Anglo-Saxon and Beowulf Background. Background Information 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry...
Transcript of Anglo-Saxon and Beowulf Background. Background Information 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry...
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Anglo-SaxonandBeowulfBackground
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Background Information
• 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry survive today
• 3, 182 (10%) of the lines are from Beowulf
• Setting - Denmark and Sweden
• Author - Unknown, probably a monk
• Composed in the 7th or 8th century
• Oldest surviving English poem
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Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Belief in fate (Wyrd)
• Accumulated treasures amount to success
• Fame and fortune zealously sought after
• Loyalty to one’s leader crucial
• Importance of pagan, Germanic, and Christian ideals to people whose lives were often hard and uncertain
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Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Fierce, hardy life of warrior and seamen
• Strength, courage, leadership abilities appreciated
• Boisterous yet elaborately ritualized customs of the mead-hall
• Expected the hero to boast
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Anglo-Saxon Ideals Codes of Conduct
• Good defeats evil
• Wergild--restitution for murder or expect revenge from victim’s relatives
• Boasts must be backed with actions.
• Fate is in control
• Fair fights are the only honorable fights
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Epic Poem• Long narrative poem that recounts the
adventures of a hero.
• Elevated language
• Does not sermonize
• Invokes a muse
• Begins in media res
• Mysterious origin, super powers, vulnerability, rite of passage
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The Epic Hero
• Actions consist of responses to catastrophic situations in which the supernatural often intervenes.
• Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat to society
• Destiny discovered through a series of episodes punctuated by violent incidents interspersed with idyllic descriptions.
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Elements of Anglo-Saxon Poetry• Chant-like effect of the four-beat line• Alliteration (“Then the grim man in green gathers
his strength”)• Caesura-pause or break in a line of poetry
(“Oft to the wanderer weary of exile”)• Kenning-metaphorical phrase used instead of a
name (“battle-blade” and “ring-giver”)• Epithet-description name to characterize
something (“keen-edge sword”)• Hyperbole-exaggeration
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Title of Epic Poem
• 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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How we date BeowulfSome Important Dates:
521 A.D. – death of Hygelac, who is mentioned in the poem
680 A.D. – appearance of alliterative verse
835 A.D. – the Danish started raiding other areas; after this, few poets would consider them heroes
SO: This version was likely composed between 680 and 835, though it may be set earlier
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The Poetry in Beowulf
1. Alliterative verse
a. Repetition of initial sounds of words (occurs in every line)
b. Generally, four feet/beats per line
c. A caesura, or pause, between beats two and four
d. No rhyme
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The Poetry in Beowulf
2. Kennings
a. Compound metaphor (usually two words)
b. Most were probably used over and over
For instance: hronade literally means “whale-road,” but can be translated as “sea”
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More Kennings
Other kennings from Beowulf:
“bone-house” = body
“gold-friend of men” = generous prince
“ring-giver” = lord
“flashing light” = sword
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Setting: Beowulf’s time and place
Europe today Insert: Time of Beowulf
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Some terms you’ll want to knowscop
A bard or story-teller.
The scop was responsible for praising deeds of past heroes, for recording history, and for providing entertainment
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thane
A warrior
mead-hall
The large hall where the lord and his warriors slept, ate, held ceremonies, etc.
Terms: Thane and Mead-Hall
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wyrd
Fate. This idea crops up a lot in the poem, while at the same time there are Christian references to God’s will.
Term: Wyrd
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Main Characters
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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 (banquet
hall) for men• Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years• Loses many men to
Grendel• Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
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Grendel• Referred to as demon
and fiend• Haunts the moors
(swampy land)• Descendant of Cain• Feasts on 30 men the
night of 1st attack
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Grendel’s Mother• Referred to as 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
kingdom• Wakes up when thief
steals cup• Guards countless
treasures
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Works Cited
• Intro to Beowulf