Introduction to British Culture: Beowulf

Structural Features

Caesura: a break, division.

Creates a pattern which assists the storyteller in remembering the poem.
Creates a pause which enables to recite it correctly
Helps the performer and the audience to engage with the story.
Anglo-Saxons were more comfortable with thinking in two parts, ideas or
point of views.
Alliteration: a repetition of a syllable within the text.
Done in important words in the text.
Helps the storyteller remember the story.
Helps the audience to follow up on the story.

General overview

Beowulf was written by an unknown author.

The text we have today is not the primary text of the story, but a version.
Anglo-Saxons thought that the hero of the story is more important than the author
of it.
Anglo-Saxon literature was not taken for art.
Anglo-Saxon's way of thinking was in an A or B structure (an Either/Or structure)
The events in the story of Beowulf are taking place at around 500 AD.
The narrator tells these events through a Christian point of view, which locates him
at around 800 AD.
He talks about Pagan rituals from a Christian point of view. That is why we can find
references to Christian objects.
The narrator belittles the pagan beliefs and customs.
The only written manuscript is from 1000 AD.
The stories told in the middle of Beowulf give us a hint how Beowulf would have
been told.
There's a match between form and function.
From history and archeology, we are led to believe there might have been a
Hrothgar and heorot.
Pagans believed in many gods, they also believed in fate and that once death comes,
it's the end of everything and all is left is the person's reputation. That's why it's
important to maintain a good reputation.
The way Christian missionaries "sold" the idea of Christianity was by leading people
to believe there's life after death.
Mead halls were the center of the Anglo-Saxon culture.
Beowulf is a good example of how the English were incorporating all the legends and
myths into their culture.
Line 26: the Shield Sheafson funeral. Pagan funeral yet he goes to heaven.

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Line 50: a contradiction on one hand, a pagan ritual is described. They don't know
what happens to the dead. On the other hand, the narrator knows.
Christians left the originals in the text for two reasons:
1. To make sense
2. To leave the original anxiety of "what happens when I die" for the Christian
approach to make sense.
Christian Narrator keeps the pagan rituals in the text to imply that now we are
smarter.
Shield Sheafson = Hrothgar = Center of Society.
Line 65: introduction to Hrothgar and Heorot.
Hrothgar was successful in war and he decided to build heorot.
Good deeds = Goods from Hrothgar.
The narrator attributes the goods as given by god.
Line 86: The narrator inserts the story of the creation in order to explain where
Grendel and his mother come from. It is Hrothgar who tells the story of the
creation.
Grendel is portrayed as the descendant of Cain. He receives a biblical history.
Heorot is the symbol of creation.
Line 189: Beowulf knows he's the only one who can save them (being the hero that
he is). Once he reaches the Danes, they recognize his strength and nobility.
Once he arrives, he introduces himself and tells Hrothgar he plans to fight bare
handed.
The act of fighting bare handedly takes the militaristic aspect out of the story. It's
strictly a battle of good against evil. This means the victory doesn't depend on
Beowulf, but depends on God who uses him as an instrument.
Heorot has a major significance in the story- when the people inside it get attacked,
the hall is depicted as the harmed one. Heorot is a symbol of the world. When
Beowulf wins, the people celebrate inside it.
Hero fighting a supernatural being- Anglo-Saxon motif. This helps the audience to
follow the story.
Story within a story- tells us how the story of Beowulf was once told.
A circular structure: a threat, a battle, the death of the beast and a celebration.
During the celebration they tell the story of Beowulf and Sigemund, another hero.
The story of Sigemund helped researches date the story of Beowulf.
The narrator assumes we know who Sigemund is.
Sigemund is an analogy to Beowulf.
When Beowulf comes to fight Grendel's mother, he fights off monsters on the way,
giving us the feeling that the fight between good and evil never really ended.
In the fight against Beowulf's mother, his armor is described. When Grendels'
mother tries to stab him, the armor defends him- divine intervention.
Grendel's mother's motive is revenge.
Line 1385: Beowulf believes in revenge (The narrator doesn't).
Line 1422: There isn't one good and one evil. It's a whole world of good against evil.
Line 1492: another imposition of the second religion in the story.

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There's a 50 year gap between the story of Grendel's mother and the story of the
dragon.
Beowulf is king.
The story of the dragon breaks the pattern. His belief and attitude changes.
At the end of this fight he dies. The narrator explains this by saying that he's too
proud to prepare for the fight.
It also emphasizes that Beowulf is, after all, mortal.
Line 2231: The events being described here are before the time of Beowulf.
More ancient set of events and ways of looking at the world.
From the narrator's perspective: an outdated idea.
This is an additional layer to the time limits.
An intro to the third episode of the story.
Beowulf is the last of his tribe (The Geats).
The figure in this scene gives us an indication of what will happen with Beowulf.
Line 2341: Beowulf is too proud to defeat the dragon. He doesn't prepare for this
battle and therefore dies.
Pride is one of Beowulf's traits, but he doesn't realize that this time the situation has
changed.
Poem suggests that no one can remain undefeated forever.
Beowulf is put at the same level as the rest of the characters in this part of the poem
(including the warriors that died long ago).
The narrator inserts enough commentaries to help us understand that the entire
way of life had to end.
Line 2794: another example of the mix of ideas. On one hand Beowulf says that his
death is the will of god, on the other hand he passes the one warrior left his armor
and crowns him as the new leader of the people, yet he does know and he says that
this is the end of his people.
In the final speech of the successor warrior, a whole world passed of existence.