Transcript BEOWULF - Gonzaga College High School

Mead, Murder, and Monsters
 Written
in Anglo-Saxon (Old English).
 Written in middle of 7th to the end of 10th
century AD
 Written in England, set in Scandinavia
 Takes place in the land of the Danes and
Geats, currently Denmark and Sweden.
 Exists only in one manuscript, which was
discovered in the 1600’s in England.
 Remember,
Beowulf is a poem.
 Unlike other epics, which were written in
hexameter verse, Beowulf was written in
alliterative verse.


Alliteration: Repetition of the same consonance
or assonance sound at the beginning of several
words in close succession.
Used to unify a poem instead of rhyme.
 Repetition
 Greedy

of same consonant sounds
and grim, he grabbed thirty men
Beowulf (l. 122)
 Buffalo
Bills, Washington Wizards, Pittsburgh
Pirates, etc.
 As

long as I’m alive, I’m-a live illegal.
Mobb Deep (Havoc) “Shook Ones Pt. 2”

Repetition of vowel sounds

You waded in, embracing water,/ taking its
measure, mastering currents,/ riding on the
swell.

Beowulf (ll. 513-515).

Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina
Panthers.

“I bomb atomically- Socrates' philosophies and
hypotheses can't define how I be droppin' these
mockeries- Lyrically perform armed robberies.”

- Wu-Tang Clan (Inspectah Deck) “Triumph”
 Contain
an epic hero: a virtuous and noble
figure, proven in battle, who represents his
nation, culture, or race.
 Lengthy
 Lofty, serious style
 Contain Homeric similes (also known as epic
similes)
 Begin in medias res
 Start with an invocation of the muse
 Introduced
into turmoil
 Polished speaker who can address councils,
chieftains, or elders with eloquence.
 Descendent from a god or goddess
(demigod).
 Possesses great weapons
 Participates in cyclical journey or quest
 Exemplifies
traits and morals for his people
 Embodies cultural and religious beliefs
 Has a comitatus (group of followers who owe
their allegiance), but he or she will
undertake the main task alone.
 Hero defeats someone in single combat who
is perceived to be greater than him or her.

Examples: Achilles, Aeneas, Beowulf, Cu
Chulainn, Dante, Hector, King Arthur, and
Odysseus.
 Contemporary
Denmark
Heorogar
Hrothgar
Shield
Sheafson
Beow
Halfdane
Halga
A
daughter
 Fortunes
of war
favored him.
 Grew a mighty
army.
 Bored; built
Heorot for his
men.
 Doled out rings &
torques.
 Built
by Hrothgar
 Mead-hall, a
peaceful place of
celebration for
Hrothgar’s men.
 Hrothgar dispenses
rings, torques, and
other goods to his
thanes.
 Meant to be a
“wonder of the
world forever”
(l.70).
 “Fiend
out of hell”
 “Powerful” and
“grim demon”
 “Warped in the
shape of a man” (l.
1351-2).
 Has talons.
 Descendent of
Cain’s clan
 Hates music
 Hates the Almighty
 Modern
Sweden
King
Hygelac
Ecgtheow
Beowulf
 Geat
 Son
of Ecgtheow
 Thane to Hygelac
 Hears news of the
troubles in
Denmark
 Gathers men and
sets sail
 Why
was Shield Sheafson considered “one
good king”?
 Why was Hrothgar considered a good king?
 What “harrowed” Grendel? What caused him
to attack?
 What words are used to describe Hrothgar on
page 11?
 Who came with Beowulf?
 What does the coast-guard do that is
honorable?
 Who is Wulfgar?
 How
does Hrothgar know of Beowulf?
 Why does Beowulf “renounce sword and
shelter of the broad shield?”
 Why does Unferth doubt Beowulf?
 Describe the battle between Beowulf and
Grendel.
 Why didn’t swords work against Grendel?








Geat
Beowulf’s father
Began feud with Wulfings
Forced to leave by his
people
Sailed to Danes, Hrothgar
Hrothgar heals feud by
paying off Wulfings
Ecgtheow pledges
allegiance to Hrothgar
Hrothgar believes this is
why Beowulf has returned
to defeat Grendel
 Wulfing
 Hrothgar’s
 “Adorned
Queen
in gold.”
(l. 614)
 “Decked out in
rings.” (l. 621)
 “Arrayed with
gold.” (l. 641)
 Serves
mead to the
king and his men.
 Danish
Doubter
 Son of Ecglaf
 Questions the strength of Beowulf by
mentioning story of Breca.
 Kennings
are word compounds.
 They are figures of speech that say what
something does rather than what it is.







Whale-road (“Ocean”)
Ring-giver (“King”)
Word-hoard (“Mouth”)
Corpse-maker (“Murderer”)
Coast-guard (“Coast Guard”)
Wergild (“man-price” legally fixed compensation)
Wael-raes (“In the rush of battle-slaughter”)
 Create







a kenning for the following terms:
Teacher
Student
Senior
Offensive Coordinator
Internet
Parents
Automobile
 Briefly
recount the story of Sigemund. How is
this relevant to Beowulf?
 How does Unferth respond to the victory?
 What does the Geat prince killed by Grendel
receive?
 Briefly recount the story of Finn. How is this
relevant to Beowulf?
 What are the last five words of this reading?
 Beo
 Bee
 Wulf
 Foe
or Hunter
 Hwaet . . . . . .  So, lo, hark
 Heoro . . . . . .  Army
 Hroth . . . . . .
 Glory
 Wergild . . . . .  Man-price
 Wyrd . . . . . .
 Fate
 Gar . . . . . . .
 Spear
 Beado-Leoma .  Battle torch
 Wael-raes . . .
 In the rush of battle
slaughter
 His
name derives from “bee-foe” or “beehunter,” which is a kenning for a bear.
 Why
are bears known as bee foes?
A
poem-within-a-poem
 A digression from the story used to parallel
with Beowulf’s story
 Sigemund

Earned glory, dared to enter a dragon’s den all by
himself, killed dragon, earned fame everywhere
because of good character.
 Heremod

Was king, prowess declined because of bad
character, betrayed, beaten down, evil entered
his soul.
A
poem-within-a-poem
 A digression from the story used to compare
with Beowulf
 Finn

Attacked his wife’s family’s people without
warning, killed her brother and son, eventually
murdered.
 Hildeburh

(Compare with Wealtheow)
Married to Finn
 The
narrator knows the thoughts of all
characters.
 He or she knows that Hygelac will wear the
torque Beowulf gives him the day of his last
raid (l. 1202)
 He or she knows the impending doom of the
characters (l. 1232)
 How
is Grendel’s mother described?
 What is she desperate for?
 How do the Danes (and Beowulf) know where
to find Grendel’s mother?
 What does Unferth give to Beowulf?
 What does the weapon Beowulf finds in the
mere look like?
 What did Beowulf take from the mere? What
did he leave behind?
“Looks like a women”
(l. 1351)
 Has “savage talons”
(l. 1504).
 An “unnatural birth”
beget Grendel (l.
1353).
 Lives in the bottom of
the mere, which “has
never been sounded
by the sons of men”
(l. 1367).


It is the archetypal
unconscious deep.
 Aesc
= Ash
 Here/Hearo = Army
 Hrothgar’s
“soul-mate” (l. 1325) and
“highest-placed adviser, his dearest
companion” (ll 1308-9).
 “Everything the world admires in a wise man
and a friend” (l. 1328-9).
 What
does his death say about life?
 The
archetypal
sword lent to
Beowulf from
Unferth.
 A “rare and ancient
sword” (l. 1458).
 “It had never failed
the hand of anyone
wh hefted it in
battle” (ll. 1460-1).
 Why couldn’t
Unferth use the
sword?
 Hrunting
. . .  Beowulf
 Excalibur . .  King Arthur
 Durandel . . .  Roland
 Tizona . . . .  El Cid
 Tyrfing . . . .  Norse Mythology
 Joyeuse . . .  Charlemagne
 Curtana . . .  Edward the Confessor
 Gram . . . . .  Norse Mythology
 Attaining
a name for warrior-prowess among
the living overwhelms any concern about the
soul’s destiny in the afterlife.
 How
have we seen this in the readings?
 Who
does Hrothgar compare Beowulf to?
 “Beowulf, my friend, your fame has gone far
and wide, you are known everywhere. In all
things you are (1)_________, (2) __________,
and (3) _________.”
 What is the “trap” mentioned on line 1758?
 Why doesn’t Beowulf put blame on Hrunting?
 “Beowulf,
my friend, your fame has gone far
and wide, you are known everywhere. In all
things you are (1) even-tempered, (2)
prudent, and (3) resolute.”
 Recounts the story of Heremod; tells Beowulf
to beware of that trap.
 Beowulf brought two nations together: the
Danes and the Geats.
 Where
does this scene take place?
 Who is Hygd? Queen Modthryth?
 What does the Coast Guard do as the Geats
are leaving?
 Who is Freawaru?
 What does Beowulf present Hygelac?
 Has your opinion of Beowulf’s humanity
changed?
 Who
finds the dragon’s treasure?
 What is Beowulf’s last boast?
 How did the dragon know Beowulf was there?
 Describe the change in gold during the time
of the text.
 Who
is Wiglaf? Who are the shirkers?
 To whom did Beowulf want to bestow his
armor?
 What is Beowulf’s Barrow?
 What do you find important about Wiglaf’s
rebuke of the battle-dodgers?
 In the closing lines of the poem, how does
the poet describe Beowulf?
 Is this a fitting end to the poem?
 01.05.11:
My Opinion of a Hero
 01.11.11: A Triumph of Mine
 01.20.11: A Gift I Received
 isern-scur
 "iron-shower"
 hildegicelum
 "battle-icicle"
 Hildebord
 "battle-board”
 Hilde
 “Battle”
 Beado
 Guth
 wael.
 “Slaughter”