Anglo Saxon literature
First communicated orally
Handed down from generation to generation
with consequent
variations
additions
omissions
embellishment
Copies written down in monasteries by monks
Many changes due to
mistakes in translations
misunderstanding
even intentional changes in the text
Anglo-Saxon poetry
elegiac
epic
Old English
Different from modern English in
spelling, pronunciation and grammar
Ðonne onwæcneð eft wineleas guma,
gesihð him biforan fealwe wegas,
baþian brimfuglas brædan feþra,
hreosan hrim ond snaw hagle gemenged.
Þonne beoð þy hefigran heortan benne,
sare æfter swæsne
Sorg bið geniwad
• The Wanderer:
Ðonne onwæcneð eft wineleas guma,
gesihð him biforan fealwe wegas,
baþian brimfuglas brædan feþra,
hreosan hrim ond snaw hagle gemenged.
Þonne beoð þy hefigran heortan benne,
sare æfter swæsne
Sorg bið geniwad
Then the friendless man awakes again,
He sees before him fallow waves,
Sea birds bathing, preening their feathers,
Frost and snow fall, mixed with hail.
Then are the heavier the wounds of the heart,
Grievous with longing for the lord. Sorrow is renewed
Long narrative poem which tells the heroic deeds
of a national hero
Aristocratic- military society
Wide setting
Primary epics
Didactic aim
Literary devices
Epic poem
Objective narration
Elevated language
Supernatural events
Divine Intervention
myth, legend, and history
Narrative formulae
banquet, battle, voyage, funerals
The hero
Generally male, of noble birth or high position
reflects important ideals of his society
performs courageous deeds that reflect the values of the times
his actions determine the fate of many
must face challenges and opponents that the ordinary person
could not handle.
alliteration
Stresses
Repetitions
kennings
Poetic
form
Poetic
form
andand
devices
devices
Poetic form and devices
caesura
riddles
litotes
Alliteration
Repetition of the same initial consonant
Grendel gongan,
mynte se manscaða
godes yrre bær;
manna cynnes
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
Caesura
ða com of more
under misthleoþum
Grendel gongan,
godes yrre bær;
mynte se manscaða
manna cynnes
sumne besyrwan
in sele þam hean.
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
Punctuation reproduces pause effect of the caesura.
kenning
a metaphorical phrase often hyphenated or compound word
used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly.
From the old Norse kenna
gold-shining hall= Herot
guardian of crime = Grendel
strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf
cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon
whale-road = ocean
wave-courser = ship
To know
The first great work of English
national literature
Beowulf’s Name
Strong
Bear
Sweet
Bee
Wolf
cunning and speedy
Great Protectors in Norse mythology
In most cases, the son was named after the father
Don - Donald (son of Don) - McDonald (son of son
of Don) McDonaldson (son of son of son of Don)
Beowulf’s father– Edgetho
This proves that Beowulf had his own powers and abilities
(and was more important than his father)
Background: Time and Place
The tale is not set in England, but in Scandinavia
its characters are not English.
Three tribes involved:
the Geats , the Swedes and the Danes
How does Beowulf come to be the
first literary work of England?
During the VI and VII centuries, Scandinavian tribes
invaded and settled the territory that would become
England. Their legends and stories travelled with them
Background
Unknown author; possibly one Christian author in
Anglo- Saxon England
Unknown date of composition (roughly 8th-11th Century )
Written in Old English
A blend of legend and history, as it also contains precise
references to real historical events and tribal struggles
It is from this poem that we derive many of the details
for the reconstruction of Anglo-Saxon social life.
It was not until 1936 when the J.R.R Tolkien published a paper
on the poem that it became popular.
Structure
Chronologically, it is divided into two main sections
1
Beowulf as a young man
2
Beowulf as an old man
In terms of action, it is divided into three main sections
1
Introduction of the characters and Beowulf ‘s defeat
of Grendel
2
Beowulf's defeat of Grendel's mother
3
Beowulf's defeat of the dragon with the help of Wiglaf.
Beowulf and the Ilyad
Both deal with warrior societies
The heroic code of a warrior society was always expressed
in epic poetry
Homeric world
Aedo
Bard or scop
Germanic world
“Hygelac’s thane”
Beowulf is not introduced directly by naming him but by
a traditional epithet
Pious Aeneas
Fleet-footed Achilles
The plot
First part
Beowulf , nephew of Hygelac, king of the Geats, crosses the
sea to help Hrothgar, king of the Danes
His palace of Heorot has been attacked over
twelve years by a monster called Grendel
At night the monster comes, Beowulf struggles with it
bare hands and kills it plucking off one of its arms
Grendel’s mother wants to revenge her son
Beowulf has to fight her too
He finally kills her in a cave at the bottom of a
pool, with the help of a mysterious sword
The plot
Second part
Beowulf has been king of the Geats for fifty years
A fire-breathing dragon, after discovering the theft of the
treasure it had been guarding, is trying to destroy the country
Accompanied by young Wiglaf, Beowulf confronts the monster.
Although he finally manages to kill it , he is mortally
wounded.
He instructs Wiglaf to have a barrow constructed to mark
the burial site of his remains from the funeral pyre.
Beowulf dies
Why has this story lasted through the
ages?
It is unique: no other poem of its size and length has
survived in Old English
It offers a noble picture of an age, its hierarchical society
and the splendour of its warrior class
It combines the attraction of a tale of bravery with high
moral values
Intermingled with the battles of monsters are tales of
human struggle
Good against evil
Strength of heart and spirit
Truth and light vs. dark power
Grendel
Grendel is a monster, one of a
giant race which survived the
great flood. It is told that his
origins stretch back to Cain,
who killed Abel.
Grendel’s Mother
Grendel's mother is supposedly a
smaller creature than her son. She is
a vengeful creature who illustrates the
constant cycle of war in the poem,
even when the enemy appears to be
defeated.
Christian or Pagan ?
Beowulf tells of a period in the midst of religious
change being neither entirely pagan, nor fully
Christian
It is likely that some monks, while copying texts, put in
their own views about their work.
Christian Elements
Beowulf prays the Creator of all things, the ruler of the
Heavens
God’s will: identical with Fate
References to the Old Testament
Passages containing biblical history.: references to Cain,
Abel, and the flood, heaven, hell, and the day of judgment.
Pagan elements
• Beowulf's funeral ship
• The observance of omens
• The practice of cremation
• Gold/wealth as a hero’s reward
• Boasting
• Lack of belief in an after-life – pagan immortality
• Concept of fate – wyrd
• Monsters
Courage as the quality that
can stand against Fate.
Fate
Themes
The eternal conflict between
dark and light, good and evil
The Feud
Top 8 Problems women have about dating
Beowulf
• 1. Hangs out with dragons.
• 2. Chain mail rips up bed sheets.
• 3. Throws his swords around apartment.
• 4. Wakes up in the middle of the night screaming "She's
gonna eat me!”
• 5. Only washes twice a year.
• 6. Smells like Grendel breath.
• 7. Freezer full of dragon meat.
• 8. Leaves the toilet seat up.
He’s a queer fish!
The main characteristic of Old English poetry is
alliteration. Another characteristic is a special kind of
phrase metaphorical ______, made up of several _____
which replaces a _____. An example is a kenning for
words
the sun: “jewel of the sky”. Kennings are used a lot in
noun
Beowulf to add colourful descriptions to the story.
But sometimes the ________ is not easy for modern
_______. For example, the kenning for a chief or
readers
king is “breaker of the ring”. This kennings comes
from a king’s custom of breaking off pieces of gold
wore
from spiral rings (which he often _____ on his arm)
rewards to give as _________ to his followers.
meaning
Ready for some questions?
The Christian scribes always gave a
faithful reproduction of Anglo-Saxon works
True
False
Beowulf was king of the Geats
True
False
Beowulf can be considered an epic
True
False
It is written in middle English
True
False
Beowulf killed Grendel cutting its head
True
False
The dragon began to attack the Geats because it
wanted to avenge Grendel’s death
True
False
Who was Grendel?
The brother of Abel
A Geat who hated the
Danes
A demon
The brother of Cain
A kenning for the human body could be
Weaver of peace
Candle of the sky
House of bones
Sea wood
Grammar stop
although, though, even though
in spite of ,despite
Although (formal) and though (informal)
are followed by a subject and a verb (clause)
e.g. Although Grendel was incredibly strong, Beowulf pulled off his arm
Despite (formal) and in spite of (informal) are followed by
a noun or a pronoun: this, that, what or a verb with –ing
e.g. Despite Grendel’s incredible strength, Beowulf pulled off his arm
sub
v
Although Beowulf is old, it is still an exciting story
noun
Despite the antiquity, Beowulf is still an exciting story
Let’s practice!
Despite
__________the
fact that I don’t have any experience with children, I
have been offered a job on a children’s summer camp
Despite
_________the
collapse in profits for recording companies, more people
are going to live concerts than ever
Although
________Judy wasn’t feeling well, she didn’t want to miss the concert.
despite
John often feels lonely _________
having plenty of friends
Although
__________
Henry is a very talented actor, he finds it difficult to get good
parts in plays
Although
_________Pavarotti’s
origins were humble he became the richest opera
singer in the history of music
Despite
________playing
with only 10 men, Manchester united still won the match
despite
Frank decided to walk home _________the
fact that he was late
Thank you
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
Try again
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
Beowulf was nephew of King
Hygelac
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
When reproducing these works,
many writers eliminated any
aspects which either contrasted
or did not fit into their Christian
belief
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
It attacked the Geats because a
thief had stolen its hoard
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
He killed Grendel ripping its
arm
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
It was written in Old English
Back to questions
Excellent choice!
You are correct!
It can be considered an epic as
it is a long narrative poem
which celebrates the deeds of
a hero
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
Beowulf was nephew of King
Hygelac
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
It was written in Old English
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
When reproducing these
works, many writers
eliminated any aspects which
either contrasted or did not fit
into their Christian belief
s written in Old English
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
It can be considered an epic
as it is a long narrative poem
which celebrates the deeds of
a hero
as written in Old English
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
He killed Grendel ripping its
arm
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
It attacked the Geats because a
thief had stolen its hoard
Back to questions
That’s incorrect!
It can be considered an epic as
it is a long narrative poem
which celebrates the deeds of
a hero
Back to questions
Old English was a Germanic
language heavily inflected, i.e.
Different word endings as in
modern German or in the
classical languages, Greek
and Latin. Modern English, a
syntactical language, still
retains an example of this in
the possessive case, the so
called “Saxon genitive”
We must distinguish two types of
epics:
Primary or folk epic whose author
is unknown and is oral. (
Examples are Iliad and Odyssey)
Secondary or literary epics whose
author is well known and is written
( An example is Paradise lost by
John Milton)
The poet’s point of view
coincides with that of the
literary characters described.
The poet doesn’t criticize the
customs and the ideals of the
country he belongs to.