BeowulfOLD ENGLISH POEM – ANALYZING THE LITERATURE, PART 3ChantellPantoja184
Beowulf
OLD ENGLISH POEM – ANALYZING THE LITERATURE, PART 3
Analyzing the Literature
• Epic: a long narrative poem, sometimes developed orally, that
celebrates a hero’s deeds.
• Epics from different languages and time periods do not always have the
same characteristics. For example, Homer’s epics The Iliad and The
Odyssey do not use some of the literary elements used in Beowulf.
A Guide to Life
• The earlier folktales and Beowulf were combined to include the
Christian beliefs.
• This is why there is a blending of old Celtic beliefs with the new
Christian beliefs.
• The poem shows the struggle between the old gods and the new
Christian God.
• The bravery, loyalty, and evil in Beowulf taught the Anglo-Saxons the
values that their culture wanted them to have.
Actions of the Hero
• All epics, however, concern the actions of a hero, who can be described
as
• being of noble birth or high position, and often of great historical or legendary
importance
• exhibiting character traits, or qualities, that reflect important ideals of society
• performing courageous, sometimes superhuman, deeds that reflect the values of
the era
• performing actions that often determine the fate of a nation or group of people
Epic Conventions
In addition, most epics share certain conventions, which reflect the larger –
than-life events that a hero might experience.
• The setting is vast in scope, often involving more than one nation.
• Denmark and Sweden
• The plot is complicated by supernatural beings or events and may involve a
long and dangerous journey through foreign lands.
• The Lord of the Rings features characters whose journey through many lands is
impeded by supernatural forces.
• Dialogue often includes long, formal speeches delivered by the major
characters.
--Beowulf includes many such speeches.
More Epic Conventions
• The theme reflects timeless values, such as:
--courage and honor, and encompasses universal ideas, such as good
and evil or life and death.
**One of the reasons Beowulf was so popular in England is that it
addresses these ideas that the English, in turn, could take on as part of
their national identity.
• The style of the epic includes formal diction (the writer’s choice of
words and sentence structure) and a serious tone (the expression of
the writer’s attitude toward the subject).
Even More Epic Conventions
• Beowulf uses kennings.
• Kennings is a figurative, usually compound expression used in place of
a name or noun, especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry
• For example, storm of swords is a kenning for battle.
The Use of the Hero
• Legendary hero: a larger-than-life character
whose accomplishments are celebrated in traditional tales.
The hero should have characteristics that his culture values.
For example, Beowulf is boastful, strong and victorious but his loyalty,
bravery and honor teach us how the Anglo-Saxons viewed the world.
What heroic characteristics doe ...
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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 fights
6. Epic Poem
• Long narrative poem that recounts the
adventures of a hero.
• Elevated language
• Does not sermonize
• Invokes a muse
• Begins in media res
• Mysterious origin, super powers,
vulnerability, rite of passage
7. The Epic Hero
• Actions consist of responses to catastrophic
situations in which the supernatural often
intervenes.
• Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat
to society
• Destiny discovered through a series of episodes
punctuated by violent incidents interspersed with
idyllic descriptions.
8. 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
9. Title of Epic Poem
• Anglo-Saxon word
Beo means “bright” or
“noble”
• Anglo-Saxon word
wulf means “wolf”
• Beowulf means bright
or noble wolf
• Other sources say Beo
means “bear”
10. How we date Beowulf
Some Important Dates:
521 A.D. – death of Hygelac, who is
mentioned in the poem
680 A.D. – appearance of alliterative verse
835 A.D. – the Danish started raiding other
areas; after this, few poets would
consider them heroes
SO: This version was likely composed between
680 and 835, though it may be set earlier
11. The Poetry in Beowulf
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
12. The Poetry in Beowulf
2. Kennings
a. Compound metaphor (usually two words)
b. Most were probably used over and over
For instance: hronade
literally means “whale-
road,” but can be
translated as “sea”
13. More Kennings
Other kennings from Beowulf:
“bone-house” = body
“gold-friend of men” = generous prince
“ring-giver” = lord
“flashing light” = sword
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. Terms: Thane and Mead-
Hall
thane
A warrior
mead-hall
The large hall where the
lord and his warriors slept,
ate, held ceremonies, etc.
17. Term: Wyrd
wyrd
Fate. This idea crops up a
lot in the poem, while at
the same time there are
Christian references to
God’s will.
19. Beowulf
• Epic hero
• Geat (from southern
Sweden)
• Nephew of Higlac
(King at story’s start)
• Sails to Denmark to
help Hrothgar
20. Hrothgar
• Danish king
• Builds Herot (banquet
hall) for men
• Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years
• Loses many men to
Grendel
• Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
21. Grendel
• Referred to as demon
and fiend
• Haunts the moors
(swampy land)
• Descendant of Cain
• Feasts on 30 men the
night of 1st attack
22. Grendel’s Mother
• Referred to as she-
wolf
• Lives under a lake
• Challenges Hrothgar
when she kills one of
his best men
23. Fire Dragon
• Lives in Beowulf’s
kingdom
• Wakes up when thief
steals cup
• Guards countless
treasures