Characteristics of an epic:

1
Characteristics of an epic

• The hero, generally male, is of noble birth or
  high position
• The heros character traits reflect important
  ideals of his society
• The hero performs courageous deeds that reflect
  the values of the times
• His actions determine the fate of many

2
Characteristics of an epic continued

• The setting is vast
• Written in formal diction with a serious tone
• Characters have long, formal speeches
• Heros journey (slides to follow)
• Poem reflects timeless values (courage, etc)
• Treats universal themes (good vs. evil, etc.)

3
Beowulf Key Elements and Heros Journey

• The plot is complicated by supernatural beings
  or events.
• The actions of the hero often determine the fate
  of a nation or group of people
• The poem reflects values such as courage and
  honor.

4

• The hero takes a journey to foreign lands.
• 3 phases of the hero journey
• Separation a break away from local social
  order, the beginning of a quest.
• Initiation a long deep retreat inward with a
  series of chaotic encounters which provide new
  insight.
• Return reintegration into society, coming back
  as as a more evolved person.

5

• The general points of the cycle include
• a test (to test worthiness to complete said
  quest)
• a main antagonist, often supernatural
• a magical/unreal world, unable to be visited by a
  normal human, that the hero visits (e.g. the
  underworld or the world of the gods)
• a resurrection
• (either from being dead or from a dead-like
  state of mind, or a hero who was thought to be
  dead who was rediscovered)

6
While the poem is Old English, it focuses on the
Geats (a people who lived in the southern part of
Sweden) and Danes.
7
The action of Beowulf is not straightforward.
The narrator foreshadows actions that will occur
later, talking about events that are yet to come.
Characters talk about things that have already
happened in the poem and recall incidents and
characters outside the poem's main narrative.
8
Themes Conflict

• Look for the struggles of
• good against evil
• strength against weakness
• light against dark

9
Identify a hero or heroine from a film or story
and explain how their journey fits the three
phases be sure to give examples.
10
Read pages 27 31 and in full sentences answer
the following.

• 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?

11
Read through the descriptions of the hero and
villain archetypes. 1. Decide on five of the
archetypes that fit your personality best and
draw and label a pie chart representing these
archetypes proportionately.
2. Write in paragraph format about how the three
most dominant archetypes show up in your
personality. Be specific by giving multiple
examples.
12
Carl Jung
Mythological Analysis

• A student of Freud who differed in views of human
  nature.
• Jung believed that human nature was more than a
  collection of repressed desires and fears.
• He was influenced by religion, art and mythology.
  
• Jung divided the mind into the ego, the personal
  unconscious and the collective unconscious.

is the reservoir of all human experience.
According to Jung all people were connected at
this level .
13
Mythological Analysis

• Archetypes comes from the Greek word archetypos,
  meaning first of its kind.
• They are universal images/concepts/ ideas that
  come from shared common experiences, which
  transcend time, place and culture.
• The value in using archetypal characters in
  fiction derives from the fact that we
  unconsciously already recognize the archetype,
  and thus the motivations, behind the character's
  behavior.

examples