BEOWULF
BEOWULF
WHAT KIND OF POEM IS IT?
Beowulf is perhaps the finest example of Anglo-Saxon
EPIC POETRY
EPIC POEM:
• Long, narrative poem
• THEMES: Heroic deeds, religious themes, outstanding individuals
BEOWULF
HOW DID IT COME TO US?
Only one manuscript copy survives!
Cotton Vitellius Manuscript
BEOWULF
DATES
WHEN WAS BEOWULF COMPOSED?
Nobody knows for certain, but many believe it was first composed
in the early 8th century.
WHEN WAS IT WRITTEN?
In the 10th century, by a Christian monk, after a period of oral
transmission.
BEOWULF
SETTING
TIME
Beowulf narrates events which take place in the 6th century AD
BEOWULF
PLACE
• Realistic geographical setting
• Accurate description of
society, uses and artifacts
Danish
• LEGEND and HISTORY are mingled!
BEOWULF
IN WHAT LANGUAGE WAS BEOWULF WRITTEN?
The poem was written in the Wessex dialect
WHY???
Strong cultural ties between Anglo-Saxon England and Scandinavia
Overlapping cultural traditions
BEOWULF
HOW LONG IS THE POEM?
About 3200 lines
• HALF –LINES
• ALLITTERATION
BEOWULF
PLOT - I
Beowulf is a noble warrior from Geatland, Southern Sweden, and a
loyal servant of his king Hygelac. He receives the news of the
misfortunes of the Danes, attacked by an evil monster called
Grendel. He then decides to help Hrothgar, King of the Danes, and
free Heorot, his mead-hall, from the threat of the monster.
He confronts Grendel and mortally wounds him in an unarmed
fight. Later, Grendel’s mother kills one of Hrothgar’s best fighters to
avenge her son’s death. Beowulf then tracks her down to her hiding
place, a cave beneath a magical lake, and kills her with an
enchanted sword.
BEOWULF
PLOT - II
The second part of the poem is set fifty years after the events in Denmark.
A now aged Beowulf has become the King of the Geats and has to face a
final challenge – a deadly fight with a fire-breathing dragon. Initially, the
dragon has the upper hand in the fight, but Beowulf is aided by his
faithful kinsman Wyglaf, who wounds the dragon and lets the dying King
kill the monster.
The poem ends with Beowulf’s funeral and a lament for his death.
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
So [Hrothgar’s] mind turned
To hall-building: he handed down orders
For men to work on a great mead-hall
Meant to be a wonder of the world forever.
BEOWULF
THE MEAD-HALL
And soon it stood there,
Finished and ready, in full view,
The hall of halls. Heorot was the name
He had settled on it […]
BEOWULF
GRENDEL
So times were pleasant for the people there
Until finally one, a fiend out of Hell,
Began to work his evil in the world.
Grendel was the name of this grim demon
Haunting the marches, marauding round the heath
And the desolate fens […]
BEOWULF
GRENDEL
[…]Suddenly then
The God-cursed brute was creating havoc:
Greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men
From their resting places and rushed to his lair,
Flushed up and inflamed from the raid,
Blundering back with the butchered corpses.
BEOWULF
BEOWULF AND HIS COMPANIONS
SET SAIL FOR DENMARK