• The hero, generally male, is of noble birth or high position
• The hero’s character traits reflect important ideals of his society
• The hero performs courageous deeds that reflect the values of the times
• His actions determine the fate of many

• The setting is vast
• Written in formal diction with a serious tone
• Characters have long, formal speeches
• Hero’s journey (slides to follow)
• Poem reflects timeless values (courage, etc)
• Treats universal themes (good vs. evil, etc.)

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Beowulf
Key Elements and
Hero’s Journey
•The plot is complicated by supernatural beings or events.
• The actions of the hero often determine the fate of a nation or group of people
• The poem reflects values such as courage and honor.

The hero takes a journey to foreign lands.
3 phases of the hero journey:
•Separation – a break away from local social order, the beginning of a quest.
•Initiation – a long deep retreat inward with a series of chaotic encounters which provide new insight.
•Return – reintegration into society, coming back as as a more evolved person.

The general points of the cycle include:
•a test: to test worthiness to complete said quest
•a main antagonist , often supernatural
•a magical/unreal world , unable to be visited by a normal human, that the hero visits (e.g. the underworld or the world of the gods)
•a resurrection: either from being dead or from a dead-like state of mind, or a hero who was thought to be dead who was rediscovered

The action of Beowulf straightforward. is not
The narrator foreshadows actions that will occur later, talking about events that are yet to come.
Characters talk about things that have already happened in the poem and recall incidents and characters outside the poem's main narrative.

•good and evil coexist in the world
•strength against weakness
•light against dark
•Life is transitory
•All men must die but man can live on through fame
•Christian versus pagan elements

Motifs: recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
• Monsters
• the oral tradition
• Mead hall

• The hero is at first naïve and inexperienced
• The hero meets monsters or monstrous men
• The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home
• The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge.
• The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero loses his/her parents at a young age, being raised by animals or a wise guardian
• The hero is special, one of a kind. He/she might represent a whole nation or culture
• The hero struggles for something valuable and important (as determined by the culture)
• The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces
• The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change from an immature to a more mature understanding of the world
• The hero undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after his/her initiation
• The hero makes a stirring speech to his/her companions
• The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical and/or mental) and shows pride in his/her excellence
• The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers.

• Values strength, courage, and loyalty in warriors.
• Hospitality, generosity, and political skills in kings
• Ceremoniousness in women
• Good reputation in all people
IMPORTANCE OF GERMANIC HEROIC CODE IN
SAXON CULTURE
BEOWULF AND ANGLO-
• Vital as a means of understanding individual relationship to the world and the menaces lurking beyond their boundaries.
• All characters’ moral judgments stem from the codes mandates
• Individual action can be seen only as conforming to or violating the code.

Ideals
• Physical strength
• Courage
• Devotion to duty
• Loyalty
• Generosity
• Fair play
Vices
• Pride
• Greed
• Cowardice
• Disloyalty