On your own paper…. Think about good and evil and the grey areas A common theme topic in literature is Good vs. Evil. Write a paragraph about your opinion on good and evil. Consider what makes something good or evil, how do they change with circumstance, what motivates someone to do one or the other.
Beowulf-Book of the City of Ladies
We will be starting circa 800: Old English Period 400 years after Roman occupation About the same time the Bible is being translated and becoming somewhat more accessible: remember, although Christians were trying to convert the people of Briton, the Bible could only be read in Latin and was, therefore, foreign to the average Brit.
Celtic Britons- Name given to the earliest known people to migrate to England Picts- Segment of Celts that were leaving in Scotland for the most part Anglo-Saxons- Germanic inhabitants of Briton Differences in cultures and languages very often make translations and meaning questionable: in other words, what the Celts thought the Anglo- Saxons meant, might have been very different than what the Anglo-Saxons intended.
Pagan Germanic tribes, considered by most later “historians” as barbarians. Geats- ancient Germanic people of Southern Sweden Swedes- People of northern Sweden who eventually defeat the Geats Danes- loosely applied to term to many of the Germanic and Viking peoples Keep a tab on page 35, the family tree
Religious- All of the peoples of the time had their own mythologies, religions, and ways of worship. But tensions were not just between differing religions, but how to practice a religion, and to whom went the authority. Territorial- Boundaries of where one group began and another ended were often fought over and decided in blod Linguistic- At times, two languages became one, assimilating some from both, but at other times it was a battle to force the ones not in power to speak the language of those in power.
Warrior’s Code vs. Morality- unending violence in revenge or forgiveness Loss of values and way of life- With incoming different cultures, although some things assimilate, there are many things that are lost, leaving people longing for “the good old days” Finding Balance- Heroes should be proud but can fall to pride, King’s should be lavish but not fall to gluttony, etc.
Epic- Long narrative poem about the adventures and misadventures of a flawed hero. Beowulf is a primary or oral epic- meaning it was passed down orally for hundreds of years before ever being written Theme- A statement of what the story is trying to say about a subject. Theme topic: good vs. evil, theme: In attempting good, sometimes one must do evil.
Motifs- repeated images or ideas, very often leading you to find a theme (hint, hint) Symbolism- an object or idea that is really meant to represent something else Allegory- When everything in a story can be argued to represent some other story: historical, cultural, mythological, Biblical, etc. Imagery- closely linked to symbolism, detailed imagery can mean there is more meaning
Kenning- Using much more complicated language than is necessary for someone or something. Showing off. Alliteration- Very common and heavily used device for Anglo-Saxons. Repetition of beginning sounds Allusion- indirect reference to something historical, mythological, Biblical, etc Foil- Character whose opposite nature shows the true nature of another character.
We will read the first 50 lines together Once we are done reading, annotate what you can looking for terms, tensions, and understanding. Your homework will be to read and annotate through line 1440.