BEOWULF:
AN EPIC POEM
What is an epic?
 Literary Genre of Beowulf
 Epic:A long narrative poem in elevated style.It
presents a character (s) of high degree and
details important events that have a national,
worldwide, or cosmic setting.(The Odyssey,
the Star Wars films etc.)Traditionally, epics came
from oral cultures, were passed down orally, and
were of importance to a nation. With the spread
of literacy and writing, single authors began to
write epics
Characteristics of an Epic Poem
 1.) an epic hero of imposing stature and who is
meaningful as a legend or historical figure
 2.) his/her actions take place on a grand scale
and are important nationally, internationally, or
worldwide
 3.) the action consists of a great deed( s)
requiring superhuman courage & maybe
superhuman strength
 4.) supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons)
are involved or interested in the action
 5.) the style is grand or elevated
Background of Beowulf
 Oral story guessed to have been written down
around 725.(The events take place hundreds of years
earlier, circa 500 - 600, in Sweden and Denmark).
 -the author is unknown, though it was probably
copied down by a Christian monk in England.
 -the main plot surrounds a warrior-hero named
Beowulf and his men.They are from a tribe called the
Geats (pronounced yai-ots) who live in Sweden. They
have crossed the ocean to Denmark to help a tribe
called the Scyldings (pronounced Shildings).The
Scyldings are being eaten and killed by an evil
monster called Grendel.
Background of Beowulf
Continued
 -the story captures customs, traditions and
values of the Anglo-Saxon Society
 -though this poem chronicles the times of most
probably a pagan people, by the time this was
written, Christianity had established itself as a
powerful presence in England.Therefore, we see
God and references from the Bible mentioned
often in this text.
 -stories in Medieval England were often meant
to be didactic--teach a lesson (what lesson does
Beowulf teach?).
Anglo- Saxon Culture
 Additional Notes on Anglo-Saxon Culture
 The mead-hall:within the tribal cluster of wooden buildings
surrounded by a strong wooden fence, stood the meadhall.Here the king and his warriors (called thanes) feasted
and drank mead (Anglo-Saxon beer).In the mead-hall, they
were entertained by a scop (shope), a poet/story
teller/historian.
 The scop:the job of the scop was very important.Besides
telling a story, his job was to retell current and past events,
to record, remember, and retell history all from the record
of his mind.Fame and honor meant a lot to these people; it
was the scop’s job to preserve a record of their
achievements for later generations.
Main Characters in Beowulf
 Main Characters in Beowulf
 Hygelac (King of the Geats-Beowulf’s king back in Sweden)
 Unferth (one of Hrothgar’s thanes--he questions Beowulf’s
strength and ability )
 Wealhtheow (Hrothgar’s wife)
 Beowulf (The hero.A Geat who leads his band of warriors to find
and kill Grendel)
 Grendel (man-monster who raids Hrothgar’s mead-hall, eating
his people)
 Hrothgar (King of the Scyldings in Denmark)
Relationships in Beowulf
 Important Relationships to Remember for
Understanding:
 Son of Ecgtheow--Beowulf (also called
Hygelac’s thane)
 Son of Ecglaf--Unferth (also called Hrothgar’s
herald)
 Son of Healfdene--Hrothgar
Kenning
Two or more words which, when put together,
serve as a symbol or metaphor for another word.
 These were often used for entertainment,
variety, and to keep the beat and
rhythm.Sometimes they are obvious to us.Other
times, they are more obscure.Examples:
 candle ofheaven -- the sun
 peace-weaver -- women
 light of battle-- sword
Alliteration
 Alliteration:the repetition of initial consonant
sounds.Also used for entertainment, variety, and




to keep the beat and
rhythm.(Incidentally, Beowulf doesn’t rhyme-not all poems have to rhyme.Anglo-Saxon
poetry is known more for alliteration than
rhyme).Example from lines (4-7):
Many a mead-hall Scyld, son of Sceaf,
Snatched from the forces of savage foes,
From a friendless foundling, feeble and
wretched,
He grew to a terror as time brought change
Caesura
 Caesura:the building block of Anglo-Saxon
poetry.Each line had a pause in the middle to
create a kind of beat.By my count, each line
had 8 syllables with the pause or the caesura
in the middle
 This is the least important for us to identify in
the poem, but we should at least be able to
define it