The most effective way to learn an epic poem is through some background discussion and interpretation as the epic

unfolds. In this way, the reader does not lose the plot thread or fine details.

 Did you know that An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious and important subject, centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure. The actions of the heroic personage decide the fate of a nation, a culture, or a set of tribes.

Did you know that Most epics, and Beowulf is no exception, are crafted by the author from oral traditions developed over a time of social unrest and war. The heroic ideal is based on the culture that produced the epic, and is represented as a cultural ideal in the hero.

 The action consists of deeds of valor or superhuman courage (especially in battle). Supernatural forces interest themselves in the action and intervene at times. The intervention of the gods is called "machinery." The style of writing is elevated, even ceremonial.

 The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance, usually the ideal man of his culture. He often has superhuman or divine traits. He has an imposing physical stature and is greater in all ways than the common man. The setting is vast in scope. It covers great geographical distances, perhaps even visiting the underworld, other worlds, other times.

Beowulf , the epic

Beowulf action is dated c500AD before the migration Elements , setting and characters are Scandinavian Written in England in c700AD Nearly destroyed in 1700 by fire Must have been written by a Christian scop because of the christian element injected to it.

Beowulf , the epic

Was originally a historical source 1936, Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien published a groundbreaking paper entitled Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics - the manuscript gained recognition as a serious work of art.

Beowulf , the epic

Beowulf is a primary epic, first existed in the oral tradition. Beowulf employs digressions, long speeches, journeys and quests, various trials or tests of the hero, and even divine intervention, as do classic epics. Beowulf is also folk epic

BEOWULF as a hero
Beowulf, is the title character. He represents the values of the heroic age, comitatus the honor system . generosity often was considered a virtue and a mark of character. Courage, loyalty reputation

What is comitatus?
the honor system that existed in (Scandinavian countries, 5th and 6th c) between a king, or feudal lord, and his warriors. Thanes swore devotion to their leader and vowed to fight boldly, to the death if necessary, for him. If the leader should fall, his thanes must avenge his life. For his part, the leader rewarded his thanes with treasure, protection, and land. His generosity often was considered a virtue and a mark of character.

 Poetic Devices in Beowulf 1. alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds of words example: 1. "The harrowing history haunted the heroes 2. 839 ferdon folc-togan feorran ond nean (839 chieftains came from far and near) The point is that alliteration is as important in Beowulf as rhyme is for some later poets.

2. Imagery in the poem is vivid and often fun, and frequently related through the use of kennings. Kennings are compound expressions that use characteristics to name a person or thing. Following are some other examples of kennings: hronrade (whale road) referring to the sea
hand-sporu (hand spike ) referring to Grendel's talon word-hord (word hoard) referring to one s vocabulary ban-cofan (bone box) referring to a person's body

3. Litotes, which are figures of speech in which a positive statement is made by the negative of its opposite. It is a form of understatement that is none too subtle. Example: * "Abraham Lincoln was not too bad a President" when we mean to convey that he was a great President. * When describing Grendel's mere (or pool), King Hrothgar says (1372) it is "Not a pleasant place!" It is, in fact, filled with horror.

4. Few similes in Beowulf. Simile often is described as a comparison between two objects, people, or ideas through the use of a comparative such as "like" or "as. * the ship went over the sea "like a bird.

 For the teacher :Beowulf is rich in meaning. Some see it as an early celebration of Christianity. Others think it extols or condemns heroic values. English novelist and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien ("Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," Proceedings of the British Academy, XXII [1936], 245 95) argued that Beowulf is a balance between beginnings and endings, of youth and age, the most dominating being Beowulf's. While the poem is of value historically, it is more interesting as a powerful work of art.

 For the teacher: Hrothgar's great hall (Heorot, "Hall of the Hart") functions as both symbol and setting. Symbolically, it represents the achievements of the Scyldings, specifically Hrothgar, and their level of civilization. It is a place of light and warmth in the dark, cold winters. Here Hrothgar celebrates his victories and rewards his thanes (warriors) with various rings and treasures. Heorot is no common beer hall; it is more of a palace, towering high like a cliff. Significantly, this is where Beowulf's first great battle for the Danes takes place.

Themes of Beowulf
1. comitatus, the honor code that exists between the king, or feudal lord, and his warriors.
Thanes swear devotion to their leader and vow to fight boldly, to the death if necessary, for him. If the leader should fall, his life must be avenged. For his part, the leader rewards his thanes with treasure, protection, and land. His generosity often is mentioned as one of his strengths of character.

2. One of the themes of the poem is that man's fortunes change, and he should celebrate but take care when fortune seems to turn his way because disaster may visit soon. One must not tempt the gods of irony 3. Reputation The warriors' credo is devoted to glory, reputation, honor, wealth, and fame.
The modern reader might benefit from understanding that fame and reputation are close to the same thing in Beowulf's world.

4. Hospitality and generosity are major themes in Beowulf, and Wealhtheow is their most gracious representative. Wealhtheow is the perfect host.

An extended narrative poem, usually simple in construction, but grand in scope, exalted in style, and heroic in theme, often giving expression to the ideals of a nation or race.

Sidelight: Homer, the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, is sometimes referred to as the "Father of Epic Poetry." Based on the conventions he established, classical epics began with an argument and an invocation to a guiding spirit, then started the narrative in medias res. In modern use, the term, "epic," is generally applied to all lengthy works on matters of great importance. The Rhapsodoi, a professional reciter, memorized his work and passed it on by word of mouth as part of an oral tradition.

Footnote for the teacher: Like Agamemnon and the Greek chieftains, every Saxon leader had his gleeman or minstrel, and had also his own poet, his scop or shaper, whose duty it was to shape a glorious deed into more glorious verse. So did our pagan ancestors build their monuments out of songs that should live in the hearts of men when granite or earth mound had crumbled away.

BEOWULF
The old epic poem, the longest, the oldest, surviving/ existing manuscript in English Literature, is called after its hero Beowulf. it is more than myth or legend, more even than history; it is a picture of a life and a world that once had real existence.

 Of that vanished life, that world of ancient Englishmen, only a few material fragments remain: a bit of linked armor, a rusted sword with runic inscriptions, the oaken ribs of a war galley buried with the Viking who had sailed it on stormy seas, and who was entombed in it because he loved it.

All these are silent witnesses; they have no speech or language. But this old poem is a living voice, speaking with truth and sincerity of the daily habit of the fathers of modern England, of their adventures by sea or land, their stern courage and grave courtesy, their ideals of manly honor, their thoughts of life and death.

Then the warrior, battle-tried, touched the sounding glee-wood: Straight awoke the harp s sweet note; straight a song uprose, Sooth and sad its music. Then from hero s lips there fell A wonder-tale, well told. Beowulf, line 2017 (a free rendering)

VOCABULARY Scyldings, the tribe of Scyld Scefing. waif a forsaken or orphaned child, such as Scyld. Scylfing Swede. mead an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey and water. middle-earth a land between Heaven and Hell, inhabited by mankind as well as a variety of good or evil creatures with origins in legend, mythology, or fantasy. scop a bard or singing (chanting) performer who often accompanies himself on a lute or harp, presenting historical or legendary stories of interest. He might be attached to a court or travel on his own. Preferred pronunciation is "shop. thanes warriors who serve a king or feudal lord in exchange for land or treasure. warlock a male witch or demon

 Geats also called Weder-Folk or Weders. This is Beowulf's tribe in southwestern Sweden. eddy a current running contrary to the main current, sometimes producing whirlpools. retainer an attendant to the king, here sometimes used interchangeably with "thane." mail flexible armor made of small, overlapping rings or scales. Weders Geats Weland in Germanic legend, a blacksmith with magical powers; he made Beowulf's war-shirt (455). Lapps inhabitants of northern Scandinavia and Finland. The Anglo-Saxon is "Finna land" (580).

 mere a small lake or marsh. two seas apparently the Baltic and the Atlantic; possibly the Baltic and the North Sea. Heremod Danish king who ruled disgracefully before Scyld rose to power. guest-house Heorot. Fen a low swampy land flagon a vessel for holding mead or other alcoholic liquids, usually made of metal or pottery and featuring a spout as well as a handle. Hrothulf son of Halga, nephew of Hrothgar. Ingwines another name for the Danes, literally "friends of Ing. palisade a defensive fortification or fence made of pointed sticks (pales).

Healfdene father of Hrothgar. the giants here a reference to the Frisians. Hoc father of Hildeburh and Hnaef. Folcwalda father of Finn. Hunlaf's son a Half-Dane warrior who presents the sword to Hengest. Guthlaf and Oslaf Half-Dane thanes. uncle and nephew (1164) apparently a reference to Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Hama, Brosing, and Eormanric For a thorough discussion of the necklace and the Goths, see Chickering, pp. 331 333. Frankish pertaining to the Franks, a Germanic tribe in the Rhine region.

KENNINGS Spear-Danes Scyldings, the tribe of Scyld Scefing. whale-road ocean or sea, from the Anglo-Saxon hron-rade. This is one of the poem's best known kennings, descriptive metaphors that identify a person or thing by a chief characteristic or use. Life-lord God. ring-giver ruler, king, feudal lord. middle-earth a land between Heaven and Hell, inhabited by mankind as well as a variety of good or evil creatures with origins in legend, mythology, or fantasy. walking dead similar to zombies, cursed to roam the earth after death.

* whale-road ocean or sea, from the Anglo-Saxon hron-rade. This is one of the poem's best known kennings, descriptive metaphors that identify a person or thing by a chief characteristic or use. Life-lord God. ring-giver ruler, king, feudal lord. middle-earth a land between Heaven and Hell, inhabited by mankind as well as a variety of good or evil creatures with origins in legend, mythology, or fantasy. walking dead similar to zombies, cursed to roam the earth after death. word-hoard a kenning for vocabulary. gold-laced hall Heorot shield of the people here, a reference to King Hrothgar. feud-bites a kenning for wounds.

 Bright-Danes another name for the Scyldings, the reference to shining light. Helmings Wealhtheow's original tribe. King of Glory God, not Hrothgar. body-warden a kenning for a chain-mail shirt. shepherd of sins Grendel, perhaps in contrast to God as shepherd of souls. protector of nobles Beowulf. killer-guest Grendel. The poet ironically plays with the theme of hospitality. the web's short measure the web of life destiny, fate, Wyrd has spun a short life for Queen Hildeburh's brother and son. chief of the War-Scyldings Hnaef. hand-spike a kenning referring to the nail on Grendel's claw. battle-talon another reference to Grendel's claw.

Swedes

Early Denmark and Sweden

Geats

During the Time of Beowulf

Jhutes Danes

House of Hrethel Swerting

The Scyldings
Danes (also called the Shieldings, Spear-Danes, Ring-Danes, West-Danes, Bright-Danes, South-Danes, Ingwins, ( of the island of Sjlland or Zealand)

 Let us hear, then, the story of Beowulf, picturing in our imagination the story-teller and his audience. The scene opens in a great hall, where a fire blazes on the hearth and flashes upon polished shields against the timbered walls.

 Down the long room stretches a table where men are feasting or passing a beaker from hand to hand, and anon crying Hal! hal! in answer to song or in greeting to a guest.

 At the head of the hall sits the chief with his chosen ealdormen. At a sign from the chief, a gleeman rises and strikes a single clear note from his harp. Silence falls on the benches; the story begins:

The scop begins ..

Hail! we of the Spear Danes in days of old Have heard the glory of warriors sung; Have cheered the deeds that our chieftains wrought, And the brave Scyld s triumph o er his foes.

Then because there are Scyldings present, and because brave men revere their ancestors, the gleeman tells a beautiful legend of how King Scyld came and went: how he arrived as a little child, in a wargalley that no man sailed, asleep amid jewels and weapons;

and how, when his life ended at the call of Wyrd or Fate, they placed him against the mast of a ship, with treasures heaped around him and a golden banner above his head, gave ship and cargo to the winds, and sent their chief nobly back to the deep whence he came.

So with picturesque words the gleeman thrills his hearers with a vivid picture of a Viking s sea-burial. It thrills us now, when the Vikings are no more, and when no other picture can be drawn by an eyewitness of that splendid pagan rite.

One of Scyld s descendants was King Hrothgar (Roger) who built the hall Heorot, where the king and his men used to gather nightly to feast, and to listen to the songs of scop or gleeman.

There was joy of heroes, but in one night the joy was changed to mourning. Out on the lonely fens dwelt the jotun (giant or monster) Grendel, who heard the sound of men s mirth and quickly made an end of it.

One night, as the thanes slept in the hall, he burst in the door and carried off thirty warriors to devour them in his lair under the sea.

Another and another horrible raid followed, till Heorot was deserted and the fear of Grendel reigned among the Spear Danes. There were brave men among them, but of what use was courage when their weapons were powerless against the monster? Their swords would not bite on his body.

 The rumor of Grendel reached the land of the Geats, where Beowulf lived at the court of his uncle, King Hygelac.

 No sooner did Beowulf hear of a dragon to be slain, of a friendly king in need of a man, than he selected fourteen companions and launched his wargalley in search of adventure.

Arrival of Beowulf in Heorot

At this point the old epic becomes a remarkable portrayal of daily life. In its picturesque lines we see the galley set sail, foam flying from her prow; we catch the first sight of the southern headlands, approach land, hear the challenge of the warder of the cliffs Unferth and Beowulf s courteous answer.

 We follow the march to Heorot in wargear, spears flashing, swords and byrnies clanking, and witness the exchange of greetings between Hrothgar and the young hero.

Reception in Heorot
Again is the feast spread in Heorot; once more is heard the song of gleemen, the joyous sound of warriors in comradeship. There is also a significant picture of Hrothgar s wife, mindful of courtesies, honoring her guests by passing the mead-cup with her own hands. She is received by these stern men with profound respect.

When the feast draws to an end the fear of Grendel returns. Hrothgar warns his guests that no weapon can harm the monster, that it is death to sleep in the hall; then the Spear Danes retire, leaving Beowulf and his companions to keep watch and ward. With the careless confidence of brave men, forthwith they all fall asleep:

 Forth from the fens, from the misty moorlands, Grendel came gliding God s wrath he bore Came under clouds until he saw clearly, Glittering with gold plates, the meadhall of men. Down fell the door, though hardened with fire-bands, Open it sprang at the stroke of his paw. Swollen with rage burst in the balebringer, Flamed in his eyes a fierce light, likest fire.

 Throwing himself upon the nearest sleeper, Grendel crushes and swallows him; then he stretches out a paw towards Beowulf, only to find it seized in such a grip as the fiend had never felt before. A desperate conflict begins, and a mighty uproar,- crashing of benches, shoutings of men, the war-song of Grendel, who is trying to break the grip of his foe.

 As the monster struggles toward the door, dragging the hero with him, a wide wound opens on his shoulder; the sinews snap,

and with a mighty wrench Beowulf tears off the whole limb.

 While Grendel rushes howling across the fens, Beowulf hangs the grisly arm with its iron claws, the whole grapple of Grendel, over the door where all may see it. Once more there is joy in Heorot, songs, speeches, the liberal giving of gifts. Thinking all danger past, the Danes sleep in the hall;

 but at midnight comes the mother of Grendel, raging to avenge her son. Seizing the king s bravest companion she carries him away, and he is never seen again.

Here is another adventure for Beowulf.

To old Hrothgar, lamenting his lost earl, the hero says simply: Wise chief, sorrow not. For a man it is meet His friend to avenge, not to mourn for his loss; For death comes to all, but honor endures: Let him win it who will, ere Wyrd to him calls, And fame be the fee of a warrior dead!

Following the trail of the Brimwylf or Merewif (sea-wolf or seawoman) Beowulf and his companions pass through desolate regions to a wild cliff on the shore. There Unferth offers his good sword Hrunting for the combat, and Beowulf accepts, saying:
ic me mid Hruntinge Dom gewyrce, oththe mec death nimeth. I with Hrunting Honor will win, or death shall me take.

 Then he plunges into the black water, is attacked on all sides by the Grundwrygen or bottom monsters, and as he stops to fight them is seized by the Merewif and dragged into a cave, a mighty seahall free from water and filled with a strange light.

On its floor are vast treasures; its walls are adorned with weapons; in a corner huddles the wounded Grendel. All this Beowulf sees in a glance as he turns to fight his new foe.

 Follows then another terrific combat, in which the brand Hrunting proves useless. Though it rings out its clanging war-song on the monster s scales, it will not bite on the charmed body.

Beowulf is down, and at the point of death, when his eye lights on a huge sword forged by the jotuns of old.

 Struggling to his feet he seizes the weapon, whirls it around his head for a mighty blow, and the fight is won. Another blow cuts off the head of Grendel, but at the touch of the poisonous blood the steel blade melts like ice before the fire. Leaving all the treasures, Beowulf takes only the golden hilt of the magic sword and the head of Grendel, renters the sea and mounts up to his companions.

 They welcome him as one returned from the dead. They relieve him of byrnie and praised him. Beowulf towers among them, a conspicuous figure, and next to him comes the enormous head of Grendel carried on a spear-shaft by four of the stoutest thanes.

 More feasting, gifts, noble speeches follow before the hero returns to his own land, laden with treasures.

So ends the first part of the epic.

PART II
In the second part Beowulf succeeds Hygelac as chief of the Geats, and rules them well for fifty years.
Then a firedrake, guarding an immense hoard of treasure (as in most of the old dragon stories), begins to ravage the land.

 Once more the aged Beowulf goes forth to champion his people; but he feels that Wyrd is close to hand, and the fatalism which pervades all the poem is finely expressed in his speech to his companions.

In his last fight he kills the dragon, winning the dragon s treasure for his people; but as he battles amid flame and smoke the fire enters his lungs, and he dies as dies a man, paying for victory with his life.

 Among his last words is a command which reminds us again of the old Greeks, and of the word of Elpenor to Odysseus:

Bid my brave men raise a barrow for me on the headland, broad, high, to be seen far out at sea: that hereafter sea-farers, driving their foamy keels through ocean s mist, may behold and say, Tis Beowulf s mound!

The finds in this barrow supported the existence of Beowulf barrow

 The barrow of Skalunda, a barrow that was identified by the archaeologist Birger Nerman as Beowulf's burial mound.

One of the mounds near Stonehenge similar to those of Sutton Hoo.

 When our enemies hear out lord is dead and that only one man among the Geats dared to defend him, they will soon attack us. The Franks and the Frisians would like to finish the war that Hygelac started. The Swedes are only waiting for a chance to trouble us again. Beowulf was too strong for them, and so we had piece for many years. Now it will be different. Mothers and fathers will weep again for their dead children. The black raven, the wolf and the eagle will find a feast on the battlefield. The Geats will be people wandering without a homeland once our enemies come in upon us.' It appears that Beowulf's death signals the end of the Geatish people and the glory they won during Beowulf's reign.

 The hero s last words and the closing scenes of the epic, including the funeral pyre, the balefire and another Viking burial to the chant of armed men riding their war steeds, are among the noblest that have come down to us from beyond the dawn of history.

 Such is the story of Beowulf. It is recorded on a fire-marked manuscript, preserved as by a miracle from the torch of the Danes, which is now one of the priceless treasures of the British Museum. The handwriting indicates that the manuscript was copied about the year 1100, but the language points to the eighth or ninth century, when the poem in its present form was probably composed on English soil.

Determine what these translated kennings refer to:

moons of the forehead brow-stars raven harvest sleep of the sword flame-farewelled bane of wood sun of the houses serpent's lair

eyes eyes corpse death death fire fire gold

Determine what these translated kennings refer to:

spear-din bee wolf slaughter-dew battle-sweat wound-sea breaker of rings mountain of the hawk blood-ember

battle bear blood blood blood chieftain or king Arm axe

Determine what these translated kennings refer to:

mind's worth bait-gallows Feed the eagle swan of blood whale-road sail road whale's way swan-road

honour hook kill enemies Raven The sea The sea The sea The sea

Determine what these translated kennings refer to:

valley-trout wave-steed sea-steed sky-candle sky's jewel blood-worm icicle of blood wound-hoe

serpent ship ship the sun the sun sword sword sword

Determine what these translated kennings refer to:

Headland of swords weather of weapons feeder of ravens destroyers of eagle s hunger breaker of trees wolf's-joint

shield war warrior Warrior wind wrist