1. Beowulf
Text and Context

2. Background Composed around 700 A.D.
The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for many years before it was written.
The action of the poem takes place around 500 AD
Poet is reviving the heroic language, style and values and pagan values of ancient Germanic oral poetry
The poem deals with ancient Germanic forebears, the Danes and the Geats
Only a single manuscript of the poem survived the Anglo-Saxon era. In the 1700’s it was nearly destroyed in a fire
It was not until 1936 when the Oxford scholar J.R.R> Tolkien published a paper on the poem that it became popular.

3. The Beowulf Poet The poet is Christian
The poem reflects established Christian tradition
Allusions to the Old Testament
Beowulf is a Redeemer who is sent by God to save man from sin
The price of salvation is life itself
Correspondences between Beowulf’s death and the death of Christ

4. Heroic Values in Beowulf
Relationship between king and his warriors
The king rewards his warriors with gifts
If a kinsman is slain, obligation to kill the slayer or obtain payment (wergeld) in compensation

5. Conflict Christian Values and Heroic Values
This tension is at the heart of the poem
Pagan history and myth are made to point to a Christian moral
Beowulf is poised between two value systems

6. The Character of Beowulf
He fights for personal honor, but is committed to service to his own people and humanity.
A superhuman who remains recognizable
Contrast old and young Beowulf
Beowulf as savior

7. Themes Good vs. Evil Fate The Importance of Establishing Identity
Tension between Heroic Code and Christianity
Significance of artifacts
The past

8. Important Elements of the Poem
Elegaic tone
Heroic poem
Contrasts
Christian and pagan
Youth and old age
Rise and fall of nations
Joy and sorrow
Fate and God’s will
Violence
Irony

9. Sutton Hoo Burial site discovered in 1939
Important links to Anglo-Saxon world and Beowulf
Remains of a boat were discovered and large burial chamber containing numerous artifacts
Artifacts suggest a distinctly Christian element intermingled with pagan ritual.
Episodes in Beowulf now have tangible archaeological violence to add creditability to the blend of customs in the text.

10. Sutton Hook Images

11. Suggested Further Reading
Beowulf, A Verse Translatioin. Trans. Seamus Heaney. Ed. Daniel Donaghue. Norton Critical Edition
Norton bibliography on Beowulf , p
Websites on Beowulf, Old English poetry, and Sutton Hoo.