Beowulf

1
Please take notes
Beowulf Is a long heroic poem considered the
supreme achievement of Anglo-Saxon poetry because
of its length (3,182 lines) and sustained high
quality.
Horner
2
Why is Beowulf important? Beowulf is both the
first English literary masterpiece and one of the
earliest European epics written in the
vernacular, or native language, instead of
literary Latin. The story survives in one
fragile manuscript copied by two scribes near the
end of the 10th or the first quarter of the 11th
century.
3
No one knows who wrote Beowulf. Like all early
oral poetry, it had as many authors as singers
who performed it. It is from this poem that we
derive many of the details for our
reconstructions of Anglo- Saxon social life.
4
Scops (pronounced "shops") were both composers
and storytellers who traveled from court to court
the entertainers of Anglo-Saxon times. Scops
were expected to know a broad repertoire of
tales and no doubt be able to compose tales in
tribute to the patrons who financed them.
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Epic vs. Narrative
The first factor that distinguishes epics from
other forms of narrative poetry is scale -epic
poems tend to be too long to be read or performed
in a single sitting.
6
Second distinguishing factor is style Epic
poems are written in what might be termed high
style, avoiding popular metres and verse
patterns. For example, an epic written in English
would not use the ballad form.
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Third distinguishing factor Epic poems always
deal with persons and events that are considered
to be historically real by the poet and their
audience, essentially, the tale of the
tribe. (Based on the history you learned before
what could you expect?)
8
The fourth distinguishing factor the epic hero
cycle. (coming soon to a SmartBoard near you)

http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_age
s_english.shtml
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• An important aspect of Beowulf is the way in
  which it is told/written.
• The scop uses kennings, alliteration, and
  foreshadowing in telling his story.
• He also takes great care in describing Beowulfs
  appearance as he readies for battle, as well as
  other parts of the story.
• These create a strong (and difficult) voice.

10
Kennings are a special form of compounding Words
that are metaphoric in meaning. banhus (ban
hus), literally "bone-house," refers to the human
body hronrad (hron rad), literally "whale's
road," refers to the sea Rodores candel,
literally "sky's candle," refers to the sun
11
Alliteration
(a literary device)
Definition-

• A figure of speech in which consonants,
  especially at the beginning of words, or stressed
  syllables, are repeated
• In Old English poetry, alliteration was a
  continual and essential part of the metrical
  scheme .
• "Five miles meandering with a mazy motion."

12
Beowulf Translation Comparison

• There are many translations of the poem, you will
  be comparing three versions based on word choice,
  use of kennings and alliteration.
• On a separate piece of paper create a grid with
• 3 columns and 11 rows.

13
Read pages 27 31 in full sentences

• When was Beowulf written?
• What is a hero? Explain your definition and give
  examples.
• 3. What is courage? How would most people today
  define courage?
• 4. What is an epic?
• 5. Define and give an example of a kenning. Write
  an original kenning about someone you know.
• 6. In todays society we have our own monsters,
  who or what are they and what do they represent?
• 7. List three modern fictional heroes and
  explain how their journeys fit the epic hero
  cycle. How are they separated? What is their
  initiation? How have they been changed?