Beowulf

1. Beowulf The Germanic tribes in Scandinavia ~ 4th-6th C

2. History of Beowulf • ~800 poem composed orally • 1000 only extant manuscript of Beowulf written and tucked away in a monastery, rescued by private collector when Henry 8 destroys the monasteries ~ 1530’s • 1731 manuscript damaged by fire; rebound with some letters lost in margin • ~1750-1936 Beowulf studied by linguists for clues to language and historians for clues to lifestyle of Dark Age Germanic peoples--no literary study • only lengthy work from Dark Ages (~500 - ~1100) • 1936 J.R.R. Tolkien publishes literary essay on Beowulf and it enters the literary canon.

3. Beowulf: Who’s Who • Beowulf--a Geat, Hygelac’s thane • Hygelac, king of Geats, Beowulf’s people, probably living in southern Sweden • Hrothgar--a Dane, elderly king of Danes, descendant of Scyld Scefing whose funeral begins poem • Wealtheow--wife of Hrothgar • Grendel--half man, half monster, descended from Cain • Grendel’s mother--all monster • Unferth--a Dane who taunts Beowulf, then lends him sword Hrunting • Wiglaf--helps Beowulf slay dragon at end

4. Beowulf: Plot of2 Early Battles • Beowulf hears of Grendel’s assault on Heorot and quests with 14 companions. • Hrothgarwelcomes Beowulf and reminds him of old favors he did Ecgtheow, B’s dad. • Beowulf pulls out Grendel’s arm and nails it to the lintel of the Heorot’s door. • Grendel’s mother gets revenge. • Beowulf gets Grendel’s mother. • Hrothgar rewards Beowulf, who returns to share his plunder with Hygelac, his lord.

5. Beowulf: fifty years later • Hygelac and his son had both died in war. • Hygelac’s widow offered Beowulf the throne. He became a good protector of the people, but had no heir. • A slave steals from a sleeping dragon in Beowulf’s kingdom, riling said dragon • The dragon burns Beowulf’s hall. • Beowulf needs help from Wiglaf to slay the dragon, and dies killing the dragon. • Wiglaf predicts that Beowulf’s death and the cowardice of the people will lead outsiders to invade the Geats.

6. Beowulf: Poetic structure • Alliteration--each line of poem alliterates gomban gyldan þæt wæs göd cyning! (tribute of gold that was a good king!) • Caesura--pause within line • use of kennings “whale road” for sea; “night flier” for dragon; “hall’s mouth” for door • substantives = use of adjectives in place of nouns as in “hot and battle-grim seized all his neck with his sharp fangs” (2691) • Repetitions and appositives

7. Beowulf: Human interactions • Humans caught in two possible intergroupings of people • “giving” cycle in which gold, loyalty in battle, women, food and drink are all circulated • “revenge” cycle in which blood is repaid in blood • Grendel not allowed entry into the first cycle, so he transforms it into a revenge cycle which necessarily includes him

8. Beowulf: three tribes • Geats • Hygelac’s (and later Beowulf’s) tribe living in southern Sweden • Danes • Hrothgar rescued from Grendel and his dam by Beowulf. • Prior history of Hrothgar’s taking in Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow during his exile. • Swedes • Not on the best terms with either the Geats or the Danes

9. Beowulfnot influenced by classical epic • What’s alike? • values of the warrior culture • desire to revenge wrongs • desire for plunder • many pagan values--see selves ruled by Fate • What’s different? • poetic structure • short alliterative lines rather than long metrical lines • much shorter epic 3000 lines vs. 15,000+ lines • poetic device of kennings rather than extended similes • no unified structure: Beowulf tells of three great battles in hero’s life. Iliad unified around Achilles’ anger. Odyssey around journey. Aeneid around Aeneas’ sacrifices.

10. Beowulf: discussion questions • What are the values of Beowulf’s warrior culture? • How does understanding wergild (man gold) help you understand this culture? • What is the role of women in this culture? • How is Grendel’s cannibalism ironic? • What are the attributes of a good king? A bad king? • What are the attributes of a good thane?