Lecture no.
2 the use of the harp
BEOWULF – The First Anglo-Saxon Heroic Epic Poem the existence of the king’s council (witan)
a paved road in the Roman fashion
Why Beowulf? Two types of material went into the making of the epic:
Oldest full-length poem in any Germanic Language (it was written in the historical characters, Scandinavian chieftains, attested by documents;
vernacular, i.e. West Saxon, not in Latin) the supernatural realm of fairy- tales: water-monsters, fire-belching
The only long Old English poem that has survived in its complete form dragons who establish kinship with Biblical characters (the monster
Historical value – it actually allows us to tell when it was written down in Grendel is a descendant of Cain)
history Beowulf is the last great hero of his people/race (in a way he is a tragic
Literary value - it sets up the way stories are told in English culture figure as well as a hero )
Cultural value – it lets us have a look into the wonderful ancient culture of One can notice both Christian and Pagan mixture (mixture of pagan custom
the Danes and Geats1, ancestors of the English people. with gods and monsters and Christian belief with demons and the power of
The Manuscript - Facts God; it’s a story of transition)
700-1020 AD / 8th-10th century (judging by the style of the language and The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for many years before it
the form of the letters) was written.
2 scribes (because there are 2 different kinds of handwriting in the codex, Setting
one much neater than the other)
3,182 lines (which may be divided into one Prologue and forty-three sections • The poem is set on the coast of Denmark (in Scandinavia) on a piece of
that may stand for cantos ) land under contention between two groups of Scandinavian people called the
It appears in the Cotton manuscript Danes (living in Denmark) and the Geats (living in nowadays Sweden). These two
General Information nations are at war. They live for:
Beowulf, an Old English poem of 3,182 lines, surviving in a 10th-century - Battle
manuscript. It tells of two major events in the life of the Geatish hero Beowulf: the - Honour
first when, in his youth, he fights and kills first Grendel, a monster who has been - Bravery
attacking Heorot, the hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, and then Grendel’s mother The Plot
who comes the next night to avenge her son; the second, 50 years later, when the story revolves around 3 battles
Beowulf, who has for a long time been king of the Geats, fights a dragon who has 2 parts:
attacked his people, in a combat in which both Beowulf and the dragon are 1. one with the young Beowulf-the-hero
mortally wounded. The historical period of the poem’s events can be dated in the 2. the other with the old Beowulf-the-king
6th century, from a reference to Beowulf’s King Hygelac by the historian Gregory Old world vs. new world (the old story of the hero is much more the pagan
of Tours; but much of the material of the poem is legendary and paralleled in other story – the mighty warrior fighting the magical powers of darkness and
Germanic historical-mythological literature in Norse, Old English, and German.” chaos; the second is far more rooted in a new world of politics, stable
• The 3182 lines in alliterative metre refer back to events occurring government, and a king who sacrifices himself for his people)
Beowulf. Form and Structure
about 500 A.D., incorporating an impressive body of Scandinavian historical
The verses were intoned or chanted, usually with harp accompaniment.
episodes as well as folk legends.
The favourite trope/figure of speech is the kenning (a kind of compound
The elements of English civilization:
metaphor or paraphrase, describing a thing instead of naming it). For instance:
1
Geats - ancient Germanic people of Southern Sweden, conquered by the Swedes in land-dwellers for “people”, bone-frame for “body”, house’s mouth for “door”,
the 6th century AD etc.
1
The story is broadly that of the Danish king Hrothgar’s conflict with her layer under the sea. He kills the monster and severs the head of Grendel’s
Grendel, a monster, of whom he rid himself with the help of the Geatish hero, corpse he finds in the cave, bringing it to his companions as a trophy. After the
Beowulf. death of Hygelac and that of his son at the hands of the Swedes, Beowulf
The poem starts in the usual fashion, with the genealogy of Hrothgar, succeeds to the throne proving the “kindest, the most just and the most eager for
going back to an ancestor, Scyld Scefing/Schefing, whose glorious life is fame” king that has ever been. In old age he gets one mare chance to prove his
remembered by his people at the hour of his death. The pagan ritual of the body courage and self-sacrifice for the good of his people. As a fire-spitting/belching
being entrusted to the sea on a ship loaded with weapons and treasures was dragon is ravishing/assaulting the land, he decides once more to meet the
confirmed by excavations. inhuman enemy in single combat. It is only Wyglaf, a young thane whom he
Then, we are brought to Hrothgar, the son of Healfdene. Hrothgar’s loves as if he were his son, that helps him in his final battle, while the other
building a majestic hall, Heorot, in which to entertain his escort, has something warriors prove as “empty and idle” as Hrothgar’s in his old age. Beowulf kills
majestic about it. It is a demiurgic act of ordering a work of art into being, the dragon, but he himself dies from the wounds he receives. The king’s body is
somehow resembling God’s creation of the world. burnt on a pyre, and the remains are covered by a huge barrow (earthen mound
The heavenly and the earthly are once more brought into union through raised over a grave), the dragon’s treasure being placed in
the motif of the fall: just as Cain’s murder of his brother brought doom upon it. The poem comes thus to a round end.
mankind, so did the seed of evil in Heorot (the king’s conflict with his son-in- Heroic Values in Beowulf
law) result in unhappiness for his people (Grendel’s raids on his hall of thanes, Relationship between king and his warriors/thanes
whom he kills and carries away). As the code of loyalty requires it, Beowulf The king rewards his warriors with gifts/
from Geatland (South Sweden) comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, who had been properties
his father’s friend in youth. Although not lacking in courage, the old Danish king If a kinsman is slain, obligation to kill the
can no longer be expected to save his people in single combat with the infernal slayer or obtain payment (wergild) in
monster, as was the custom in a heroic society. Beowulf is young and a proved compensation
hero, who has fought monsters in the night and won perilous contests (swimming The Hero
in the open sea, braving the roaring waves). • Beowulf = Bee + wolf/ hunter = bear (a combination of bee and wolf or
Beowulf crosses the sea, accompanied by fourteen thanes. In the light of hunter; one of the scariest creatures of the north was the bear)
the heroic code, the virtues celebrated in the guests are not humility or the
endurance of unhappy exiles but “stern-faced” (serious, unsmiling)
• The call (Beowulf is called away from home by the chance for fortune and
determination and proud quest/search/hunt of ambitious adventures. glory, he acts with bravery…and his ultimate goal is to die with bravery and
Grendel: the monster is a perfect “rascal”/devil, because he refuses the honour)
use of weapons, like any civilized man, fighting with his hands, like a beast, and • All through the poem the hero is motivated in his deeds by the desire for
Beowulf is to confront him on equal terms, as it suits a noble thane. lasting fame, considered in the light of the Germanic moral code, as the only
The guests are warmly entertained by the king of the Danes, his queen remedy for the transitiveness of human destiny in this world.
and their thanes. During the night, the monster bursts into the hall, which has • The story of Beowulf may be simplified as the hero’s growth from youth
been left to Beowulf and his men, killing one of them. Beowulf, without armour to maturity.
or weapons, puts Grendel to flight, after mortally wounding him. The Geatish • In youth Beowulf acquires fame in the foreign land of Denmark by killing
hero receives gifts from Hrothgar and a valuable necklace from the queen, which the monster Grendel in King Hrothgar’s hall and then Grendel’s mother in a cave
Beowulf will give to his king, Hygelac, on his return home, being in his turn under water. In so doing he is accomplishing his duty of loyalty as a thane to his
rewarded with a sword and a large share in the kingdom of the Geats. lord.
During the next night, Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son’s
death, carrying off the king’s chief counsellor. Beowulf follows the monster into
2
• In his old age Beowulf is himself a lord and protector of his people over 2. Long, formal speeches such as challenges, inset narratives, flashbacks,
whom he has ruled for fifty years. He fights a dragon that is devastating his and points of debate occur within the midst of the action; characters are
kingdom and dies of the wounds after killing the dragon. commonly revealed in dialogue.
3. Speeches are often followed by such phrases as “thus he spoke” to
• Aims in life
emphasize that the words are those of a character and not of the narrator.
- Fortune & glory 4. Since epics were composed to honour the deeds of heroic ancestors,
- Bravery & honour such poems often have an aristocratic bias: peasants and servants (unless of
- Die with honour aristocratic birth) are insignificant. For example, the churl who discovers the fire
Themes belching dragon’s cave in Beowulf is unnamed and is given no dialogue.
Good vs. Evil Characteristics of the Epic Hero
Fate/ Wyrd 1. The hero is introduced in the midst of turmoil, at a point well into the
King – Thanes Relation story; antecedent action will be recounted in flashbacks.
Revenge (paying back a blood debt, as a part of 2. The hero, often a demi-god, possesses distinctive weapons of great
honour) size and power.
Reward 3. Although his fellows may be great warriors (like Beowulf, he may
Tension between Heroic Code and Christianity have a group of noble followers with whom he grew up), he undertakes a task
x that no one else dare attempt.
Explanatory Notes
West Saxon, one of the four Old English dialects that rose into literary
prominence during the reign of king Alfred the Great (871-899)
thane, a professional warrior, a member of the tribal group centered
around a king (cyning) whom he followed loyally to death in return to
material favours
lord, also cyning (king), the military leader of a tribal group mainly
Beowulf as a Heroic Epic Poem constituted of kinsmen (comitatus)
No single author (it is a product of the oral tradition) LITERARY TERMS
Written down after centuries of oral transmission KENNING: A form of compounding in Old English poetry. In this
General Characteristics poetic device, the poet creates a new compound word or phrase to describe an
1. Beowulf was originally intended to be sung or recited to music object or activity. Specifically, this compound uses mixed imagery to describe
2. Deities and other supernatural agencies are often involved in human the properties of the object in indirect, imaginative, or enigmatic ways. The
affairs. resulting word is somewhat like a riddle since the reader must stop and think for
3. The poem has national interest. a minute to determine what the object is. Kennings may involve conjoining two
4. The main characters are larger-than-life demigods (descendants of types of dissimilar imagery, extended metaphor, or mixed metaphor. The most
deities) or heroes of immense stature and strength. They represent such cultural famous example is “whale-road” as a poetic reference to the sea. Other examples
ideals are fair play and selflessness (Beowulf). include: “Thor-Weapon” as a reference to a smith’s hammer, “battle-flame” as a
Elements of the Epic Style reference to the way light shines on swords, “gore-bed” for a battlefield filled
1. Names are symbolic: e. g. Beowulf, Bee-Wulf (the enemy of bees, or with motionless bodies, and “word-hoard” for a man’s eloquence. In Beowulf,
the Bear).
3
we also find “bone-house” for body, “gold-friend of men” for generous prince,
“flashing light” for sword, and “ring-giver” for a lord.
4
VOCABULARY
Heroic Epic Poem
Vernacular
To avenge
Wounded
Alliteration
Impressive
Harp
King’s council
Paved road
Realm
Fire-belching/spitting
To establish kinship
To be under contention
To be at war
To revolve around
Mighty warrior
Chaos
To be rooted in
Kenning
To be entrust
A majestic hall
To entertain
To bring doom upon mankind
Seed of evil
To come to the rescue of
Custom
Quest
Layer
Trophy
To succeed to the throne
To burn on a pyre
Transitiveness of human destiny
Remedy
Aims in life
Wyrd
