Presentation by: Aleczandra M. Castillo Alma Chezka G.

 
Waminal 
 
 
B&It]ຫຼາມແມ່ 
 
• Anglo-Saxon word Beo means “bright” or 
“noble” 
• Wulf means “wolf” 
• Thus, “bright or noble wolf” 
• Other sources say Beo means “bear” 
• Language - Anglo-Saxon (also called Old 
English) 
• The longest and greatest surviving 
Anglo-Saxon poem 
• The oldest surviving epic in English literature 
 
• An unknown bard composed it around the 
7th or 8th century, and probably recited it to 
the accompaniment of harp music. 
• The setting of the epic is the sixth 
century in what is now known as Denmark 
and southwestern Sweden. 
 
521 A.D. – death of Hygelac, who is 
mentioned in the poem 
680 A.D. – appearance of alliterative verse 
835 A.D. – the Danish started raiding other 
areas; after this, few poets would consider 
them heroes 
Thus, this version was likely composed 
between 680 and 835, though it may be set 
earlier 
 
•  By  the  tenth  century,  the  words  were 
first  written  in  Old  English.  This  would 
be  a  foreign  language  to  us,  although  a 
few  words  are  familiar:  scyld  (shield), 
sweord (sword), Gode (God) and strong. 
•  Beowulf  now  exists  in  only  one 
manuscript.  This  copy  survived  a 
disastrous  fire  which  destroyed  the 
library  of  Sir  Robert  Bruce  Cotton 
(1571-1631). 
• The Beowulf manuscript is now housed 
in the British Library, London. 
•  The  world  of  warriors  in  Beowulf  is 
based  on  loyalty  and  bravery,  and 
combines  pagan  customs of revenge with 
Christian faith in the will of God. 
 
Genre Alliterative verse; elegy; resembles 
heroic epic, though smaller in scope than most 
classical epics 
Narrator A Christian narrator telling a story of 
pagan times 
Point  of  view  The  narrator  recounts  the  story  in 
the  third  person,  from  a  generally  objective 
standpoint—detailing the action that occurs. The 
narrator  does,  however,  have  access  to  every 
character’s  depths.  We  see  into  the  minds  of 
most  of  the  characters  (even  Grendel)  at  one 
point  or  another,  and  the  narrative  also  moves 
forward  and  backward  in time with considerable 
freedom. 
 
Tone  The  poet  is  generally  enthusiastic 
about  Beowulf’s  feats,  but  he  often 
surrounds  the  events  he  narrates  with  a 
sense of doom. 
Protagonist Beowulf 
Major conflict The poem essentially consists of 
three parts or three central conflicts: - Grendel’s 
domination of Heorot Hall; - the vengeance of 
Grendel’s mother after Grendel is slain; - and 
the rage of the dragon after a thief steals a 
treasure that 
it has been guarding The poem’s overarching 
conflict is between close-knit warrior societies 
and the various menaces that threaten their 
boundaries. 
 
Climax Beowulf’s encounter with Grendel’s 
mother constitutes the moment at which good 
and evil are in greatest tension. 
Falling action Beowulf’s glorious victory over 
Grendel’s mother leads King Hrothgar to praise 
him as a worthy hero and to advise him about 
becoming king. It also helps Beowulf to 
transform from a brazen warrior into a reliable 
king. 
Foreshadowing The funeral of Shield Sheafson, 
with which the poem opens, foreshadows 
Beowulf’s funeral at the poem’s end; the story 
of Sigemund told by the scop, or bard, 
foreshadows Beowulf’s fight with the dragon; 
the story of King Heremod foreshadows 
Beowulf’s eventual ascendancy to kingship 
 
Filain Characters 
 
• Epic hero 
• Geat (from southern Sweden) 
• Nephew of Higlac (King at story’s 
start) 
• Sails to Denmark to help Hrothgar 
 
• Danish king 
• Builds Herot (banquet hall) for men 
• Tormented by Grendel for 12 years 
• Loses many men to Grendel 
• Joyless before Beowulf’s arrival 
 
• Referred to as demon and fiend 
• Haunts the moors (swampy land) 
• Descendant of Cain 
• Feasts on 30 men the night of 1st attack 
 
• Referred to as she- wolf 
• Lives under a lake 
• Challenges Hrothgar when she kills one 
of his best men 
 
• Lives in Beowulf’s kingdom 
• Wakes up when thief steals cup 
• Guards countless treasures 
 
Plot Overview 
 
King Hrothgar 
of  Denmark,  a  descendant 
of  the  great  king  Shield  Sheafson,  enjoys  a 
prosperous  and  successful  reign.  He  builds  a 
great mead-hall, called 
Heorot 
, 
where  his  warriors  can  gather  to  drink,  receive 
gifts  from  their  lord,  and  listen  to  stories  sung 
by  the  scops,  or  bards.  But  the  jubilant  noise 
from  Heorot  angers  Grendel,  a  horrible  demon 
who  lives  in  the  swamplands  of  Hrothgar’s 
kingdom.  Grendel  terrorizes  the  Danes  every 
night,  killing  them  and  defeating  their  efforts  to 
fight  back.  The  Danes suffer many years of fear, 
danger,  and  death  at  the  hands  of  Grendel. 
Eventually, however, a 
 young 
Geatish warrior named Beowulf 
hears  of  Hrothgar’s 
plight.  Inspired  by  the  challenge,  Beowulf  sails 
to  Denmark  with  a  small  company  of  men, 
determined to defeat Grendel. 
 
Hrothgar,  who  had  once  done  a  great  favor  for 
Beowulf’s  father  Ecgtheow,  accepts  Beowulf’s 
offer  to  fight  Grendel  and  holds  a  feast  in  the 
hero’s  honor.  During  the  feast,  an  envious  Dane 
named  Unferth  taunts  Beowulf  and  accuses  him 
of  being  unworthy  of  his  reputation.  Beowulf 
responds  with  a  boastful  description  of  some  of 
his  past  accomplishments.  His  confidence 
cheers  the  Danish  warriors,  and  the  feast  lasts 
merrily  into  the  night.  At  last, however, Grendel 
arrives.  Beowulf  fights  him  unarmed,  proving 
himself  stronger  than  the  demon,  who  is 
terrified.  As  Grendel  struggles  to  escape, 
Beowulf  tears  the  monster’s  arm  off.  Mortally 
wounded, Grendel slinks back into the swamp to 
die.  The  severed  arm  is  hung  high  in  the 
mead-hall as a trophy of victory. 
 
Overjoyed,  Hrothgar  showers  Beowulf  with 
gifts  and  treasure  at  a  feast  in  his  honor.  Songs 
are  sung  in  praise  of  Beowulf,  and  the 
celebration  lasts  late  into  the  night.  But  another 
threat  is  approaching.  Grendel’s  mother,  a 
swamp-hag  who  lives  in  a  desolate  lake,  comes 
to  Heorot  seeking  revenge  for  her  son’s  death. 
She  murders  Aeschere,  one  of  Hrothgar’s  most 
trusted  advisers,  before  slinking  away.  To 
avenge  Aeschere’s  death,  the  company  travels 
to  the  murky  swamp,  where  Beowulf  dives  into 
the  water  and  fights  Grendel’s  mother  in  her 
underwater  lair.  He  kills  her  with  a  sword 
forged  for  a  giant,  then,  finding  Grendel’s 
corpse,  decapitates  it  and  brings  the  head  as  a 
prize  to  Hrothgar.  The  Danish  countryside  is 
now purged of its treacherous monsters. 
 
The  Danes  are  again  overjoyed,  and  Beowulf’s 
fame  spreads  across  the  kingdom.  Beowulf 
departs  after  a  sorrowful  goodbye  to  Hrothgar, 
who  has  treated  him  like  a  son.  He  returns  to 
Geatland,  where  he  and  his  men  are  reunited 
with their king and queen, Hygelac and Hygd, to 
whom  Beowulf  recounts  his  adventures  in 
Denmark.  Beowulf  then  hands  over  most  of  his 
treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him. 
 
In  time,  Hygelac  is  killed  in  a  war  against  the 
Shylfings,  and,  after  Hygelac’s  son  dies, 
Beowulf  ascends  to  the  throne  of  the  Geats.  He 
rules  wisely  for  fifty  years,  bringing  prosperity 
to  Geatland.  When  Beowulf  is  an  old  man, 
however,  a  thief  disturbs  a  barrow,  or  mound, 
where  a  great  dragon  lies  guarding  a  horde  of 
treasure.  Enraged,  the  dragon  emerges  from  the 
barrow  and  begins  unleashing  fiery  destruction 
upon  the  Geats.  Sensing  his  own  death 
approaching,  Beowulf  goes  to  fight  the  dragon. 
With  the  aid  of  Wiglaf,  he  succeeds  in  killing 
the  beast,  but  at  a  heavy  cost.  The  dragon  bites 
Beowulf  in  the  neck,  and  its  fiery  venom  kills 
him  moments  after  their  encounter.  The  Geats 
fear  that  their  enemies  will  attack them now that 
Beowulf  is  dead.  According  to  Beowulf’s 
wishes,  they  burn  their  departed  king’s  body  on 
a  huge  funeral  pyre  and  then  bury  him  with  a 
massive  treasure  in  a  barrow  overlooking  the 
sea. 
 
The Poetry in Beowulf 
 
2. 1. Alliterative verse 
Kennings 
a. Repetition of initial 
a. Compound 
metaphor sounds of words 
(usually two 
words) (occurs in every line) 
b. Most were 
probably b. Generally, four 
used over 
and over feet/beats per line 
- For 
instance: hronade c. A caesura, or pause, 
literally means 
“whale- between beats two and 
road,” but can 
be translated four 
as “sea” 
d. No rhyme 
Other Kennings 
“bone-house” = body ; “gold-friend of men” 
= generous prince; “ring-giver” = lord; 
“flashing light” = sword 
 
Critical Approach 
 
• Is concerned primarily with form and thus 
places the greatest emphasis on how something 
is said, rather than what is said. 
•  Formalists  believe  that  a  work  is  a  separate 
entity—not  dependent  on  the  author’s  life  or the 
culture in which the work is created. 
•  Like  classical  artists  such  as  da  Vinci  and 
Michelangelo,  formalists  concentrate  more  on 
the  form  of  the  art  rather  than  the  content.  They 
studied  the  recurrences,  the  repetitions,  the 
relationships,  and  the  motifs  in  a  work  to 
understand what the work was about. 
• No paraphrase is used in a formalist 
examination, and no reader reaction is 
discussed. 
 
Themes: are the fundamental and 
often universal ideas explored in a 
literary work. 
1. The Importance of 
Establishing Identity 2. 
Tensions Between the Heroic 
Code and Other Value 
Systems 3. The Difference 
Between a Good Warrior and 
a Good King 
 
The Importance of 
Establishing Identity 
Beowulf is essentially a record of heroic 
deeds, the concept of identity—two 
principal components, are ancestral 
heritage and individual reputation— 
which is clearly central to the poem. 
• The opening passages introduce 
the reader to a world in which every 
male figure is known as his father’s 
son. 
 
– Characters in the poem are unable to 
talk about 
their identity or even introduce 
themselves without referring to family 
lineage. – This concern with family 
history is so prominent 
because of the poem’s emphasis on 
kinship bonds. Characters take pride in 
ancestors who have acted valiantly, and 
they attempt to live up to the same 
standards as those ancestors. 
•  While  heritage  may  provide  models  for 
behavior  and  help  to  establish 
identity—as  the  line  of  Danish  kings 
say—a  good  reputation  is  the  key  to 
solidifying  and  augmenting  one’s 
identity. 
 
For example: 
•  Shield  Sheafson,  the  legendary 
originator  of  the  Danish  royal  line, 
was  orphaned;  because  he  was  in  a 
sense  fatherless,  valiant  deeds  were 
the  only  means  by  which  he  could 
construct an identity for himself. 
•  While  Beowulf’s  pagan  warrior 
culture  seems  not  to  have a concept of 
the  afterlife,  it  sees  fame  as  a  way  of 
ensuring  that  an  individual’s  memory 
will continue on after death 
 
 Tensions Between the 
Heroic Code and Other 
Value Systems 
•  Much  of  Beowulf  is  devoted  to 
articulating  and  illustrating  the  Germanic 
heroic  code,  which  values:  strength, 
courage,  and  loyalty  in  warriors; 
hospitality,  generosity,  and  political  skill 
in  kings;  ceremoniousness  in  women;  and 
good reputation in all people. 
•  The  poem  highlights  the  code’s points of 
tension  by  recounting  situations  that 
expose its internal contradictions in values. 
•  The  poem  also  contains  several  stories 
that  concern  divided  loyalties,  situations 
for  which  the  code  offers  no  practical 
guidance about how to act. 
 
• The code is also often in tension 
with the values of medieval 
Christianity. 
• While the 
– Code maintains that honor is gained 
during life 
through deeds, – Christianity asserts 
that glory lies in the afterlife. 
 
 The Difference Between a 
Good Warrior and a Good 
King 
•  Over  the  course  of  the  poem, 
Beowulf  matures  from  a  valiant 
combatant into a wise leader. 
• His transition demonstrates that a 
differing set of values accompanies 
each of his two roles. 
•  The  difference  between  these  two 
sets  of  values  manifests  itself  early 
on  in  the  outlooks  of  Beowulf  and 
King Hrothgar. 
 
Beowulf King Hrothgar 
The  youthful  Beowulf,  having  nothing 
to lose, desires personal glory 
The  aged  Hrothgar,  having  much  to  lose, 
seeks protection for his people. 
• Hrothgar’s speeches, in particular, 
emphasize the value of creating 
stability in a precarious and chaotic 
world. -He also speaks at length 
about the king’s role in diplomacy, 
both with his own warriors and with 
other tribes. 
 
• Beowulf’s own tenure as king 
elaborates on many of the same 
points. His transition from warrior 
to king, and, in particular, his final 
battle with the dragon, rehash the 
dichotomy between the duties of a 
heroic warrior and those of a heroic 
king. 
 
MOTIFS: 
are recurring structures, contrasts, or 
literary devices that can help to develop 
and inform the text’s major themes. 1. 
Monsters 2. Oral Tradition 3. The 
Mead-Hall 
 
Monsters 
– In Christian medieval culture, monster 
was the word that referred to birth 
defects, which were always understood 
as an ominous sign from God of 
transgression or of bad things to come. – 
To readers, the three monsters that 
Beowulf slays all seem to have a 
symbolic or allegorical meaning. 
 
– For instance, since Grendel is descended 
from the biblical figure Cain, who slew his 
own brother, Grendel often has been 
understood to represent the evil in 
Scandinavian society of marauding and 
killing others. – Dragon: A traditional figure 
of medieval folklore and a common 
Christian symbol of sin, the dragon may 
represent an external malice that must be 
conquered to prove a hero’s goodness. – 
Because Beowulf’s encounter with the 
dragon ends in mutual destruction, the 
dragon may also be interpreted as a 
symbolic representation of the inevitable 
encounter with death itself. 
 
The Oral Tradition 
•  Intimately  connected  to  the  theme 
of  the  importance  of  establishing 
one’s  identity  is  the  oral  tradition, 
which  preserves  the  lessons  and 
lineages  of  the  past,  and  helps  to 
spread reputations. 
 
The Mead-Hall 
– The poem contains two examples of 
mead-halls: Hrothgar’s great hall of 
Heorot, in Denmark, and Hygelac’s hall 
in Geatland. – A cultural institution, – 
historically a safe haven for warriors 
returning 
from war, – a place for community 
where traditions are 
preserved. 
 
Conclusion of the Epic 
•  The  conclusion  of  the  epic  begins 
with  a  brief  but  lovely elegiac passage 
in  honor  of  the  dragon,  consigning  it, 
along  with  Beowulf,  to  the  company 
of  those  who  can  no  longer  exercise 
their greatness. 
•  The  poet  emphasizes  the  dragon’s 
beauty  and  grace  of  movement 
(“Never  again  would  he  glitter  and 
glide”  [2832]),  illustrating  that  the 
beast  was  magnificent  in  its  own  right 
and a worthy match for the great hero. 
 
•  The  poet’s  admiring  words about the 
dragon  glorify  Beowulf’s  feat  in 
slaying  such  a  creature  and 
demonstrate  a  respect  for  the  slain 
enemy  that  Grendel  and  his  mother 
never enjoyed. 
•  The  poet  here  demonstrates  his 
sensitivity  to  balance—  what  the 
translator  calls  “four-  squareness”—as 
he  dwells  on  the  two bodies lying side 
by  side,  two  remarkable  lives  come  to 
a close. 
 
•  By  the  time  of  the  funeral, 
Wiglaf’s  initial  rage  against  his 
compatriots  has  cooled  somewhat, 
and  he  speaks  once  more  for  the 
community.  As  extensively  as  it 
honors  Beowulf’s  greatness,  the 
final  scene  of  the  poem  comes 
closer  than  any  other  to  criticizing 
his behavior. 
 
•  Wiglaf  reflects  that  there  may  have 
been  an  element  of  irresponsibility  in 
Beowulf’s  single-  mindedness  and 
daring  when  he  proclaims,  “Often 
when  one  man  follows  his  own  will  / 
many  are  hurt.  This  happened  to  us” 
(3077–3078). 
•  This  declaration,  in  conjunction  with 
the  earlier  statement  that  Beowulf was 
too  proud  to  field  a large army against 
the  dragon,  suggests  that  his  actions 
were  not  wholly  courageous  but  also, 
to a degree, foolhardy and headstrong. 
• Like Wiglaf, we are left to ponder 
how courage can balance with 
judgment to yield true heroism.