Beowulf

Introducing the Epic

Literary Focus: The Epic Hero

The Poetry of Beowulf: Caesuras, Alliteration, and Kennings

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Beowulf

• the first great work of English national literature.

• the epic story of the hero Beowulf, who fights the demonic monster Grendel.

Beowulf is

BeowulfIntroducing the Epic

BeowulfIntroducing the Epic

Beowulf: nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats.

Hrothgar: king of the Danes.

Wiglaf: a Geat warrior, one of Beowulf’s select band and the only one to help him in his final fight with the dragon.

People

BeowulfIntroducing the Epic

Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.

Monsters

Grendel’s mother: water-witch who seeks revenge.

Dragon: giant fire-breathing serpent whom Beowulf fights in Part Two of the epic.

Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia.

Places

Scholars think Herot might have been built on the coast of Zealand, in Denmark.

Scandinavia

Britain

BeowulfIntroducing the Epic

Places

Herot: the golden guest hall built by King Hrothgar where warriors gathered to celebrate.

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BeowulfIntroducing the Epic

The epic hero is the central figure in a long narrative that reflects the values and heroic ideals of a particular society.

An epic is a quest story on a grand scale.

BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero

BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero

Beowulf is one of ancient England’s heroes.

King Arthur

Joan of Arc

Other times and other cultures have had other heroes.

In modern America, the hero may be a real person or a fictional character.

BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero

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Beowulf was composed in Old English, which uses a caesura, or rhythmic pause, to create unity.

ða com of more         under misthleoþum Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes sumne besyrwan         in sele þam hean.

Line divided into two parts by a caesura.

Locate the caesura in these lines:

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Here are the same lines in modern English from Burton Raffel’s translation:

Out from the marsh, from the foot of mistyHills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,Grendel came, hoping to killAnyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.

Punctuation reproduces pause effect of the caesura.

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

The Anglo-Saxon oral poet also used the poetic device of alliteration.

Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds in words close together.

The emphasis on the w sound in this line from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 creates a melancholy tone.

And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste.

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Find examples of alliteration in Burton Raffel’s translation of lines 1-5:

Out from the marsh, from the foot of mistyHills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,Grendel came, hoping to killAnyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Find examples of alliteration in Burton Raffel’s translation of lines 1-5:

Out from the marsh, from the foot of mistyHills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,Grendel came, hoping to killAnyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

The kenning is another poetic device that was used by the oral poet.

Examples of kennings from Beowulf:

gold-shining hall= Herotguardian of crime = Grendelstrong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulfcave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Kenning: a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly.

A kenning enhances the literal meaning of the words. A kenning gives the listener an idea of how the words connect to an idea or concept that is richer and more emotionally complex.

BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Create modern-day kennings for things you see around you.

giver of wordsword-wand

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BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf

Beowulf is an oralepic passed from bard to bard.

Harpist-bards told the familiar story for audiences in the communal halls at night.

Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village in West Stow, England, with communal hall on the left.

Written down between 700 and 750.

BeowulfBackground

Who wrote it down?

• scenery described resembles Northumbria (northeastern England)

Theory:The poet who wrote Beowulf down may have been a Northumbrian monk.

Evidence:

• Christian elements in epic[End of Section]

BeowulfBackground