Beowulf
The Epic Hero
• Predestined • Mysterious origin• Vulnerability• Embodies cultural ideals
The Epic Hero
• Responds to catastrophic situations • Supernatural intervenes to help him• Moral compass leads him to defend his society• Mortal but god-like
Epic • Long narrative poem
• Recounts the adventures of a hero
• Passed down orally
• Uses elevated language
• Begins in media res
Background Information
• Setting - Denmark and Sweden
• Author - Unknown, probably a monk
• Composed in the 7th or 8th century
• Oldest surviving English poem
Elements of Anglo-Saxon Poetry• Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds
“Then the grim man in green gathers his strength”
• Caesura: a pause or break in a line of poetry
“Oft to the wanderer / weary of exile”
• Kenning: compound metaphor used as a name
“battle-blade” and “ring-giver”
• Hyperbole: exaggeration
Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Belief in fate (Wyrd)
• Treasure equals success
• Fame and fortune
• Loyalty to the leader
• Pagan, Germanic, and Christian ideals
Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Fierce, hardy life of warrior and seamen
• Strength, courage, leadership abilities appreciated
• Rowdy rituals of mead-halls
• Expected the hero to boast
Anglo-Saxon Hero
• Strong
• Courageous
• Loyal
• Desires fame
• Generous
Anglo-Saxon Ideals
• Good defeats evil
• Wergild—restitution for a murder
• Comitatus—code of loyalty
• Boasts must be followed by actions
• Fate is in control
• Only fair fights are honorable
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”
Beowulf
• Epic hero• Geat
(from southern Sweden)• Nephew of Higlac
(King at story’s start)• Sails to Denmark to
help Hrothgar
Hrothgar
• Danish king• Builds Herot (hall) • Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years• Loses many men • Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
Grendel
• Referred to as demon and fiend
• Haunts the moors (swampy land)
• Descendant of Cain (kills his brother Abel in Bible)
• Feasts on 30 men the night of 1st attack
Grendel’s Mother
• Referred to as a
she-wolf• Lives under a lake• Challenges Hrothgar
when she kills one of his best men
Fire Dragon
• Lives in Beowulf’s kingdom
• Wakes up when thief steals cup
• Guards countless treasures
Funeral Pyre for Beowulf: Epic Poem Ends in
Elegy (song of praise)
