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Beowulf
Introducing the Epic
Literary Focus: The Epic Hero
The Poetry of Beowulf: Caesuras, Alliteration, and Kennings
Feature Menu
• the first great work of English national literature.
• the epic story of the hero Beowulf, who fights the demonic monster Grendel.
Beowulf is
BeowulfIntroducing the Epic
BeowulfIntroducing the Epic
Beowulf: nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats.
Hrothgar: king of the Danes.
Wiglaf: a Geat warrior, one of Beowulf’s select band and the only one to help him in his final fight with the dragon.
People
BeowulfIntroducing the Epic
Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.
Monsters
Grendel’s mother: water-witch who seeks revenge.
Dragon: giant fire-breathing serpent whom Beowulf fights in Part Two of the epic.
Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia.
Places
Scholars think Herot
might have been built
on the coast of
Zealand, in Denmark.
Scandinavia
Britain
BeowulfIntroducing the Epic
Places
Herot: the golden
guest hall built by
King Hrothgar where
warriors gathered to
celebrate.
[End of Section]
BeowulfIntroducing the Epic
The epic hero is the
central figure in a long
narrative that reflects the
values and heroic ideals of
a particular society.
An epic is a quest story on
a grand scale.
BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero
BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero
Beowulf is one of ancient England’s heroes.
King Arthur
Joan of Arc
Other times and other cultures have had other heroes.
In modern America, the hero may be a real person or a fictional character.
BeowulfLiterary Focus: The Epic Hero
[End of Section]
Beowulf was composed in Old English, which uses a caesura, or rhythmic pause, to create unity.
ða com of more under misthleoþum Grendel gongan, godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða manna cynnes sumne besyrwan in sele þam hean.
Line divided into two parts by a caesura.
Locate the caesura in these lines:
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Here are the same lines in modern English fromBurton Raffel’s translation:
Out from the marsh, from the foot of mistyHills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,Grendel came, hoping to killAnyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
Punctuation reproduces pause effect of the caesura.
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon oral poet also used the poetic device of alliteration.
Grendel gongan, godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða manna cynnes
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Find examples of alliteration in Burton Raffel’s translation of lines 1-5:
Out from the marsh, from the foot of mistyHills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,Grendel came, hoping to killAnyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
The kenning is another poetic device that was used by the oral poet.
Examples of kennings from Beowulf:
gold-shining hall= Herotguardian of crime = Grendelstrong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulfcave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Create modern-day kennings for things you see around you.
giver of wordsword-wand
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? ?
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BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf