Mr. Upchurch’s

Communication Arts II

Beowulf

(An Overview)

Review• BeowulfBeowulf:

– The Longest of the surviving Old English Poems

– The Earliest English Epic

– Takes place in modern-day Scandinavia and Denmark

Might want to remember these

points!!!

VocabularyWords you’ll want to know

• Thane- Anglo-Saxon knight

• Patriarch- Male father or founder. Usually oldest man of a particular group

• Malignant- evil in nature

• Anathema- something devoted to evil or cursed

• Stalwart- unwavering, outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit

YES! You will see this YES! You will see this again!!!again!!!

Characters

• BeowulfBeowulf ProtagonistProtagonist – Part One: Thane of Hygelac with superhuman

strength. Professional Hero.– Part Two: Elderly King of the Geats

• Hygelac (Hee-u-lahk)– King of the Geats and Beowulf’s Uncle

• Hrothgar– Elderly King of the Danes

• Grendel– The first monster that Beowulf fights. Enchanted and

unharmed by weapons.

Characters• Unferth

– Hrthogar’s Advisor/Wicked Counselor. He has a personal dislike for Beowulf.

• Grendel’s Mother– Mother of Grendel (obviously). Second monster fought

by Beowulf.

• Wiglaf– Thane of Beowulf King of the Geats. Last kinsmen and

Beowulf’s heir. Helps Beowulf defeat the Dragon.

Overview of BeowulfBeowulfThe Plot

• Three Battles– Beowulf vs. Grendel– Beowulf vs. Grendel’s Mother– Beowulf vs. The Dragon

• Two parts– Beowulf—The Young Warrior– Beowulf—The Old Ruler of the Geats

NOTE:

This might be something nice to remember…

Beowulf vs. GrendelI. Grendel Attacks Herot

II. Beowulf comes to save the day, because that’s what heroes do.

III. Spends the night at Herot and refuses to wear armor. He wants to meet Grendel on equal terms and prove his strength

IV. Grendel attacks and eats one of Beowulf’s men.

IV. He comes for Beowulf next; but Beowulf uses his amazing strength to grab his arm and does not let go.

IV. Grendel’s arm is ripped off and he returns to his lair to die

Battle I:

Beowulf vs. Grendel’sMother

I. Grendel’s mom is mad about her son’s death. She goes to Herot and steals a few men for supper.

II. Beowulf swims to her lair, which is in an underwater cave.

III. She engages him in fierce combat.

IV. He tries to kill her with Hrunting (Unferth’s sword), but cannot.

V. He tries to fight hand-to-hand with her, but she over powers him.

VI. Finds enchanted sword made for giants and cuts off her head.

Battle II:

Beowulf vs. The Dragon

I. Takes place when Beowulf is king of the Geats

II. Slave stumbles onto dragon’s treasure and takes a golden cup.

III. This makes the dragon mad so he attacks Beowulf’s kingdom.

IV. Beowulf is older and not as strong. But he still feels obligated to protect his kingdom.

V. He goes to the dragons lair and attacks him alone.

VI. His thanes fled at first sign of trouble (aka--fire)

Battle III:

I. Dragon gains the upper hand.

II. Beowulf stabs the Dragon in the head with a sword. The sword shatters.

III. The dragon takes a bite out of Beowulf’s neck.

IV. Wiglaf comes to Beowulf’s aid and stabs the dragon in the belly.

V. Beowulf musters all of his strength and stabs his dagger into the dragon’s flank.

Battle III:

Beowulf vs. The Dragon

Continued…

Beowulf: Young Warrior

• The first two battles take place in this stage. In the land of the Danes.

• He is a professional Hero with amazing strength and passion. (very Stalwart)

Part I:

Beowulf: Old Ruler

• Battle with the Dragon.

• Elderly king of the Geats.

Part II:

Beowulf The Original(Appreciate Your teachers’ kindness)

Beowulf can be divided into three ______ and ___ parts.

battles two

An Anglo-Saxon knight was called a(n) _____.Thane

The first monster Beowulf fights is called ______.Grendel

The king of the Geats, also Beowulf’s uncle is ______.

Hygelac

_________ means to be unwavering and to have outstanding strength & vigor of body, mind, or spirit.Stalwart

The last surviving kinsmen of Beowulf was ______.

Wiglaf

Beowulf is a(n) ___________ / _______ when he fights the dragon.

Young Warrior

Old King

BeowulfBeowulf is considered the oldest English __________.Epic Poem

A(n) ________ is a male father or founder. Usually oldest man of a particular group.

Patriarch

BONUS:

While Beowulf is sleeping in the mead hall, Grendel attacks. What is the first

thing Grendel does when he attacks this time?

Just so you know…

• Tomorrow – Begin Reading and Beowulf Together

– Ignore this slide if you are in Online Mythology.

CONCLUDING SLIDE

Work Cited

• Dese• Beowulf Overview• Beowulf Lesson Ideas• Some more characters• The Norton Anthology of English

Literature (Volume I)