Name: Diana Carolina Pinchao L.

Semester: 10th Semester

Anglo-American Literature English- French Program

Beowulf and Grendel

Workshop 1. Talk about the historical context, landscape, religion, houses, roles and main activities of people. The context where the story took place was the 5th century. It was a tale from the original Anglo-Saxon nomads, who told the tale of the brave hero Beowulf and Grendel the demon who terrorized the kingdom of Hrothgar. This kingdom was surrounded by mountains and it was located in Danes Land where their people had access to the coast. The people believed in different Gods, one of them is Thor who provides them with food. However, there were a mix of believes among them, not only there was an attempt of a Christianity with the present of a priest in the community. But also, there was a witch and her predictions were considered in that epoch; though she did not live near the others sheds which where located around a main mead-hall. In this main hall took place the parties where one of the main beverages drunk by people, especially men, was the beer, severed in most of the cases by women who unfortunately lost their husbands because of Grendel. Additionally, the same members of the community did the watches at nights to be aware of the demon; this activity took place in the main hall and its surroundings. 2. Identify the most important characters. Why they are important? The main character in this story is Beowulf, a great and brave warrior whose battles were famous in that epoch. This man with his courage and the determining personality could kill and defend the kingdom of Hrothgar from the demon Grendel. He was different from others warriors because of his kindness and wisdom when taking decisions. Also, he made a difference among others; when he was always looking for the truth to make sure of the facts that were really happening in the story. As a second and not least important character is Grendel; a demon who in the story is represented as a troll. This character showed how the situations of life can influence your destiny; he could grow as a peaceful creature, but the Danes feed him with anger because

Name: Diana Carolina Pinchao L. Semester: 10th Semester

Anglo-American Literature English- French Program

they killed his father. As a result of this event, the troll decided to take revenge for the death of his father, especially to the people who killed him, the King Hrothgar, indeed. Grendel is important because of the way of how he thinks, he did not need to be a genius to understand what the Danes did wrong when they killed his father, also his actions towards the community showed how sad and lonely he is without a family or community who accept him. Another character presented in the story is the King Hrothgar, the main leader of his community known by his courage when he killed Grendels father. This king was not the wisest man in the community, his lack of confidence in others and how he treated people was not the best. Moreover, the Queen tried to always guide his husband but his crassness always won when taking decisions. In the story, he showed how a king without mercy and wisdom could not rule or have the confidence of a good leader. The priest, is one of the characters that took a big importance in the story when talking about religion in that epoch, he tried to influence the community with the Christian knowledge that he had. He started the beginning of the baptism as a mean of salvation from the Troll in the community. Though, there was the presence of other believes in the community. The witch Selma is a character that showed how she did not care about what others said, she continued with her believes and the perspective of seeing the world around her. She had a big impact in Beowulf decisions and judgments. In somehow, she showed Beowulf the truth about Grendels situation. Grendels Mother is important when she took revenge by herself when she knew about the death of her son. The love of mother and the sense of protection are showed towards her actions when she attacked the mean-hall.

Name: Diana Carolina Pinchao L. Semester: 10th Semester

Anglo-American Literature English- French Program

3. Compare the starting part with the ending part of the movie. When the story started, it begins with the main activity of people in that epoch, the fight. Fighting with others without mercy, especially with estrange creatures; it was naturally among the men in the community. To conquer or kill a mythical creature was seen as a great triumph and by doing this; men could win the respect of the community and the reputation of a brave man. The village was mainly protected by the bravest men in there. Unfortunately after the incident of the death of Grendels father, when Grendel grew up, he took revenge in the village by killing all men of the community leaving women and children without a man in their kins or men who can defend the community. Nevertheless, with the arrival of Beowulf and his warriors to Danes land, the people in general and particularly the king, had the hope to have peace again in the place by killing the one who took away his peace and quiet. In the final part of the movie, the mercy and the wisdom of Beowulf was showed, bringing back the real meaning of a rude man could have moral and compassion in situations that deserve it. Also, regarding the actions of this man and how he looked for the truth, even when he was not told about it, let as a moral that to know who is wrong and who is right depends on the perspective where it is seen. 4. Establish a comparison and contrast between the context provided in the article and the context in the movie.

In the article, there are mentioned some of the characteristics of the story of Beowulf. However, there are some aspects that they do not mention, for example the way how people dressed, what they eat and the place where they live. In the other hand, the movie represented those aspects in a better way, giving a real picture of the life lived in that time. The characters description in the article and the movie had certain similarity; however, not all the characters mentioned in the article were presented in the movie, but instead of those there were others who gave to the movie and to the story different details that the written poem do not show. The movie also captured the historical context of the poem of Beowulf, making it more realistic.