Transcript BEOWULF NOTES

BEOWULF
NOTES
Write down any words/phrases/people that come
to mind when you see these two words…
HERO LOYALTY
The Original Manuscript
BEOWULF
THE POEM
• Beowulf is an epic poem
• Oral tradition, composed by a scop
• Composed c. 500-700 CE
THE MANUSCRIPT
• Recorded c. 1000 CE, probably by a monk
• Written in Old English
• There is only one copy of Beowulf which was
badly damaged in a fire in the 1700s.
• The manuscript of Beowulf now resides in the
British Museum in London, England
Literary
Terms
FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF
EPIC POETRY
1. The hero is of noble birth or high
social position
2. The hero reflects values that are
important to his society.
3. The hero's actions consist of
courageous, even superhuman
deeds.
4. Supernatural forces are often
involved.
5. The action is on an immense scale
and involves the fate of a whole
people or even the entire human
race.
• EPIC POEM:
a long narrative poem presented
in an elevated style, relating the
heroic deeds of noble or semidivine personages
• The author usually
announces his theme at the
opening and calls on the
muses to help him in his
task of narration.
• The style is noble and
majestic; the characters
speak ceremoniously in long
set speeches.
.
• ALLITERATION: The repetition of initial identical
consonant or vowel sounds in succession or closely
associated syllables, especially stressed syllables.
• CAESURA: A caesura is a pause near the middle in a
line --indicated by punctuation– and is used to add
emphasis to certain words.
• KENNING: metaphorical compound word used as a poetic
device.
In Beowulf, there are many examples of kennings. The king is the "ring-giver," the
rough sea is the "whale-road," and the calm sea is the "swan-road."
• LITOTES: A form of understatement.
To say "She was not unmindful" when one means that "She gave careful attention" is
to employ litotes.
Litotes were a staple of Old English poetry, although often used by more modern
poets.
• METONYMY: A figure of speech characterized by the
substitution of a term naming an object closely associated
with the word in mind for the word itself.
In this way we commonly speak of the king/queen as "the crown," an
object closely associated with the monarchy thus being made to stand
for the monarch. In Beowulf, iron = military power.
• SYNECDOCHE: A literary term in which a part signifies the
whole or the whole signifies the part.
In order to be clear, a good synecdoche must be based on an important
part of the whole and not a minor part, and usually, the part selected to
stand for the whole must be one directly associated with the subject
under discussion. Ex: Lend an ear/hand = attention/help or “wheels”
for a car or “threads” for clothes
Cultural Terms, Concepts, and
Vocabulary
• FORTUNA: the goddess who determines changes in life. Fortuna
sits in the middle of a wheel which spins arbitrarily thus changing the
fortunes of everyone in life. Therefore, one should never be too
comfortable or too unhappy
• WYRD: the word used by the Anglo-Saxons to represent one's lot in
life (sometimes mistranslated as Fate). Since the Anglo-Saxons did
not believe strongly in an afterlife, it was mostly through personal
fame, attained through heroic actions, that one lived on and thus
resisted Wyrd.
• WERGILD: literally--man payment or man price. Sufficient financial
payment was considered satisfactory recompense to the relatives of
a slain man. This was suspended during war. However, this
payment could not be made if one killed one's kindred. Death of
kindred by kindred could not be appeased.
• ELEGIAC: expressing sorrow or lamentation; coming
from the word “elegy” which refers to a death song or
death poem
• FEUDAL: system of social and political organization that
prevailed in Western Europe during a large part of the
Medieval period. In theory, every landholder was merely
the tenant of some greater landlord. Peasant answers to
farmer who answers to knight who answers to lord who
answers to baron who answers to king who answers to
God. Some confusion of status of clergy.
• HART: a stag or deer
• LAIR: an animal's den
• MERE: a mountain lake
• THANE: in early English history, a man who ranked
between an earl and an ordinary freeman. Thanes held
lands of the king or lord and gave military service in
return. In Scottish history, a baron or a lord.
• COMITATUS: Latin term; military
adherents and dependents around a
warrior king, bound by mutual ties of
fidelity
• LOYAL DEPENDENCE: uncertainty of life
in a hostile climate/environment; the way
to live with honor is to be willing to die
• NORDIC DAY: began with night and
ended with sunset
• NORDIC YEAR: began with winter and
ended with fall
EPIC HERO
•Look at the
Hero Log…
G.O.E.S!