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BEOWULFHonors English IV

Mr. Wardlow



•Although Beowulf is consideredEnglish literature, it is not set in

England

•Germanic tribes invaded present-day England in the fifth-century AD;

they brought their stories with them

Background of Beowul f



Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

Germanic Tribes



Beowulf is a great warrior who comes to the aid of a groupof people whose lives are in jeopardy. Later in his life, hebecomes king.

Who is Beowulf?



Where is Beowulf from?

Beowulf is a Geat

warrior who crosses the

sea to come to the aid of

the Danes.

Beowulf later returns to

Sweden to succeed his

uncle as king of the

Geats.

The Geats are from

present-day Sweden.



Above is a picture of the only surviving manuscript of Beowulf .

Major Issues of Beowulf



As we read and discussBeowul f , you should also

consider these issues …

Beowul f : Major Issues



Think about …

What is the attitude ofthe

poet to Beowulf?

Is this poem a monstertale?

Based on your reading of

Beowulf, what qualitiesor

values did the Anglo-Saxons admire?

Is Beowulf a type of-



Think about …

Symbols and their importance. What do the

following items symbolize?

Herot

Grendel (esp. the claw and the head)

the lair of Grendel and his mother

the dragon’s hoard



Critical Terms

Beowul f



Consider for the following as you

read …

Epic: a long narrative poem about theadventures of a hero

Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds. Anglo-Saxon poetry consists of two half linesfeaturing alliteration separated by a caesura

Caesura: pause in a line of poetry, usually inthe middle of the line



Critical Terms (cont.)

Wyrd: Anglo-Saxon word which refers to a mixture offate and happening in Beowulf

Wergi ld: literally, ―man-payment,‖ a term referring to thepayment made to the family of a slain kinsman intendedto prevent them from taking revenge against the slayer

Dom : refers to the fame which pagan Germanic heroessought to gain for themselves on earth



Critical Terms (cont.)

Kenning: a poetic device used by Anglo-Saxonpoets. It is a descriptive expression, oftenmetaphoric, employing compound terms; e.g. ―ring-

giver‖ for king, ―heaven’s candle‖ for sun, and―whale-road‖ for sea.

Comitatus : a Latin term describing the militarybonds for Anglo-Saxon society. The comitatus consisted of a lord and his warriors who show fierceloyalty to him. The lord-warrior bonds werecemented by gift-giving.



it was not only spoken, it was sung!

Before Beowulf was written …



The scops (pronounced ―shopes‖) were

both composers and storytellers who

traveled from court to court and village to

village. People would gather around to

hear the stories recited and chanted andsung. Simply put, the scops were

entertainers.

The Anglo-Saxon tradition of the

scop



Characteristics

The Epic

Th f ll i h t i ti f



The following are characteristics of

most epics:

Hero, usually male, is of noble birth; often oflegendary importance

Hero’s character traits reflect ideals of hissociety

Hero performs courageous and sometimessuperhuman deeds

Action of the hero often determine the fate ofthe nation or a group of people



characteristics of most epics

(cont.):

The setting is vast in scope, ofteninvolving more than one nation

The poet uses formal and seriouslanguage

Major characters often deliver longspeeches



The following are characteristics

of most epics (cont.):

Plot complicated by supernatural beings andmay involve a dangerous journey throughforeign lands

The poem reflects timeless values such ascourage and honor

The poem treats universal themes such asgood and evil or life and death



Connect Beowul f to your life

…

Turn to p. 30 in your text

Read the Connect to Your Life paragraph

Think of the qualities that make peopleheroes in your life


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/beowulfpp-120108203726-phpapp02 22/57Beowulf!

And now ….



“A powerful monster living in the darkness”

Open your book to p. 33



Grendel

Review ll. 1-29

What are the

origins of Grendel?

What kind of

inverse values and

ethics does

Grendel embody?

Anglo-Saxon literary culture, all monstrous beings

descended from Cain, perhaps reflecting the strong

taboo against kin-slaying so important in Anglo-Saxon

law and culture.



The Danes

Review ll. 15 ff

Who is the king of

the Danes?

What is Herot?



What does Grendel have

for breakfast?



A couple of Danish!



Grendel attacks!

Review ll. 30 ff.

How many men

does he eat?

How long doesHerot remain

deserted?

What is Hrothgar’s

reaction?



Grendel attacks!

Reviewll. 89 ff .

Why doesGrendel

not attackHrothgar’s throne?

Describe

whatHrothgar’s

councildid in

order todriveaway

Grendel.



Grendel interlude



The strongest of the Geats

Review ll. 104 ff.

Beowulf and thirteen

of his bravest

warriors cross thesea to aid the Danes

Who is Wulfgar?

B lf i i th l d f th



Beowulf arrives in the land of the

Danes

Review ll. 141-93

Beowulf boasts!

How will he fight

Grendel?

Who ultimately will

decide the winner of

the fight betweenGrendel and

Beowulf?

Who is Edgetho?



Beowulf arrives in the land of the

Danes

Review ll. 190 ff.

Hrothgar came to

Edgetho’s rescue bysending treasures to

Edgetho’s enemies,

the Wulfings, thusbuying peace

between the tribes



Beowulf vs.

The Battle



Beowulf battles Grendel!

See ll. 233-42. How is

Grendel described; how is

Herot different this time?

See ll. 248-57. How isGrendel described? What

are his emotions?

See ll. 257-59. What will be

Grendel’s fate?

Review ll. 268 ff. The

battle has begun. How are

Beowulf and Grendel

described?



The battle rages on!

Why are the weapons of

Beowulf’s men useless?

(see ll. 290-300)

How does Beowulfmortally wound

Grendel?

(see ll. 337-340) Grendel goes to die

(l. 352)



Another monster lives, bent on

revenge!

Grendel’s Mother

Grendel’s mother wants



Grendel’s mother wants

revenge!

Hrothgar’

s best

friend iskilled by

Grendel’

s mother!

(l. 410)



The lair of Grendel’s mother

Ll. 397-409—

describe Grendel’s

mother

L. 410-11—Grendel’smother kills

Hrothgar’s best

friend Aeschere

Ll. 434-39: How dothe forest animals

react to the lake?

Ll. 444-49:Hroth ar’s re uest



Beowulf meets his match!

The Battle with Grendel’sMother



Battle with Grendel’s Mother

L. 455: How long has she ruled the lake

where she lives?

Ll. 458-69:the struggle b/w Beowulf and

Grendel’s mother, inside a battle-hall

L. 480: Hrunting

Ll. 513-25 Beowulf kills Grendel’s

mother

Ll. 526-45: Beowulf mutilates Grendel’s

body

The Battle with Grendel’s



The Battle with Grendel’s

Mother

Ll. 549-55: the old Dane warriors

thought Beowulf was dead

Ll. 562 ff.: sword used todecapitate Grendel dissolves;

Ll. 578 ff.: Beowulf leaves the

treasure at the lair; brings backGrendel’s head to Herot as a

trophy



And the death of Beowulf

Beowulf’s Last Battle



Dragon interlude



Beowulf's Last Battle

Ll. 606-11: Beowulf isstill boasting!

Ll. 613-32: Beowulf

describes how he willfight the dragon

Ll. 665-70: Beowulf in afight for his life!

Ll. 691-96: Beowulf’sfollowers flee

Ll. 708-35: Wiglafscolds the fleeing

warriors



But the legend lives on!

The Death of a Hero



The Death of Beowulf

Beowulfstrikes at

the dragonagain!

Beowulfis mortallywounded

in theneck.

Wiglafstrikes the

dragonand it isfinallykilled.

Ll. 741-42: Does Beowulf have anheir?

L. 745: How long was Beowulf

king? Ll. 753: a reference to Anglo-

Saxon views about kin-slaying

Ll. 754-61: What does Beowulfask of Wiglaf?

Ll. 764-94: Wiglaf enters thedragon’s tower where all its

treasures were stored



The Dragon’s Treasure

Ll. 764-94

Why is this scene

important?

The Dragon hoardsall the treasure

which goes against

the idea of

comitatus. Nowthat the dragon is

dead, all the

treasures can be

shared



Death comes for Beowulf

l. 801: Do you think

Wiglaf is a

Christian? ll. 805-19; 824-27:

Beowulf’s dying

words

l. 811: Wiglaf will be

the next king

ll. 812-19:

’

Christian elements in



Christian elements in

Beowul f

Review the

death of

Beowulf sceneand find

elements of

Christianity.

Share with the

class!

Wiglaf to the Beowulf’s men



Wiglaf to the Beowulf s men

…

Lead

your life―brande

d with

disgrace

!‖

L. 849: Wiglaf callsBeowulf’s men who ran―cowards‖

Ll. 851-62: Wiglaf tells themen who ran that they havedishonored and disgraced

the entire community L. 865: Beowulf’s men weep

as they see his body restingon the sand



Mourning Beowulf

• ll. 874-75: Beowulf’s ashes

are placed in the tomb

• Ll. 880-83: All the treasures

that were gained from thedragon’s lair were buried in

the sand

• Ll. 885 ff.: Twelve of the

greatest Geats rode and toldof Beowulf’s greatness ,

said no better king had ever

lived, no other man

deserved as much praise



Literary Devices Activity

Beowul f

Find these examples in



Find these examples in

Beowul f

Alliteration

Kenning

Caesura

Hyperbole



Literary devices defined

Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds atthe beginning of a word.

Kenning – metaphorical compound words orphrases substituted for simple nouns.

Caesura – a pause or break in a line of poetry.

Hyperbole – a figure of speech in which the truth isexaggerated for effect.

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