beowulf. the epic hero predestined of mysterious origin vulnerable embodies cultural ideals
TRANSCRIPT
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Beowulf
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The Epic Hero
• Predestined • Of mysterious origin• Vulnerable• Embodies cultural ideals
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The Epic Hero
• Responds to catastrophic situations • The supernatural intervenes to help him• His moral compass leads him to defend his society• Is mortal but god-like
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The Genre: Epic • Long narrative poem
• Recounts the adventures of a hero
• Passed down orally
• Uses elevated language
• Often begins in media res
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Beowulf: Background Information
• Setting - Denmark and Sweden
• Author - Unknown, probably a monk
• Composed in the 7th or 8th century
• Oldest surviving English poem
• Written in Old English (Listen to it! Audio )
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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
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Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Belief in fate (Wyrd)
• Quests for treasure
• Quests for fame and fortune
• Loyalty to the leader
• Pagan, Germanic, and Christian ideals
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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
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Anglo-Saxon Hero
• Strong
• Courageous
• Loyal
• Desires fame
• Generous
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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
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Title of Beowulf
• 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”
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Beowulf
• Epic hero• Geat
(from southern Sweden)• Nephew of Higlac
(King at story’s start)• Sails to Denmark to
help Hrothgar
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Hrothgar
• Danish king• Builds Herot (hall) • Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years• Loses many men • Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
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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
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Grendel’s Mother
• Referred to as a
she-wolf• Lives under a lake• Challenges Hrothgar
when she kills one of his best men
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Fire Dragon
• Lives in Beowulf’s own kingdom
• Wakes up when thief steals cup from its lair
• Guards countless treasures
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Funeral Pyre for Beowulf: Epic Poem Ends in
Elegy (song of praise)