Beowulf

The Epic Hero

• Predestined
• Mysterious origin
• Vulnerability
• Embodies cultural ideals
 The Epic Hero
• Responds to catastrophic situations
• Supernatural intervenes to help him
• Moral compass leads him to defend his society
• Mortal but god-like
 Epic
• Long narrative poem
• Recounts the adventures of a hero
• Passed down orally
• Uses elevated language
• Begins in media res
 Background Information
• Setting - Denmark and Sweden
• Author - Unknown, probably a monk
• Composed in the 7th or 8th century
• Oldest surviving English poem
Elements of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
• Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds
“Then the grim man in green gathers his strength”

• Caesura: a pause or break in a line of poetry

“Oft to the wanderer / weary of exile”

• Kenning: compound metaphor used as a name

“battle-blade” and “ring-giver”

• Hyperbole: exaggeration
 Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Belief in fate (Wyrd)
• Treasure equals success
• Fame and fortune
• Loyalty to the leader
• Pagan, Germanic, and Christian ideals
 Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Fierce, hardy life of warrior
and seamen
• Strength, courage, leadership
abilities appreciated
• Rowdy rituals of mead-halls
• Expected the hero to boast
 Anglo-Saxon Hero
• Strong
• Courageous
• Loyal
• Desires fame
• Generous
 Anglo-Saxon Ideals

• Good defeats evil

• Wergild—restitution for a murder
• Comitatus—code of loyalty
• Boasts must be followed by actions
• Fate is in control
• Only fair fights are honorable
Title of Epic Poem
• Anglo-Saxon word Beo
means “bright” or
“noble”
• Anglo-Saxon word
wulf means “wolf”
• Beowulf means bright
or noble wolf
• Other sources say Beo
means “bear”
Beowulf
• Epic hero
• Geat
(from southern Sweden)
• Nephew of Higlac
(King at story’s start)
• Sails to Denmark to
help Hrothgar
 Hrothgar
• Danish king
• Builds Herot (hall)
• Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years
• Loses many men
• Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
Grendel
• Referred to as demon
and fiend
• Haunts the moors
(swampy land)
• Descendant of Cain
(kills his brother Abel in Bible)

• Feasts on 30 men the

night of 1st attack
Grendel’s Mother
• Referred to as a
she-wolf
• Lives under a lake
• Challenges Hrothgar
when she kills one of
his best men
 Fire Dragon
• Lives in Beowulf’s
kingdom
• Wakes up when thief
steals cup
• Guards countless
treasures
Funeral Pyre for Beowulf:
Epic Poem Ends in
Elegy (song of praise)