Beowulf
History

 Author - Unknown – the poem has been translated several times
(the version we are working with is translated by Seamus Heaney)
 Genre - Alliterative verse; elegy; resembles heroic epic, though
smaller in scope than most classical epics
 Time and place written - Estimates of the date of composition
range between 700 and 1000 a.d.; written in England
 The only manuscript in which Beowulf is preserved is thought to
have been written around 1000 a.d.
 Narrator · A Christian narrator telling a story of pagan times
 Tense · Past, but with digressions into the distant past and
predictions of the future
 Setting (time) · The main action of the story is set around 500 a.d.;
the narrative also recounts historical events that happened much
earlier.
 Setting (place) · Denmark and Geatland (a region in what is now
southern Sweden)
Seamus Heaney

 Irish Poet
 One of the most prominent poets
of the 20th century
 Won the Nobel Prize in
literature in 1995
"Heaney's own poetic vernacular—muscular language so
rich with the tones and smell of earth that you almost
expect to find a few crumbs of dirt clinging to his lines—is
the perfect match for the Beowulf poet's Anglo-Saxon…As
retooled by Heaney, Beowulf should easily be good for
another millennium.“
-- Newsweek Review
Old English Poetry Exploration
Note-taking

 Take out your note –taking packets
 Skim through your notes and answer the following
questions:
 What makes up the majority of your notes? Plot or
analysis?
 Did you use specific quotes/citations in your notes?
 Do you ask questions? If yes, do you answer them?
 Share your notes with your partner.
 Are there similarities/differences?
Original
5
10
Old English Text

 Hwæt! We Gardena
in geardagum,
þeodcyninga,
þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas
ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing
sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum,
meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas.
Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden,
he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum,
weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc
þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade
hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan.
þæt wæs god cyning!
Kennings

 Poetic word puzzles, formed from compound nouns
in a formula phrase. Often metaphors.
 Beo (bee) Wulf (wolf/hunter), so bee hunter is a
kenning for bear.
 Battle-flasher = sword ring-giver = Hrothgar
 Hand-spurs = claws
oar-steed=ship
 Slaughter-dew = blood bright-ring-hall=Heorot
 Whale-road = sea
battle-adder=arrow
Kenning Creation

 Make your own kenning. Perhaps for words such as:
 Teacher
 Pencil
 Apple
 Doctor
 Dog
 Book
 Poetic metaphors encouraged
Litote

 Ironic understatement (affirmative is expressed by
stating its opposite)
After Grendel’s first rampage against Heorot (ln 138):
“It was easy then to meet with a man shifting himself
to a safer distance to bed.”
Litotes. . .

 When Beowulf discovers a sword in Grendel’s
mother’s cave: “That edge was not useless
to the warrior now” (ln 160 Chickering).
 Describing the battle with sea-monsters: “Small
pleasure they had in such a sword-feast” (ln 562
Chickering).
Litotes. . .

She’s no idiot.
He’s no Einstein.
He is not unlike his dad.
It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on
the brain.
We are not amused.
Your turn – create a litote, offering context as
needed.
 p.s. When it’s consistently downplaying an event, it’s called meiosis (figure of speech, not
biology term): setting fire to the barn was merely a “prank.”
Metonymy

 A figure of speech in which one noun or phrase is
used to replace another. For example, instead of
saying, “Aristotle,” a text may refer to “The
Philosopher.” “Iron” instead of “sword.”
Find 5.
Create a sentence illustrating use of
metonymy.
Synecdoche

 A figure of speech in which one noun or phrase is
used to replace a larger whole. For example,
referring to an entire ship as a “keel,” or “edge” for
“sword.”
Find 2.
Create a sentence illustrating use of
synecdoche.
Identify techniques in excerpt

Then the valiat Geat
asked Ecglaf’s son
to carry Hrunting,
keep the great sword,
cherished iron;
thanked him for the loan,
said he thought it
a good war-friend,
strong in battle,
and did not blame its edges.
Beowulf was noble,
generous in spirit.
And then the travelers
were ready to leave,
equipped in their harness; their Dane-honored prince
marched to the high seat where the other leader
was sitting in state;
the hero saluted him.
Chickering, lines 1807-1818
Review

 Caesura
 Kenning
 Litote
 Metonymy
 Synecdoche
 Translator choices
Importance of Word Choice

 Read the three excerpts on the handout
 Annotate each excerpt
 Look for literary techniques
 Compare/contrast tone
 Take note of relatively major differences and analyze
the impact those differences have on the reader
 Share with a partner
 Discuss as a class