Beowulf:
The Beginnings of English
Literature
Origins
Unknown author;
possibly one Christian
author in AngloSaxon England
Unknown date of
composition (roughly
8th-9th Century CE)
700’s-800’s
Literary Devices
Allusion: Biblical (Cain), Norse myth
Alliteration (eg. Scyld’s strong son)
Epic poetry: a long narrative poem
written in elevated style which
celebrates the deeds of a legendary
hero.
Literary Devices
 Kenning: two-word metaphorical
name for something
Whale-road=sea
Sky-candle=sun
Battle-dew=blood
 Scop: Anglo-Saxon composers and
storytellers (like minstrels or bards)
Modern Day Scops
Warrior Code
Comitatus: Germanic code of loyalty
(chivalry)
Thane: warrior – swears loyalty to the
king for whom they fought and whom
they protected (knight)
Wergild: “man-payment”; a fee paid to
the family of a slain man to atone for
his murder and to prevent the family
from seeking revenge.
Geats (Swedish) and Danes
(Denmark)
Beowulf was a war
leader of the Geats,
a group of people in
what is now
southern Sweden
Hrothgar was king
of the Danes
(Vikings)
Old English
 Beowulf was written in Old English, an early
form of English
 In 1066, William the Conqueror successfully
invaded England, bringing his Norman French
language with him; the nobility began to speak
French, and gradually Old English evolved into
Middle English (1100-1500): “Whan that Aprill,
with his shoures soote/The droghte of March
hath perced to the roote”
 Modern English has been spoken since the
Renaissance – Shakespeare is NOT Old English;
he is Early Modern English
Elements of an Epic
1. Epic hero– an character with a trait or
characteristic that is valued by his society.
•
(E.g.– Superman’s bravery or valor)
2. Quest– A journey through which the character
or the reader learns something
3. Valorous Deeds– Doing something bravely.
4. Divine Intervention– The hand of God (or
gods) help/hinder the hero, proving his value.
5. Great events– The hero has a hand in
something important in the history or
mythology of a culture.
2 Types of Epics
1. Folk
–
–
–
–
Told out loud first (usually by scops)
Unknown author
Unknown dates
(E.g.—Beowulf is a folk epic because we don’t know
who wrote it)
2. Literary
–
–
Known author
(E.g.– Paradise Lost, by John Milton is a literary
epic because we know who wrote it.)
3 Epic Conventions
1. Invoke a muse
– Muse– inspiration provided by the gods
2. Plot begins in medias res
– In medias re– “In the middle of” the action
3. Serious tone
•
Not necessary to have all of these, but
need most at least
Beowulf’s Name
• Beowulf’s father– Edgetho
– In most cases, the son is named after the father
•
•
•
•
Don
Donald (son of Don)
McDonald (son of son of Don)
McDonaldson (son of son of son of Don)
• Proves Beowulf is own individual with own
powers and abilities (and more important than
his father)
• Be=Bee
Wulf=Hunter =Bear
– Bears are known as Great Protectors in Norse
mythology
Grendel
• A powerful monster, demon, fiend
• Born of Cain (cursed for
the murder of his brother Abel)
• Exiled by God
• Angry at the loud music
coming from Herot
Plot
• Hrothgar (King of the Danes) has built a
magnificent mead hall called Herot
Plot
• The loud music and scops singing were
annoying and painful to Grendel
Plot
• Grendel crept into Herot
after the party and found
the Danes sleeping
• He snatched up 30 men,
smashed them, and
dragged them back to
his lair.
Plot
• Hrothgar lamented the loss and feared the
beginning might not be the end
• Foreshadowing
• He was right. Grendel returned every night
until all the soldiers deserted Herot
• It stood empty for 12 winters
Plot
• Grendel never dared harm King Hrothgar
• He was protected by God-God, Whose
love Grendel could not know.
Plot
• Across the sea, Beowulf heard of
Hrothgar’s plight
• He chose 14 fellow Geats (Swedes) and
sailed to help the Danes (Vikings)
Plot
• Wulfgar takes Beowulf to Hrothgar but has
him keep his weapons outside
• Hrothgar is aware of
Beowulf’s noble birth
and his reputation as
a great warrior
Plot
• Noble Birth—Beowulf’s cousin is also his
King (King Higlac)
• Beowulf boasts about his great
accomplishments
• Fought bravely in war
• Chained 5 Giants
• Hunted and killed sea
monsters at night
Plot
• Beowulf announces that he has now come
to purge Grendel from the land
• Beowulf refuses to use a weapon b/c
Grendel uses none
• If Beowulf is defeated
he asks that his inherited
armor be returned to
King Higlac
Plot
• Hrothgar recalled how Beowulf’s father,
Edgetho, had killed a Wulfing warrior
• He was exiled from his home
• Hrothgar, as a newly crowned king,
allowed him asylum and paid reparations
to the Wulfing tribe to avoid a war.
• Beowulf was in debt to Hrothgar
Plot
• Hrothgar tells Beowulf of the “…fiends
savage assault—and my soldiers would be
fewer still, death taking more and more”
• Example of a caesura (line 221)
Plot
• Hrothgar throws a big party in honor of
Beowulf and his Geats. And they wait…
Stop Here
Battle with Grendel
• Beowulf repeats his intent to fight without
a sword
• He lies awake and awaits the Beast
Battle with Grendel
• Grendel has once again heard the
celebrations coming from Herot
• He comes up from the swampland, sliding
silently… (alliteration)
• Grendel tears the door off its hinges
Battle with Grendel
• Grendel is thrilled to see rows of sleeping
soldiers
• He is hungry for their flesh
• Grendel snatches up a Geat and ate him
whole
• The next victim he reaches for is Beowulf
Battle with Grendel
• Beowulf seizes Grendel in his powerful
grip. He twists his arm behind his back.
• Grendel panics and tries to escape
• The two fight up and down the halls of
Herot nearly destroying it
Battle with Grendel
• Beowulf’s Geats join the fight. They
attempt to strike Grendel with their
weapons.
• But they could not scratch at his skin, for
that sin-stained demon had bewitched all
men’s weapons…
Battle with Grendel
• Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm from its socket
Battle with Grendel
• Grendel escapes and drags himself back
to the swamps
• The arm was hung
from the rafters of Herot
as a trophy
Battle with Grendel
• The next morning, warriors followed
Grendel’s bloody footprints back to his den
• They led to a swamp where the water was
bloody, steaming and boiling.
• They rode back to Herot, making up
poems of Beowulf’s heroic battle
Stop Here
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• Grendel's mother comes to Herot to
avenge Grendel.
• She escapes, taking Esher, Hrothgar's
trusted lieutenant and friend.
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• Hrothgar laments the loss of Esher, along
with the other sorrows Grendel and his
mother have inflicted on Herot.
• He asks again for Beowulf's help. Beowulf
agrees to avenge Esher.
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• Hrothgar leads Beowulf and his own men
to the bloody, frozen & burning lake, the
abode of Grendel and his mother.
• Unferth gives Beowulf his sword, Hrunting,
and Beowulf dives into the lake fully
armored to attack Grendel's mother.
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• After swimming for hours, he finds her.
And she finds him.
• Like Grendel, she is impervious to most
weapons—Hrunting is useless. In the
heat of battle, he finds a giant (magic)
sword hanging on the wall and kills
Grendel's mother with it.
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• He then finds Grendel's body and severs
the monster's head.
• When the men on shore see blood rise to
the surface of the lake, they assume
Beowulf has been killed.
The Battle with Grendel’s
Mother (Alice)
• Beowulf's magic sword melts, but he
returns to shore with the jeweled hilt and
Grendel's head.
• Beowulf and the Geats take their "terrible
trophy" to Herot. Beowulf offers the magic
sword's hilt to Hrothgar.
The Dragon and Beowulf's
Death
• Beowulf gains the crown of Geatland after
the deaths of Higlac and Herdred.
• He has been a good and generous king for
50 years when a thief rouses a sleeping
dragon by taking a gem-studded cup..
The Dragon and Beowulf's
Death
• Unable to find the thief, the dragon vows
revenge and destroys Geatland. Beowulf
blames himself for the tragedy, thinking he
must have somehow broken God's law.
wulf
The Dragon and Beowulf's
Death
• He prepares to go to battle against the
dragon, recalling his past successes for
motivation.
• He sets out to fight the dragon alone and
is followed by a group of his men.
The Dragon and Beowulf's
Death
• During the battle, Beowulf's shield is
melted and his sword is broken.
• The rest of his men flee, but Wiglaf comes
to Beowulf's aid and slays the dragon.
The Dragon and Beowulf's
Death
• Beowulf dies in battle, and Wiglaf
admonishes the Geats for their desertion
of Beowulf.
• In honor of their king, the Geats build a
pyre for Beowulf.
Possible OER
• Evaluate a story you’ve read or seen as an epic
story.
– O! Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Epic hero– Ulysses Everett McGill
• Quest– To seek the treasure
• Valorous deeds– Singing the song, escaping the sheriff,
saving Tommy from the KKK, et al.
• Divine intervention– the flood
• Great events– Helping elect Pappy O’Daniel as governor of
Mississippi instead of the KKK head dragon
• Literary epic– Cohen brothers wrote it in 2001
• Invokes a muse at the beginning
• Begins in the middle of the story as they escape jail
• Serious tone? Notsomuch.