This document provides background information and context for studying medieval English literature and the epic poem Beowulf. It begins with an overview of the medieval and Old English period in history, noting the turmoil, differences in religion, and difficult life at that time. Several Old English poems are then summarized, highlighting their themes of exile, fate, loss, and the natural world. Key elements of Anglo-Saxon culture and values are outlined. The document concludes by giving context and summarizing parts of the epic poem Beowulf, including descriptions of its heroic characters and monsters.

2. Medieval and Old English Period
DO NOW: Grab a textbook
1. What do you know about this time in history?
(make a list)
2. Have you seen any movies that depict this time?
Describe.
3. Based on what you know (or by flipping through
the first 50-100 pages in the textbook), what kind
of literature or themes do you think might come
out of this period in British history?

3. Read Burton Raffel’s “With Rain
Comes Life” pg. 2-3
• Summarize the daily life of a medieval
person.
• Summarize the hierarchy.
• Do you think that society during this time
period needed this particular structure
(peasants – knights – lords – religion –
kings)? Why? (Hint: consider education)

5. Pg. 6-14
• For each subheading,
write 2-3 main
ideas. You can work
with a partner, but
each of you is writing
their own notes.

7. Anglo-Saxon Poetry
• Caesuras – rhythmic breaks in the middle of lines, where
the reciter could pause for breath
• Kennings – two-word poetic renamings of people, places,
and things (ex. whales’ home for the sea)
• Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds in unrhymed,
stressed syllables (ex. batter these ramparts)
• Alliteration – the repetition of initial consonant sounds in
accented syllables (ex. She sells sea-shells down by the
sea-shore)

8. Elegy
• A poem mourning the loss of someone or
something
DO NOW: You are exiled (sent away forever from your
home, friends, and community). Imagine a place of exile
(foreign country, wilderness, space, sea). Imagine living
there permanently – and without contact with those you
love. In order of importance, list things and people you
would yearn for and the feelings you might have. Name
the kinds of hopes and dreams that might sustain you.

9. The Seafarer
pg. 19
Home vs. the Sea
HOME SEA
Companionship Loneliness
Warmth Cold
Safety Dangers
Britain is an island, hence the
complex relationship to the sea
(barrier to strangers, avenue to new
lands). What draws the speaker of
the poem back to the sea time and
again?

11. Fate vs. Free Will
• Where do you fall? Explain: are humans
responsible for their own lives and choices or are
they subject to fate/destiny/divine plan?
• Note: the Anglo Saxons were resigned to fate and
valued painful experiences.
Greeks – human lives are subject to whims of gods
Egyptians – planetary positions influence lives
Catholic Church – free will
Hinduism – karma (combo of fate and free will); life in present is
determined by actions of past lives, but people can improve

12. Complete the
Questions on page 22
in COMPLETE
SENTENCES
• You may turn in one paper for
a group of two, with both of your
names on it - Make sure to write
down the opinions and responses of
both people if they vary.
• Please use examples and elaborate
your responses.
• Some questions have multiple
parts.

14. Elegy
• Write an elegy for an
object, person, idea
(anything really) that
you have lost. Show
your feelings for the
subject in your elegy.

15. The Wanderer
• Narrator (third person) and
Wanderer (first person)
• Stanza 2: depression; silence;
"no comrade left," "bury
sorrow"
• Stanza 3: "homeless/hapless,"
lord's death, "wintery seas,"
seeking new companions
• Stanza 4: frozen heart,
remembers celebrations and
time with friends

16. • Stanza 5: dream of friends who
disappear, lonely, "darken
storms," "tossing sea," longing,
SORROW and hardship in life
• Stanza 6: "fates of men" -
warriors vanish, earth dies; avoid
being reckless to live longer
• Stanza 7: all wealth dies, walls
crumble, decay, heroes die
defending a wall, empty of life
• Stanza 8: legends of battle and
bloodshed, princes and warriors
die, FATE and death conquer all
• Stanza 9: winter/night = death,
wealth/friends/man/woman =
fleeting
• Stanza 10: religion – seek mercy
and forgiveness

17. The Wanderer
• Explain what is
mourned or lost.
• How is the poem
elegiac? Use specific
examples or phrases
to support your
answer. Discuss the
mood.

18. Anglo Saxon values
• Contentment with fate
• Appreciation of
wisdom that comes
through experience
• Proving oneself in acts
of courage and bravery

19. Complete
the questions on
page 26 in
COMPLETE
sentences.

20. The Wife’s Lament
• After reading the poem,
speculate about the role
and rights of women in
Medieval society. What
evidence do you have?
• How does the
setting contribute to her
mood?

21. Finding Beauty in Pain
3 TWO CHUNK Paragraphs – one on each poem
TS, CD, CM, CM, CD, CM, CM, CS
Analyze the appearance of
the theme of exile and
suffering in each poem.
Compare the ways in which
each poem creates beauty in
and value for a painful
experience. Use passages
from the poems to support
your answer. Consider what
the purpose of pain in life is:
what lessons can it teach?
How can painful or
terrifying things be
considered beautiful
(remember the ocean)?

22. Images of Pain/Beauty in Nature
The Seafarer
• "suffering in a
hundred ships"
• "frozen chains," "sea wary
soul," "whirled in sorrow"
• Winter imagery, storms,
death songs of birds
• Longing and loneliness
• BUT JOY IN HEAVEN
• Life fades quickly –
riches, men, kingdoms
• Fate is inevitable
LESSON: Focus on the path to
Heaven; need suffering to learn
to be a good person and avoid the
temptations of "land"(wine,
riches, women). Can't buy your
way into Heaven.
The Wife's Lament
• Exiled from husband and
family (betrayed by his kin)
• No loved ones or friends in
her exile; longing for her
husband; anger
• Remembers her
marriage vows
• Lives in the woods – under
an oak tree (pretty but lonely
nature descriptions)
LESSON: Be careful who you
trust – her husband
believes his family's lies about
her.
The Wanderer
• Homeless and helpless
• All of his comrades are
dead – he has dreams of
happy times and
celebrations
• Winter images
• "a heart that is frozen"
• Longing for loved ones and
companions
• "Fates of men" -
everything dies, learn to
appreciate it and defend it
LESSON: Appreciate and defend
what you have in life. Don't be
too reckless in your actions
because you will loose those you
love/your life. Ask for
forgiveness – survivor's guilt.

24. Anglo-Saxon Period or The Dark Ages –
449 to 1066 AD
• Bloody conflicts, ignorance, turmoil, differences
in religion
• Period of chaos
• Life was difficult = literature reflects the reality
• Little humor, people were serious
• Only the strong survive
• War-like people; violence and heavy travel
(nomadic), shortage of hope, not long-term
thinkers

25. Cont.
• Pagan belief in fate and heroes
• Epics: entertainment; a lesson, a moral
sermon, a pep talk that taught people how a
hero is to behave. A reminder of fate and
death. Since there was no concept of
afterlife, the only immortality was in poems
as records of deeds (legacy).

26. Anglo-Saxon Values
• Loyalty
– Fighting for one’s king
– Avenging one’s kinsmen
– Keeping one’s word
• Generosity -- gifts symbolize bonds
• Brotherly love -- not romantic love
• Heroism
– Physical strength
– Skill and resourcefulness in battle
– Courage
• Public reputation, not private conscience (Legacy)

27. Late 6th century – arrival of
Christianity
• Change (roads introduced, agriculture/more
settled and less violent); religion spread by word
of mouth and through stories. Pagans had no
concept of afterlife = bleak. Christianity offered
a reward/eternal happiness in heaven.
• Fatalism: the idea that events are determined in
advance and human beings have no power to
change them.

28. Religion in Conflict
– Eternal earthly fame
through deeds vs. afterlife
in hell or heaven;
– honor & gift-giving vs. sin
of pride (hubris);
– revenge vs. pacifist view
(forgiveness);
– Wyrd (Anglo-Saxon
"Fate") vs God's will

29. Evil
• DO NOW: What
does evil mean to
you? Write your
own definition of
the word and
provide some
examples of real
life monsters.

30. Epic
1. A long story in poem form
about a hero's travels and his fights
with monsters, gods, and bad guys.
2. Epics contain information about
the culture that created them:
religion, dress & ornaments, homes,
weapons and war, roles of men and
women, values, moral standards.
3. Epics often contain clues to what
the people who created them feared
or did not understand: natural
disasters, natural features, death, the
heavens, storms.

31. Background of the
Epic
• Oldest written text in English.
• Composed in Anglo-Saxon (Old
English) between 600 and 700 CE.
• Written down sometime in the 10th
century.
• It is a literary picture of melding
religious traditions: Norse, Celtic,
Roman, and Christian.

32. Background of the Epic
• Transition of the heroic world (pagan) to the medieval
world (Christian) – elements of both
– Violence and ruined civilization
– Fading old gods
– Christian promise of virtue and valor
– overcoming the forces of evil
– A new culture, including a more peaceful world
– takes place in a land between two seas, on middanyeard, or
“middle earth”

33. Beowulf has its share of epic poetry conventions:
• Long verse that deals with the origins of a nation, people
or religious beliefs
• Gods and other supernatural beings play a role
• Human, mortal, heroes, national or religious, fight against
great odds and triumph, but also die
• The setting is global
• The diction is elevated, and it’s written in verse
• The narrative often starts in medias res
• Larger than life hero
• Quest
Conventions of the VerseConventions of the Verse

34. Conventions of the Verse
• Beowulf also contains
elegiac verse: which
means like an elegy, or
poem of sorrow for the
dead, or an ode, which is
to honor a person or even.
• The epic begins and ends
with funerals, and between
these spans the life
journey of the hero,
Beowulf.

36. Food for Thought
• What makes a hero? (compare actual heroes
with larger than life fictional heroes. What type of
hero has a greater impact on society today?)
What do you think shapes society? Is it the
power of the few or the struggles of the many?
(specific examples from American history or
contemporary culture) Is it possible to live up to
the high ideals of chivalry? Is it worth trying?
(Do high ideals serve as inspiration or a source of
frustration?)

37. • untested young hero
• Seeker of truth
• Sometimes has a side-kick
• finds a mentor
• fights against superhuman odds, traveling to the
realm of death, suffers great loss
• through his own human power, achieves glory and
rewards.
• journey leads him to learn a key aspect of human
life and the inescapable fact of human mortality.
Qualities of the Epic Hero

38. • old hero fights his last battle and passes the torch,
for all things die (man and civilization)
• a kind of resurrection is imminent, and like a
phoenix or the Christ, from the ashes of the old
civilization, a new one will rise.
Qualities of the Epic Hero

39. • only a mortal human being
can be a hero
• struggle = our eternal
minds cope with mortal
flesh
• courage to love, hope, and
see splendor and beauty
around us
• fight and die for a noble
cause in a world that is
transitory.
Qualities of the Hero

40. Qualities of the Hero
Beowulf the hero embodies virtues that are
emblematic of the shift in times:
• He has humility, not pride, although he boasts and is also
interested in achieving glory.
• His loyalty and selflessness come before personal glory.
• He is strong, virtuous, courageous, and honorable, and he
is judged by his honor as much as by his deeds.
• He is also blessed, due to his particular faith in
Christianity, although he too, is tempted by the treasure
trove of the dragon.

41. • Water monster
• Trolls and dragons
• Underwater fights in a supernatural place
• Magic swords
• Dragons and errant knights, freeing the maiden
• Death and glory
• Funeral pyre
• Faithless or faithful companions
• Blood and gore
• Blood feuds and revenge; killing of kin
Images from the Heroic World

42. • Grendel as a descendent of Cain
• Hrothgar worships pagan gods
• Hrothgar’s throne cannot be touched
• One pure and virtuous man saves the souls of others
• Humility of Beowulf
• Trust in Divine Providence and Divine Intervention
• Dragon guards the treasures of earth which are returned to
the earth
• Curse on those who do not come to the aid of the king
• Rule with wisdom and humility, honor, courage, faith,
loyalty, hope
Images from the Judeo-Christian World

43. Hero
• •If you could create a
hero (super or
human), what would
he/she be?
• •Think about origin
story, powers, social
causes they care
about, outfit…

44. Setting
Beowulf takes
place in a “once
upon a time
world” which
taps into “three
archetypal sites
of fear.”

45. 1. The barricaded night house /
Mead Hall (Grendel) – supposed to
be a place of safety

46. Part 1: The
Wrath
of Grendel
• Grendel hears the harps and
happiness – attacks the mead
hall (jealous? Outcast?)
• "The Almighty..." - story of
Genesis (origin)
• Grendel – monster, demon,
fiend, associated with hell
and darkness, born of Cain
• His family (Cain) punished
forever by God for Abel's
death – exile for all
descendants
– Is that fair?
Children punished for
the crime of the father?
Is his wrath at men
justified?

47. • Again and again defeated – eternal
struggle against evil
• Darkness, greed, silence, smashed
them unknowing in their beds -
Grendel is not only brutal, but
sneaky and a coward; he doesn't
allow the men to defend themselves
• Daybreak – light associated with
goodness; elegy for the
dead; reference to the fate of men
• Hate wins – men flee Herot
(cowards)
• Herot – empty, sorrow, grief,
deserted, hell-forged, misery, no
peace, bloody feud
• Shadow of death, mankind's
enemy - kennings

48. • Grendel only attacks at
night, unseen, when the
men are weakest
• Hrothgar's Throne -
protected by God (in
opposition to Grendel,
who can never
know God's love)
• Line 90-103: heresy
(sacrificed to the old gods
– hell's support, Devil's
guidance, hell always in
their hearts, knowing
neither God nor
his passing) WARNING –
death comes to those who
don't believe
• Need to be Christian
to fight evil

49. Reading 15 min
Turn in Essay on Poems,
otherwise it’s late

50. Part 2: The Coming
of Beowulf
• Beowulf - the strongest of the
Geats, stronger than anyone
anywhere in the world, answers
the call for help, wants to help
those in danger, bravest and best
• Fate/Pagan - the omens were
good
• Christian - they have thanks to
God for their easy crossing
• Associated with light - shields
raised and shining

51. • Kennings - sea-road
• People judged on appearance of strength
Beowulf's speech - BOAST
– legacy of his father
– list of heroic deeds – monster's slayed
(giants, sea monsters, dripping with
my enemy's blood)
– there's nothing dark or hidden in our
coming - set to oppose Grendel's
association with darkness
• Deeds are more important than words, but
they are a culture of boasting
• Golden helmets, hammered gold, glowing in
the sun, glittering - LIGHT IMAGERY
• Feels like he alone can save them
• Christian – God must decide who will be
given death
• Pagan - Fate will unwind as it must

52. • Grendel doesn't fight
with weapons, and
doesn’t fear any
• Beowulf promises to
fight with his bare
hands
• Makes the fight equal –
FAIRNESS

53. Part 3: The Battle with
Grendel
• Battle of good vs. Evil
• Grendel - bearing God's hatred, hoping to
kill, night and silence, forever joyless, burning
eyes - hell fire, shepherd of evil, guardian of
crime, Almighty's enemy, sin-stained
demon(kennings), coward – wants to run
when outmatched
– Is he a monster because he's hated by God?
Or is he hated by God because he is a
monster
• Beowulf - a strong defender, protector of men

54. • Herot: gold – purity, iron –
strength, ivory - goodness;
can only be destroyed by
fire (evil or sin)
• Grendel can't be defeated by
weapons and strength alone,
but by goodness
• Grendel's arm – trophy, legacy

55. 2. The infested underwater lair (Grendel’s
Mother) – the unknown “other”

56. Part 4: The
Monster's Lair
• Secret and hidden - evil intent
• Underground - associated with hell
• Wolf-den – predator
• Black clouds – darkness
• Heaven weeps
• Animals prefer to die on land rather
than enter the water
• Lake burns like a torch - supernatural,
hellfire
• No wisdom reaches such depths – the
monsters are not reasonable

57. Grendel’s
Mother and
her Lair
• Beowulf is out of his
element
• Lair/water – passing
to another realm
(sometimes viewed as
his descent to the
underworld)

58. Part 5: The Battle
with Grendel's Mother
• Beowulf – acknowledges his mortality and
asks Hrothgar to protect his men if he dies (gained
wisdom – before he was cocky); makes plans to
give away his rewards after death
• Super human - he sinks for hours in the lake and
does not drown
• She-wolf, water witch - kennings
• He has more trouble fighting Grendel's mother
than Grendel – not his element (she renders him
helpless and almost stabs him to death)
• Sword and helmet fail him, but his armor holds –
it's been blessed by Holy God, who is defender of
truth

59. • Beowulf longed only for
fame – legacy
• Avenge her only son – pagan
culture of vengeance. Is
she justified?
• Sword on the wall – forged
and blessed by giants (magic,
pagan); no ordinary man can
lift it
• Beowulf is savage,
angry, desperate, rejoices at
the sight of blood and death
(un-heroic)

60. • After Grendel's mother is slain,
Heavenly light shines into the
cave; lake is calm
• Beowulf searches for the body
of Grendel and takes his head as
proof
• The Danes, thinking
Beowulf died when they see
blood bubbling to the surface, go
home hopeless; the Geats stay
depressed
• Beowulf takes the sword, but
rejects the rest of the treasure
(rejects greed)
• It takes 4 men to carry Grendel's
head – Beowulf did it alone
• Thank God for victory

61. 3. The reptile-taunted rocks of a
wilderness and cave (Fire
Breathing Dragon) – wild, feral

62. Part 6: The Last Battle
• Final boast - seek fame
(pagan); never known fear; fate
decides (pagan), no man but me can
defeat the dragon
• Greed – will take the dragon's
treasure
• Age/failing strength – will fight the
dragon with armor and sword and
shield
• Dragon breathes fire – associated
with hell

63. • Shield begins to melt;
sword breaks - fought
with fate against him
• Beowulf stared at death -
not wanting to die, but
realizes that all men
must journey into the
darkness/unknown
• Fall of men - a king before,
but now a beaten warrior
FATE IS FICKLE
• His comrades run and leave
him to his fate, except
Wiglaf

64. • Wiglaf – follows the
rules of kinship and
defends his lord
• Calls out his friends as
cowards - mentions all
that Beowulf has
given and done - he
trusted them to repay him
in strength and loyalty
• Points out that Beowulf
is old and no longer the
hero of past – needs the
help of younger men
• Calls on God
• Beowulf doesn't deserve
to die alone and burning
• Wiglaf picks up the
mantle from Beowulf –
becomes the next hero of
the people (phoenix)

65. …the Battle with the Dragon
(It not only represents evil but also Greed.)

66. Part 7: The
Spoils
• Gold can easily triumph,
defeat the strongest of
men; I sold my life for
this treasure - greed
• Thank Our Father for the
victory
• Wiglaf is the hero and
king of the next
generation (gets
Beowulf's necklace,
armor and weapons)
• Beowulf's tower –
legacy; wants to be
remembered

67. Find details of Beowulf as
a Christian hero:
•selflessness
•belief in God
•a representative of
“good”
Find evidence of Beowulf
as a pagan hero:
•belief in fate
•boastfulness
•pride
•desire for fame
•earthly rewards

68. Part 8: The Farewell
• Beowulf's tower will
light the path for others
• The treasure is buried
with Beowulf
• 12 men (apostles) ride
around mourning their
lost lord - elegy

70. Boasting Tradition
• DO NOW: How do you communicate (with
friends/the world)? How are you judged?
How do others know of your “deeds”
(heroic or otherwise)?

71. Frustrated pride may lead to spite, just as
loyalty may lead to vengeance, and
eagerness for glory may turn into greed.
Explain how each creature Beowulf battles
represents an extreme and dangerous form
of warrior values and behavior.