2. Old English
Beowulf was written in Old English, an early form of
English
Old English was spoken in the Middle Ages from
about 6th century to 11th century CE
In 1066, William the Conqueror successfully
invaded England, bringing his Norman French
language with him; the nobility began to speak
French, and gradually Old English evolved into
Middle English (1100-1500): “Whan that Aprill,
with his shoures soote/The droghte of March hath
perced to the roote”
Modern English has been spoken since the
Renaissance –Shakespeare is NOT Old English;
he is Early Modern English
3. The Anglo-Saxon period
ranges from 449-1066.
It ends with the Battle of
Hastings where the French,
under the leadership of
William the Conqueror
invaded England.
Anglo-Saxon Period
5. Anglo-Saxon Literature
Few people read in this period
Oral tradition – was performed
and/or sung by a Bard (Scop)
from memory in Old English
This is why there are
often several versions of
the same story.
Scops – poet/minstrels
Authors were unknown
6. Anglo-Saxon Culture
Belief in fate (Wyrd)
Accumulated treasures amount to
success
Fame and fortune zealously sought after
Loyalty to one’s leader crucial
Importance of pagan, Germanic, and
Christian ideals to people whose lives
were often hard and uncertain
7. Anglo-Saxon Culture
Fierce, hardy life of warrior
and seamen
Strength, courage,
leadership abilities
appreciated
Boisterous yet elaborately
ritualized customs of the
mead-hall
Expected the hero to boast
8. Anglo-Saxon Ideals
Codes of Conduct
Good defeats evil
Wergild--restitution for murder or
expect revenge from victim’s
relatives
Boasts must be backed with
actions.
Fate is in control
Fair fights are the only honorable
9. Anglo-Saxon values
Loyalty
Fighting for one’sking
Avenging one’s
kinsmen
Keeping one’sword
Generosity -- gifts
symbolize bonds
Brotherly love -- not
romantic love
11. Warrior Code
Comitatus: Germanic code of loyalty
Thane: warrior –swears loyalty to the king for
whom they fought and whom they protected
Kings: generous, protected thanes
Reputation: thanes were expected to be
loyal, brave, courageous; kings were
expected to be generous and hospitable
Wergild: “man-payment”; a fee paid to the
family of a slain man to atone for his murder
and to prevent the family from seeking
revenge.
12. Background Information
30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry
survive today
3, 182 (10%) of the lines are from
Beowulf
Setting - Denmark and Sweden
Author - Unknown, probably a
monk
Composed in the 7th or 8th century
Oldest surviving English poem
13. Elements of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Chant-like effect of the four-beat line
Alliteration (“Then the grim man in green
gathers his strength”)
Caesura-pause or break in a line of
poetry (“Oft to the wanderer
weary of exile”)
Kenning-metaphorical phrase used
instead of a name (“battle-blade” and
“ring-giver”)
Epithet-description name to characterize
something (“keen-edge sword”)
Hyperbole-exaggeration
14. Literary Devices
Allusion: Biblical, Germanic oral tradition,
Norse myth and legend, historical Anglo-
Saxon kings (eg. King Offa of Mercia)
Alliteration (eg. Scyld’s strong son)
Epic poetry: a long narrative poem written in
elevated style which celebrates the deeds of a
legendary hero or god.
Kenning: two-word metaphorical name for
something (eg. whale-road=sea)
Scop: Anglo-Saxon composers and
storytellers (like minstrels or bards)
15. Some terms you’ll want to know
scop
A bard or story-teller.
The scop was responsible for
praising deeds of past heroes,
for recording history, and for
providing entertainment
16. comitatus
Literally, this means “escort”
or “comrade”
This term identifies the
concept of warriors and lords
mutually pledging their loyalty
to one another
Some terms you’ll want to know
18. wyrd
Fate. This idea crops up a
lot in the poem, while at the
same time there are
Christian references to
God’s will.
Some terms you’ll want to know
19. elegy
An elegy is a poem that
is sad or mournful. The
adjective is elegiac.
homily
A homily is a written
sermon or section of the
poem that gives direct
advice.
Some terms you’ll want to know
21. epic
Beowulf is an epic poem.
This means it has a larger-
than life hero and the
conflict is of universal
importance. There’s a
certain serious that
accompanies most epics.
Some terms you’ll want to know
22. 2 Types of Epics
1. Folk Epic
Told out loud first (usually by scops)
Unknown author
Unknown dates
(E.g.—Beowulf is a folk epic because we
don’t know who wrote it)
2. Literary Epic
Known author
(E.g.– Paradise Lost, by John Milton is a
literary epic because we know who
wrote it.)
23. Characteristics of an epic:
The hero, generally male, is of
noble birth or high position
The hero’s character traits reflect
important ideals of his society
The hero performs courageous deeds
that reflect the values of the times
His actions determine the fate of
many
24. Characteristics of an epic
continued:
The setting is vast
Written in formal diction with a serious
tone
Characters have long, formal speeches
Hero’s journey (slides to follow)
Poem reflects timeless values (courage,
etc)
Treats universal themes (good vs. evil,
25. SUMMARY OF EPIC
FEATURES
A long narrative poem
Larger than life hero; often with super-
human characteristics
Concerns eternal human problems like the
struggle between good and evil
Presented in a serious manner using
elevated (poetic) language
Hero represents widespread national,
cultural, or religious values
27. ThePoetryin
Beowulf
Afewthings to watchout for
1. Alliterative verse
a. Repetition of initial sounds of
words (occurs in every line)
b. Generally, four feet/beats per line
c.A caesura, or pause, between
beats two and four
d. No rhyme
28. Setting:Beowulf’stimeand place
Although Beowulf was written in
English, it is set in what is now Sweden,
where a tribe called the Geats lived.
The story may take place as early as
400 or 500 A.D.
31. Beowulf’s Provenance
Whatwedo know:
Beowulfistheoldest survivingEnglish
poem. It’swritteninOld English(orAnglo-
Saxon),which isthebasis forthelanguage
wespeak today.
Someof thecharacters inthepoem
actually existed.
Theonly copy of themanuscriptwas
writtensometime around the 11thcentury
A.D. (1000’s),however…
32. Theactual poem probably dates from
the8thcentury (700’s)orso, and…
Thestorymay be seteven earlier,
around 500A.D.
Thereare a lotof Christian references in
thepoem, butthecharacters and setting
are Pagan…this means a monk probably
translated it.
33. Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words that are close together in a poem.
“Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his
hall.”
“miserable, mighty men tormented”
37. You can Create modern-day kennings for things you
see around you.
giver of words
word-wand
?
?
? ?
38. ThePoetryin Beowulf
Afewthingstowatchoutfor
Litotes
A negative expression; usually an
understatement
Example:
Hildeburh had no cause to praise the Jutes
In this example, Hildeburh’s brother has
just been killed by the Jutes. This is a
poetic way of telling us she hated the Jutes
absolutely.
40. Hrothgar
The aging king of
the Danes
Welcomes Beowulf’s
assistance in facing
Grendel
Built Herot (his giant
mead-hall) to
symbolize the
kingdom’s success,
civilization, and joy
41. Grendel
Referred to as
demon and fiend
Haunts the moors
(swampy land)
Descendant of
Cain
Feasts on 30 men
the night of 1st
attack
42. Grendel
An enormous ogre or
demon-like creature
A descendent of the
biblical Cain
Adam and Eve hadtwo
sons, Cain and Abel.
Cain killed Abel out of
jealousy.
Despises mankind’s joy
Menaces Hrothgar and the
Danes for twelve years
before facing Beowulf in
battle
43. Grendel’s Mother
Referred to as she-
wolf
Lives under a lake
Challenges
Hrothgar when she
kills one of his best
men
44. Grendel’s Mother
Not as powerful as
her son, but still a
formidable foe
Lives with her son
Grendel in a cave
beneath a swampy
lake (or mere)
In her cave is a
magical, giant
sword
46. 1. When wasBeowulf written?
2. What isahero?Explain your definition and give examples.
3.What iscourage?How would most people today define
courage?
4.What isanepic?
5.Define and give an example of akenning. Write an original
kenning about someone you know.
6.In today’s society wehaveour own monsters, who or what
arethey and what do they represent?
7.List three modern fictional heroesand explain how their
journeys fit the epichero cycle. How arethey separated?
What istheir initiation? How havethey been changed?
47. Synopsi
s For twelve years, Grendel has raided
Herot nightly, killing King Hrothgar’s
Danish warriors.
Beowulf, who has heard of Grendel’s
evil deeds, decides to come to the aid
of the Danes.
Hrothgar had once sheltered
Beowulf’s father during a deadly
feud, and Beowulf wants to return
the favor.
Beowulf also hopes to enhancehis
own reputation and gain treasure for
his king, Higlac.
Beowulf brings with him fourteen of his
finest men.
48. Synopsi
sOn the first night of the visit,
Hrothgar holds a feast in Beowulf’s
honor.
Beowulf is insulted by a drunken
Dane named Unferth.
Unferth tells the crowd that Beowulf
was once beaten in a swimming
contest by an ordinary man named
Breca, thus he would certainly be
no match for Grendel.
Beowulf responds with dignity noting
that the two swimmers were
separated by a storm, and on the
fifth night of the contest Beowulf
slew nine sea monsters before finally
returning home
Unferth had been put in his place!
The Danes retire to safe sleeping
quarters; Beowulf and his Geats bed
down in Herot.
49. Synopsi
s Angered by the joy of the
men in the mead-hall,
Grendel bursts in and kills
one of the Geats.
With the strength of 30
men in his hand grip,
Beowulf seizes the ogre’s
claw and rips it from its
shoulder socket.
The mortally wounded
beast flees to his mere
pool.
The claw trophy hangs
high under the roof of
Heoro
t.
50. Synopsi
sThe Danes celebrate the next day
with a huge feast.
But Grendel’s mother is benton
revenge.
That night she climbs into Herot to
retrieve her son’s claw, and kills one
of the Danes.
Beowulf was sleeping elsewhere.
The next morning Hrothgar, Beowulf,
and several Danes and Geats follow
the mother’s tracks into a dark,
formidable swamp.
Beowulf dives into the mere to seek
Grendel’s mother.
He carries with him a sword named
“Hrunting,” a gift from the chastised
Unferth.
51. Synopsi
sFirst, Beowulf battles with strange
creatures.
Grendel’s mother then attacks and
hauls the Geat warrior to her dimly lit
cave.
Beowulf’s gift swordHrunting
fails to penetrate the ogre’s
hide.
Grendel’s mother tries to cut Beowulf
with a knife, but his mail (armor)
protects him.
Beowulf spots a giant magical
sword and uses it to kill her.
52. Synopsi
s An unexplainable light illuminates the cavern
and reveals Grendel’s corpse and a great deal
of treasure.
Beowulf decapitates the corpse.
The magic sword melts to its hilt (handle).
Beowulf returns the surface carrying
Grendel’s head, but leaves the treasure.
53. Synopsi
s
After much celebration and gifts from
Hrothgar, Beowulf and his men return
home.
Later, Beowulf’s king Higlac is killed in
battle. Higlac’s son is also killed in a feud.
Beowulf is named King of Geatland and rules
for 50 years.
In his declining years, he must face one
more demon.
54. The End of Beowulf
A fiery dragon has become enraged
when a fugitive stole a valuable cup
from the dragon’streasure-trove.
The dragon terrorizes the countryside
at night.
Beowulf insists on taking the dragon
alone, but his sword is no match for
the monster.
All of Beowulf’s men flee to the
woods.
Only one of them, Wiglaf, goes to
Beowulf’s assistance.
Beowulf is mortally wounded.
Dying, he leaves his kingdom to
Wiglaf.
His body is cremated in a funeral pyre
and buried high on a sea-side cliff
where passing sailors can see.
The dragon’s treasure isburiedwith
him.
