1. Beowulf Introducing the Epic Literary Focus: Archetype— The Epic Hero
Feature Menu
Introducing the Epic
Literary Focus: Archetype— The Epic Hero
Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
TechFocus

2. Beowulf
What moves a hero to act?

3. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Click on the title to start the video.

4. Beowulf Introducing the Epic

5. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Beowulf is
one of the most important epics of Western literature
a long narrative with monsters, gory battles, and a brave hero— Beowulf

6. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
People
Beowulf: nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats.
Hrothgar: king of the Danes.
Wiglaf: a Geat warrior, one of Beowulf’s select band and the only one to help him in his final fight with the dragon.

7. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Pronunciation
In Anglo-Saxon, e is usually a separate vowel.
Beowulf (BAY oh wolf)
Geats (YAY ahts)
Hr is pronounced at the beginning of words.
Hrothgar (HROTH gahr)

8. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Monsters
Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.
Grendel’s mother: water-witch who seeks revenge.
Dragon: giant fire-breathing serpent that Beowulf fights in Part Two of the epic.

9. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Places
Herot: King Hrothgar's guest hall, where warriors gathered to celebrate.

10. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Pronunciation
The first syllable of Anglo-Saxon words is accented.
• Herot (HAY-oh-rot)

11. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Places
Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia.
Scandinavia
Britain
Scholars think Herot might have been built on the coast of Zealand, in Denmark.

12. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Time
500
Beowulf describes the world of the early sixth century.
The story of Beowulf is first told.
600
However, the epic was not written down until some time between 600 and 750.
The epic is written down in 3,200 lines.
750

13. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Sources
Beowulf is based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk legends.
Christian elements and geographic details suggest the epic was written down by a Northumbrian monk.
[End of Section]

14. Beowulf Literary Focus: Archetype—The Epic Hero
An archetype is a very old imaginative pattern that appears in literature across cultures and time.
Archetype
Romeo & Juliet
character
young lovers
plot
star-crossed love
image
Juliet is the sun
setting
order from chaos

15. Beowulf Literary Focus: Archetype—The Epic Hero
Another archetype is the epic hero—the main character of a myth or long narrative poem. An epic hero reflects the values and heroic ideals of a particular society. As archetypes, epic heroes also embody universal ideals.
An epic is a quest story on a grand scale.

16. Beowulf Literary Focus: Archetype—The Epic Hero
Beowulf is one of ancient England’s heroes.
His name may mean bear.
He was a Geat from Sweden who crossed the sea to save the Danes from Grendel.
His culture valued his bravery and strength.

17. Beowulf Literary Focus: Archetype—The Epic Hero
Other times and cultures have had other heroes.
King Arthur
samurai
Joan of Arc

18. Beowulf Literary Focus: Archetype—The Epic Hero
In modern America, the hero may be a real person or a fictional character.
[End of Section]

19. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Beowulf was composed in Old English. The versions you will read were translated by Burton Raffel and Seamus Heaney.
Their translations reflect these features of Anglo-Saxon poetry:
• caesura
• alliteration
• kenning

20. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Anglo-Saxon poets used a caesura, or rhythmic pause, to create unity.
Locate the caesura in these lines:
ða com of more         under misthleoþum Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes sumne besyrwan         in sele þam hean.
Line divided into two parts by a caesura.

21. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Here are the same lines in modern English:
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
In English, punctuation reproduces the pause of the caesura.

22. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon oral poet also used the poetic device of alliteration.
Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes

23. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds in words close together.
And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste.
The emphasis on the w sound in this line from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 creates a melancholy tone.

24. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Find examples of alliteration in this translation of lines of Beowulf:
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.

25. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Find examples of alliteration in this translation of lines of Beowulf:
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.

26. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
The kenning is another poetic device that was used by the oral poet.
Examples of kennings from Beowulf:
gold-shining hall = Herot
guardian of crime = Grendel
strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf
cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon

27. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Kenning: a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly.
A kenning enhances the literal meaning of the words. A kenning gives the listener an idea of how the words connect to an idea or concept that is richer and more emotionally complex.

28. Beowulf Translations of Beowulf
Create modern-day kennings for things you see around you.
giver of words
word-wand ? ? ? ?
[End of Section]

29. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Identifying nouns, verbs, and phrases will help you discover the most important ideas in a passage.
Paraphrasing is the process of selecting the most important ideas and putting them in your own words. First, identify and list nouns, verbs, and phrases. Then, ask: How are these nouns, verbs, and phrases related?

30. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the process of selecting the most important ideas and putting them in your own words. First, identify and list nouns, verbs, and phrases. Then, ask: How are these nouns, verbs, and phrases related?
Related Nouns, Verbs, Phrases:
Paraphrasing is
process
Definition of paraphrasing
selecting . . .
putting . . .
Related Nouns, Verbs, Phrases:
Steps in the process
identify
list
ask

31. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Into Action: As you read, use a chart like the one below to list nouns, verbs, and phrases that describe the epic hero Beowulf and his actions.
Nouns/Pronouns
Verbs
Phrases
my duty
was to go
to the Danes I
drove / chased
giants
[End of Section]

32. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Nouns
Definition
• name a person, place, thing, or idea
• can be the subject or object of a verb
Example
Herot, shield, courage
Beowulf fought Grendel.

33. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Verbs
Definition
Examples
express an action or state of being
can be the predicate of a sentence
Grendel fled. Beowulf was unafraid.
The story of their battle was handed down.

34. Beowulf Reading Focus: Paraphrasing
Phrases
Definition •
Examples
surprising the enemy in the hall to slay his foes shivering from fear
a group of words that work as one unit in a sentence

35. Beowulf Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
Although much of the epic Beowulf progresses in narrative, the main characters deliver speeches to each other, establishing their credentials, their heritage, and their intentions.
In a notebook, make notes about what characterizes these speeches.
[End of Section]

36. Beowulf TechFocus TechFocus
As you read Beowulf, think about similar characters that you have met in modern TV shows, movies, and video games.
[End of Section]

37. Vocabulary

38. Beowulf Vocabulary
reparation n.: payment to make up for a wrong or injury.
reprisal n.: punishment in return for an injury.
loathsome adj.: very hateful; disgusting.
vehemently adv.: violently.
infallible adj.: unable to fail or be wrong.
extolled v.: praised.

39. Beowulf Vocabulary
The word reparation comes from a Latin word that means “restore.”
Related words include
• repair
• reconciliation
• restoration
Judges sometimes require criminals to make reparation to reduce the harm to their victims.

40. Beowulf Vocabulary
After a war has ended, which countries would be expected to pay reparations?
a. countries that started the war
b. countries that were invaded during the war
c. countries that were uninvolved in the war

41. Beowulf Vocabulary
After a war has ended, which countries would be expected to pay reparations?
a. countries that started the war
b. countries that were invaded during the war
c. countries that were uninvolved in the war

42. Beowulf Vocabulary
The word reprisal comes from an Old French word that means “take back.”
A synonym is retaliation.
One country might warn other nations that any attack will bring reprisal.

43. Beowulf Vocabulary
“If you throw that snowball,” I warned, “you can expect reprisal.”
What do you think will happen if someone throws the first snowball?

44. Beowulf Vocabulary
The word loathsome comes from an Old English word that means “to hate” or “be disgusted with.”
Synonyms include
• disgusting • revolting
• hideous • vile
• horrible
The monster created by Frankenstein could not make friends because people found the monster loathsome.

45. Beowulf Vocabulary
Some people call bugs “creepy-crawlies.” Do these children find this insect loathsome? How can you tell?

46. Beowulf Vocabulary
Someone who speaks vehemently talks with passion and conviction.
Antonyms include
• apathetically
• dully
• unenthusiastically
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great orator who spoke vehemently in support of civil rights.

47. Beowulf Vocabulary
In which picture are people arguing vehemently?

48. Beowulf Vocabulary
Someone who is fallible can make mistakes or be deceived. Someone who is infallible is just the opposite.
In + fallible = unable to err
“You think I’m wrong? No way; I’m infallible!”

49. Beowulf Vocabulary
“Most articles in a wiki can be edited by any user,” warned the teacher.
Does the teacher think that articles in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia are infallible?

50. Beowulf Vocabulary
The word extolled, which means “praised,” comes from a Latin word that means “to lift.”
Other words for praise are
acclaim exalt
celebrate glorify
cheer honor
Songs that extolled heroes like Beowulf became part of the oral tradition.

51. Beowulf Vocabulary
After the rescue, the child’s parents said that the firefighter deserved a medal.
What else might they have said when they extolled the firefighter?
[End of Section]

52. The End

53. QuickWrite

54. Beowulf QuickWrite Think about a hero you know or have read about.
In a notebook, write down a list of situations in which a person can rise above his or her place in life to become a hero.
[End of Section]

55. Background

56. Beowulf
Background
The epic poem Beowulf takes place in the Anglo-Saxon period following the fall of the Roman Empire.
Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village in West Stow, England, with communal hall on the left.

57. Beowulf
Background
The story concerns a brave and strong hero who hears tales of a fearsome beast that has laid waste to a kingdom of Danes.
The ancestry of each character is emphasized throughout the epic.
Beowulf rips off the monster Grendel’s arm.
[End of Section]

58. Read with a Purpose

59. Beowulf Read with a Purpose
Read to discover the qualities that the Anglo-Saxons considered heroic.
[End of Section] 59