An introduction Ms. FB English IV CC adapted Beowulf An introduction Ms. FB English IV CC adapted

Beowulf: Revisiting the Epic Beowulf is: The first great work of English national literature An epic poem – What do you remember about epics (think The Odyssey)? What other epics have you read? What are some examples of modern-day epic stories? (Heroes, Star Wars, the Matrix, Indiana Jones films, Lord of the Rings)

The Epic: Revisited An Epic is: long narrative poem deeds of a hero Can include: supernatural events long periods of time distant journeys life and death struggles between the forces of good and evil. Beowulf is an oral epic passed from scop to scop. Scops told the familiar story for audiences in the communal halls at night. Written down between 700 and 750.

The Epic hero - man high social status embodies the positive traits considered important by a particular culture An Epic Hero is typically a man of high social status, one who is important to the history of his people. Who could be considered a hero today? What does the word “hero” mean to us today? Who are some modern day heroes? [list on board] Individually, why are these people considered heroic? What qualities do they share? Define the word courage. What do we consider to be courageous? [List some acts of courage] How does the word get used nowadays? What is the opposite of courage? Discuss the Bill Maher: “ "We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly.” Can not physically fighting be courageous? Would MLK and Gandhi be considered courageous by Anglo-Saxons? What of loyalty - is that important to us today? A person’s reputation? Whether one is generous? Are heroics and courage considered important today? They’ve been important to us for as long as we’ve banded together and formed societies - these things transcend cultures, religion (people can believe in one God, many gods, no god, and still, these elements are resonant)

Characters: The Good Guys BEOWULF HROTHGAR Beowulf: A member of the Geatish tribe and eventual king of the Geats Hrothgar: king of the Danes – at the start of the poem, Beowulf, who hears from across the sea, that Hrothgar is having trouble, decides to help him out of a jam

Characters: The Bad Guys Grendel Grendel’s mom The dragon Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake. Grendel’s mother: water-witch who’s even meaner than her son *** discuss how she is hollywooded up! Dragon: giant fire-breathing serpent whom Beowulf fights in Part Two of the epic.

The Setting Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia. Scandanavia= Denmark Britain Scandanavia= Denmark Norway Sweden Scandanavia is Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Tie this back to our earlier map. Scholars think Herot (a grand mead-hall where much of the poem is set) might have been built on the coast of Zealand, in Denmark. How does a story about Danes and Scandinavians become the first national classic of Britain?

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion Jutes Angles Saxons Celts/Romans QUESTIONS Which three tribes are known as the Anglo-Saxons? [Angles, Saxons, and Jutes] Where did they come from? [northern Germany, Denmark, and northern Holland] How did they get to Britain? [They rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.] BACKGROUND King Alfred the Great came from Wessex. By the middle of the tenth century, the Wessex kings had become the kings of all England. In Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, a burial mound of an Anglo-Saxon king was discovered in 1939. A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts into the far west of the country Angle-land is born.

The Poetry of Beowulf: Alliteration The Anglo-Saxon oral poet also used the poetic device of alliteration. Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes 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. Because there are relatively few traditional rhymes in the English language, the first poetry was alliterative.

More Poetry: the Kenning Kenning: a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly. A kenning is a way of enhancing the qualities of the thing it describes Gold-shining hall= Herot, the meadhall Guardian of crime = Grendel Strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf Whale-road = the ocean Cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon Can you think of contemporary examples of kenning? Gas-guzzler, Beer-goggles, man-eater, surfing the web, lead-foot, card-shark.

Poetry: Kennings Examples of kennings from Beowulf: Gold-shining hall= Herot, the meadhall Guardian of crime = Grendel Strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf Whale-road = the ocean Cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon