OLD ENGLISH LITRATURE EDUCATION

1. Beowulf

2. Beowulf
1. The epic poem
• It is a long narrative composition.
• History is the frame, but supernatural characters,
like monsters, are the canvas of the poem.
the recollection of a glorious
past in the history of a country
the brave deeds
of heroes
It deals with

3. Beowulf
• An aristocratic military society is described.
• The narrative of the poem is made up of a series
of type-scenes – battles, banquets, funerals, voyages.
• The narration is objective.
• The main theme is the nature of heroic life.
• The didactic aim is the celebration of heroic values.
• The language is vivid and the style is elevated.
1. The epic poem

4. Beowulf
• The oldest surviving poem written in Anglo-Saxon
more than 1200 years ago.
• The poet is unknown.
• It deals with a time following the initial invasion of England
by Germanic tribes in 449 (5th-6th cent.)
• The date of composition is unknown probably
composed as an elegy for a king who died in the
7th century and written down in the 11th century.
2. Beowulf: a national epic

5. Beowulf
3. Settings
Denmark ruled by King Hrothgar. Here the
first actions of the poem take
place
Heorot
where Beowulf confronts the
monster Grendel
The misty lake where Beowulf fights against
Grendel’s mother
The land of the
Geats in Sweden
where Beowulf confronts
a fire-breathing dragon

6. Beowulf
It is divided into three
sections:
1 Beowulf, the war leader
of the Scandinavian
Geats, fights against
Grendel, the monster,
= evil
and succeeds in killing him
in Heorot.
4. The plot

7. Beowulf
2 The hero fights against Grendel’s mother
she represents evil.
Beowulf manages to kill her in the murky lake.
3 After fifty years, the hero kills a fire-breathing
dragon in Scandinavia
but is mortally wounded.
A scene of Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf, 2007.
4. The plot

8. Beowulf
1 Importance of the warrior code:
loyalty to the king who is
generous, hospitable and
protected by his warriors/thanes;
the thanes are loyal, brave,
courageous;
the need to take revenge;
physical strength and courage;
the search for glory in this life.
5. Themes

9. Beowulf
2 A system of revenge is repeated in the poem:
The feud = the tragic waste.
feud peace feud
3 The eternal conflict between good and evil.
4 Fate and destiny govern the world.
5 Courage is the quality that can stand against Fate.
5. Themes

10. Beowulf
• Alliteration
He rippled down the rock, writhing with anger
• Extensive use of kennings
The hoard-guardian
(the guardian of the treasure = the monster)
The ring-giver (the king)
• Elevated language
They extolled (praised) his heroic nature
and exploits (deeds) and gave thanks
for his greatness
• Long lists of leaders and warriors
6. Style

11. Beowulf
• Beowulf prays to the Creator of all things, the ruler
of the Heavens.
• God’s will: identical with fate (wyrd).
• Grendel: the descendent of Cain, the first murderer
of the Old Testament.
• References to the Old Testament.
7. Christian elements

12. Beowulf
• Superhuman powers are attributed to Beowulf.
• Several monsters appear in the poem.
• The supernatural lake, where Grendel and his mother
live, is filled with sea-monsters.
8. Supernatural elements