Beowulf

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Beowulf

• EH 2301

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Beowulf

• Of unknown origin
• In the late 900s, two anonymous scribes wrote
  the story on parchment using West Saxon, a
  Germanic dialect dominant for literary
  composition in England at that time.

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Beowulf

• Was bound together with 4 other works in Old
  English.
• The Passion of St. Christopher
• The Wonders of the East
• Alexanders Letter to Aristotle
• Judith (a poem)
• All have the presence of monsters, so this
  suggests that was the common thread.

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Beowulf

• The whereabouts of the manuscript was unknown for
  about 500 years.
• Lawrence Nowell, Dean of Litchfield, owned it in
  1563.
• May have save the manuscript from destruction
  when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries and
  broke up their libraries.

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Beowulf

• Manuscript made its way to the famous library of
  Sir Robert Cotton, an Elizabethan physician.
• In 1731, Cottons library caught fire and the
  codex containing Beowulf was scorched.
• After Cottons death, his library collection was
  taken over by the Crown.
• Today, the manuscript is in the British Library
  in London.

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Beowulf

• No one knows who wrote Beowulf.
• Oral poetry was sung by many was performed when
  warriors gathered in meadhalls during
  celebrations.
• It is from this poem that we derive many of the
  details for the reconstruction of Anglo-Saxon
  social life.

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Beowulf

• Seems to have been entirely fictional.
• The only historically verifiable moment in the
  poem
• Hygelac, lord of the Geats, died in battle
  against the Frisians.
• Chronicled by historian Gregory of Tours that
  Chlochilaichus (Latin name of Hygelac) was killed
  in the year 521.

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Beowulf

• Why has this story lasted through the ages?
• Interlaced with the battles of monsters are tales
  of human struggle.
• Less than exemplary people
• Heremod wicked king who hoarded people
• Modthryth queen who arbitrarily executed those
  who displeased her
• Hrothulf treacherous usurper

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Beowulf

• Why has this story lasted through the ages?
• Interlaced with the battles of monsters are tales
  of human struggle.
• Good against evil
• Strength of heart and spirit
• Truth and light vs. dark powers
• Darkness Grendel, a dragon, greed, treachery,
  pride)

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Beowulf

• Why has this story lasted through the ages?
• Interlaced with the battles of monsters are tales
  of human struggle.
• Challenge is constant.
• Death always awaits.
• Victories, such as the one over Grendel, but in
  the end, even the heros strength and vitality
  must be extinguished by old age.

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of alliteration
• Beginning 3 or 4 words in a line with the same
  letter
• OE waes se grimma gaest Grendel haten
• TRANS a horror from hell, hideous Grendel.
• Then out of the night/came the shadow-stalker,
  stealthy and swift (702-703)

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of kenning
• A specific type of compound used for stylistic
  effects a compressed metaphor.
• swan-road for ocean
• wave-courser for ship
• death-shadow for Grendel

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of oral structure
• Tendency to digress into stories tangent to the
  action of the main plot.
• Contribute to artistry of broad contrasts
• Youth vs. age
• Joy vs. sorrow
• Good vs. bad
• Hrothgars story of King Heremod
• Contrast of good Queen Hygd and bad Queen
  Modthryth

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of oral structure
• Tendency to digress into stories tangent to the
  action of the main plot.
• Commentary from the poet

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of oral structure
• Epic form
• Viewing heros life as part of a historical
  pattern
• Iliad Homer focuses on one sequence the
  withdrawal of Achilles from the Trojan War
• Recalls Helens abduction, which started the war
• Looks ahead to defeat of Trojans

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of oral structure
• Epic form
• Viewing heros life as part of a historical
  pattern
• Miltons Paradise Lost disobedience of Adam
  Eve Enveloping action includes
• Earlier rebellion of Satan
• The creation
• Whole future of fallen mankind

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Structure of Beowulf

• Use of oral structure
• Epic form
• This narrative method enables epic poet to
  delineate his central figure or episodes with
  vitality, yet at the same time to enlarge the
  dimensions of the poem and encompass a wider
  range of human experience.
• Poet also uses digression in a subtle way to
  foreshadow dark events to come.

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Themes in Beowulf

• Identity
• Ancestral heritage
• Individual reputation
• Heroic acts

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Themes in Beowulf

• Heroic glory
• Characteristics of good warrior
• Strength
• Loyalty
• Courage
• Characteristics of good king
• Hospitality
• Generosity
• Diplomacy

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Themes in Beowulf

• Distribution of treasure
• King rewarded strong, loyal warriors
• Gold
• Horses
• Armor

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Themes in Beowulf

• Pagan vs. Christian elements
• Blackburn, The Christian Colouring in Beowulf
• Poem was composed by a Christian who had heard
  the stories and used them in the material of his
  work.
• Poem was composed by a heathen from old stories.
  At a later date, it was revised by a Christian to
  include the Christian allusions.

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Themes in Beowulf

• Pagan vs. Christian elements
• Blackburn
• Passages containing references to biblical
  history or allusion to scripture
• Passages containing disapproval of heathen ideas
  or pagan worship
• Passages containing references to distinctively
  Christian doctrines (heaven, hell, day of
  judgment)
• 53 cases of incidental allusions to the Christian
  God.

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• Beowulf
• http//faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Rea
  dings/Prologue.html

24
http//www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/index.
html