Beowulf

BEOWULF STUDY GUIDE: 1. Rhythm: -made musical alliteration -four accented beats -Figurative language such as kennings give insight or meaning Meter: -no rhyme scheme -accented verse 1) General characterisitcs 2) rhyme, alliteration, kennings Instead there are many kennings referring to him, such as: "Prince of the Weders", "The Son of Ecgtheow", "The Geatish hero", and "The Lord of the Seamen". These kennings describe Beowulf to us in a more interesting way than just stating the hard facts. Without these kennings Beowulf would be less interesting and we would learn less about him. Anybody would say that describing or referring to a person by his or her name over and over again is boring. So the use of kennings and metaphors is very important in this long epic poem. Alliteration, which is repeating the same sound, usually a consonant, at the beginning of words or in accented syllables, gives this story a more poetic sound. Alliteration also helped the scops or storytellers in memorizing the tales. Examples of alliteration can be found throughout the poem such as, "The Hall of the Heart", "His pledge and promise", "Dragging the dead men home to his den", "Fitted and furnished", and "Showed sea-cliffs shining". Main Characters Beowulf: Illustrious warrior from the land of the Geats in Sweden. When a monster terrorizes a Danish kingdom, Beowulf sails across the sea to come to the aid of the beleaguered Danes. Beowulf possesses enormous strength and courageously confronts the monster in hand-to-claw combat. A Geat, son of Edgetho and nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats. Higlac is Beowulf’s feudal lord, as well as his uncle. Hrothgar: King of a Danish realm terrorized by a monster. He presides at Herot, a great mead hall. King of the Danes; he had once befriended Beowulf’s father Welthow: Hrothgar's wife and queen. Grendel: Monster that terrorizes Herot. A man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake. Herot: the golden guest hall built by Hrothgar. It was decorated with the antlers of stags Grendel's Mother: Monster that retaliates after Beowulf defeats Grendel. Dragon: Monster that goes on a rampage in the land of the Geats. Wiglaf: Warrior who helps Beowulf fight the dragon. Unferth: Danish warrior who envies Beowulf. Skilled warrior; killed his brothers; His sword Hrunting is used by Beowulf to fight Grendel’s mother. Brecca: Childhood friend of Beowulf. Chief of a tribe called Brondings Structure -In structure, Beowulf is divided chronologically into two main sections: one that focuses on Beowulf as a young man and one that focuses on him as an old man. In terms of action, it is divided into three main sections: one that introduces the characters and describes Beowulf's conquest of Grendel, one that describes Beowulf's defeat of Grendel's mother, and one that describes Beowulf's defeat of the dragon with the help of Wiglaf. Themes 1. Goodness conquers evil. Beowulf, of course represents goodness; the three monsters that he slays represent evil. 2. Actions (Beowulf's) speak louder than words (Unferth's). 3. Judge the greatness of a human being by the greatness of his deeds and his noble ancestry. 4. Help thy neighbor. (Beowulf risks his life to help a neighbor, King Hrothgar, in trouble.) 5. Forces of darkness–irrational, menacing–are always at work in society. 6. Life is a continuing struggle. After Beowulf defeats Grendel, Grendel's mother seeks revenge. Beowulf kills her. Eventually, in old age, he faces still another challenge, this time from a dragon. He kills the dragon, too, but suffers a mortal wound. After he dies, new troubles loom on the horizon in the form of wars with neighboring tribes. The Hero and the Villains Poem's Hero: Beowulf, a mighty warrior from the land of the Geats in Sweden. He is noble, courageous, bold, and stronger by far than any other living mortal. Poem's Villains: (1) Grendel, a foul marsh-dweller born of the hatred of the biblical Cain. (In Genesis, Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, kills his brother, Abel, the second son, after God accepts Abel's sacrifice but not Cain's.) Grendel is a nightmarish creature–half-beast, half-man–that strikes at the darkest hour. (2) Grendel's mother, a loathsome fiend protected by sea monsters; (3) a fire-breathing dragon that can destroy an entire town with a mere exhale. Imagery -The imagery in Beowulf consists mostly of alliteration and metaphor. Many apparent hyperboles describing the feats of Beowulf are not true hyperboles, since what appear to be exaggerations–such as a passage saying Beowulf swam from Sweden to Finland or a passage saying Beowulf had the strength of thirty–were intended to be taken literally. Kennings–compound expressions, often hyphenated, representing a single noun–occur often in Beowulf. Examples of kennings are the following: whale-road for sea, sea-wood for ship, shield-bearer for warrior, battle-spoil for treasure, ring-nets for chain mail, sword-draught for a sword swallowing the blood of an enemy, and twilight-spoiler for dragon. A kenning is a form of metaphor and are similar to the Homeric epithet. Kennings: GRENDEL Infamous killer -444 Almighty’s enemy -467 Sin-stained demon -483 Hell-forged hands -64 Shadow of death -74 Mankind’s enemy -79 Fiercest of demons -261 Shepherd of evil, guardian of crime -432 HROTHGAR Mighty Prince -45 Protector of the Danes -190 Healfdane’s son -104, 375 Great king of the Danes -127 Famous ring-giver -341 (Welthow) gold-ringed queen -346 bracelet-wearing queen -355 GRENDEL’S MOTHER Greedy she-wolf -574 Mighty water witch -595