s mother than
Grendel himself?
 Which do you think was the hardest of the three adventures?
Give reason for your answer.