Beowulf
Text and Context
Background
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Composed around 10th century A.D.
The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for
many years before it was written.
The action of the poem takes place around 6th century A.D.
The poem deals with ancient Germanic forebears, the
Danes and the Geats
Background
► Only
a single manuscript of the poem
survived the Anglo-Saxon era. In the 1700’s
it was nearly destroyed in a fire
► It was not until 1936 when the Oxford
scholar J.R.R. Tolkien published a paper on
the poem that it became popular.
► The first major work in vernacular old
English.
The Beowulf Poet
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The poet is Christian
The poem reflects established
Christian tradition
Allusions to the Old Testament
Beowulf is a Redeemer who is
sent by God to save man from
sin
The price of salvation is life
itself
Correspondences between
Beowulf’s death and the death
of Christ
Heroic Values in Beowulf
► Relationship
between
king and his warriors
► The king rewards his
warriors with gifts comitatus
► If a kinsman is slain,
obligation to kill the
slayer or obtain
payment (wergeld) in
compensation
Heroic Values in Beowulf
► Gold/treasure
► Loyalty
► Bravery
► Glory/fame
► Fate
=Wyrd (see later Shakespeare’s wyrd
sisters)
Conflict Christian Values and Heroic
Values
► This
tension is at the
heart of the poem
► Pagan history and
myth are made to
point to a Christian
moral
► Beowulf is poised
between two value
systems
The Character of Beowulf
► He
fights for personal
honor, but is
committed to service
to his own people and
humanity.
► A superhuman who
remains recognizable
► Contrast old and
young Beowulf
► Beowulf as savior
Themes - Topics
► Good
vs. Evil
► Fate
► The
Importance of
Establishing Identity
► Tension between
Heroic Code and
Christianity
► Significance of
artifacts
Important Elements of the Poem
► Elegaic
tone – mournful, melancholic, or plaintive
poem (don’t confuse with eulogy)
► Heroic poem
► Contrasts
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Christian and pagan
Youth and old age
Rise and fall of nations
Joy and sorrow
Fate and God’s will
Violence
Irony
Sutton Hoo
► Burial
site discovered in 1939
► Important links to Anglo-Saxon world and Beowulf
► Remains of a boat were discovered and large
burial chamber containing numerous artifacts
► Artifacts suggest a distinctly Christian element
intermingled with pagan ritual.
► Episodes in Beowulf now have tangible
archaeological violence to add creditability to the
blend of customs in the text.
Sutton Hook Images
Suggested Further Reading
► Beowulf,
A Verse Translatioin. Trans.
Seamus Heaney. Ed. Daniel Donaghue.
Norton Critical Edition. 2002.
► Norton bibliography on Beowulf , p. 2902.
► Websites on Beowulf, Old English poetry,
and Sutton Hoo.