beowulf – Flashcard

It is written in the unrhymed fourbeat alliterative meter of Old Eng. Longest surviving poem in Old English with 3,182 l

An Old Norse term that is a descriptive but wordy name like "the helmetbearing one" for a warrior, or "the whale's pasture" for the sea, or "battleflame" for a sword.

the poet may then use a different term, such as "war sword".

age lacked direct metaphors that substitute one thing or quality for another unlike it.

used naming for intentional ambiguity or double meaning: Example—woelfylle or "slaughterfall". Fall can suggest feast or fill as well as fall in

the double or multiple statement of one concept or term, where each restatement suggests a new aspect of it

is an epithet following a name. Ex: when Hrothgar talks about his brother he says "Heorogar had died then, gone from life, my older brother, son of Healfdene—he was better than I".

set up in grammatically parallel form: "I did heroic deeds, risked my life, performed glorious feats.

is a deliberately steep understatement, which he often makes in the n

invite sympathy. Have fun with heroic

A collective consciousness added to as it is passed on. 2. Always concerned with the foundation or downfall of a people, the way a people or folk define themselves. 3. Folk epics always have supernatural intervention. Gods fight side by side with man, have child who comes down to earth. 4. Folk epic must cover wide territories of earth and wide spaces of 5. Folk epic assumes the reader has a wide background of literature concerning the epic. It doesn't always explain everything. 6. Occurs early in time of history, fragmented, providing bits and pieces of history. 7. Mingles history with fan

Beowulf was a courageous, proud, and noble man who was looking for fame. He wanted to prove himself to others. He was determined to win the fight with Grendel but he also understood that there was a chance he could lose. He always stood by his word even when he knew there's a chance of death. He was very heroic by wanting to help other people, he was willing to risk his life for others in need. Beowulf like most characters in an epic are defined by status. His battles and victories bring riches and honor, which is the more important of the two.

Unferth was jealous, and he was taunting Beowulf. He was also publicly testing Beowulf's ability to fight Grendel. He does so by bringing up an old competition between Beowulf and Breca in a race across the open sea. Unferth points out that Beowulf did not win the race and rubs it in his face. Beowulf then comes out to say that he did not win the race because he was repeatedly attacked and taken under by sea creatures after a storm stirred the water, while Breca dodged the danger of it all. Beowulf also retaliates by bringing up the fact that he "cannot recall / any fight [Unferth] entered... that bears comparison" (582-583). He continues bashing him by saying, "The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly / as keen or courageous as you claim to be / Grendel would never have gotten away with / such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king" (590-593).

Grendel's mother is the next person that comes to Heorot. She is seeking revenge on a person that is close to the King. She's grieving and filled with rage, and desperate for revenge for her son

He is the offspring of Halfdane, who is the offspring of Beow, who is the offspring of Shield, who is the founder of the Danish royal line. Hrogthar was considered as a good king because he was a very wise ruler. The problem that affected his kingdom was that the demon, Grendel, had attacked Heorot. Hrothgar was a good king and called the "helmet" and "shield" of his people. The name Hrothgar is said to come from the words "glory" and "spear" which are words that represent a warrior.

Heorot is a mead hall in Denmark that Grendel attacks because he is basically tired of hearing the," harp being struck and the clear song of poet telling with the new beginnings, how the Almighty had maid the a gleaming plain girdled with waters". The only part of Heorot that Grendle cannot touch is Hrothgar's thrown because it is protected by God.

Beowulf is from Gentland. He comes to Hrothgar's kingdom to, "renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield", "on a great errand", to save them from Grendel. Hrothgar mentions knowing Beowulf as a young boy and also says Beowulf is there at Heorot to follow up on an old friendship

Part II begins after Beowulf returns to the Geats and presents his treasures to Hygelac. Hygelac's death marks the beginning of the end for the Geats. When he dies in battle his son and his mother, Queen Hygd, "had no belief in her son's ability to defend their homeland against foreign invaders". She offers the throne to Beowulf, but he refuses because he will not be lord over Heardred, Hygelac's son. Heardred gives sanctuary to two princes of his enemies the Swedes, who had been exiled. Onela, king of the Swedes and uncle to the exiles, invades the Geats and kills Heardred. It is at this time that the throne passes to Beowulf. Due to Hygelac's death in battle and the perceived weakness of his son, the Geats are vulnerable to attack by their enemies. It is not until Beowulf ascends the throne that he is able to rule in relative peace for 50 years

The dragon is disturbed by a banished man who steals the dragon's treasure. The dragon retaliates by coming to the kingdom and burning it all down. Beowulf decides to fight the dragon, even at his old age. Not even Beowulf's sword could pierce the dragon though. Only one person comes to help Beowulf, Wiglaf, and he hacked at the dragon to free Beowulf. Beowulf does fight the dragon alone, and his reasoning is important: "Yet the prince of the rings was too proud / to line up with a large army / against the sky-plague. he had scant regard / for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all / ... [since he] triumphed in Hereot / and beaten Grendel" (2345-2353). He doesn't take into account that he has aged; he believes he is still 50 years younger. This is an example of the pride he was warned not to fall into by Hrothgar

The story of Finnsburg is told because during celebrations, at the time in the book, the king would have a poet sing a story as entertainment. The Tale of Finnsburg foreshadowed the death of Beowulf to the dragon and how his people have nowhere to go after he dies

Grendel's mother paid a visit to Heorot not too long after Grendel's defeat. Her reasoning behind the visit was her "desperation for revenge

Quite often throughout the poem there are references to Christianity. The most obvious of these are the mentions of "Lord of Life," and "glorious Almighty," when referring to birth of Beow. This occurrence seems to be an allusion to the birth of Jesus Christ in the sense that both babies were meant to be saviors of their nation. Beow became a great warrior and ultimately a great king, just as Jesus led the Romans to Christian beliefs and saved them from their sins. Of course the Christian elements are blended with pagan elements in the plot. The mere fact the there is a swamp monster Grendel and a dragon guarded treasure suggests this. According to the Christian church ideas like these are not even remotely feasible. The combination of the two so different elements demonstrates Anglo-Saxon Christianity quite well, mainly because Anglo-Saxon Christianity was somewhat muddled compared to modern Christianity. During the Anglo-Saxon era, not all people were Christian, and most still had at least some support towards their pagan traditions. This perfect combination of pagan and Christian beliefs in Beowulf very accurately demonstrates the Anglo-Saxon cultures. Germanic heroic-warrior code is not a Christian code. These warriors are boastful and value fighting, achieving glory in battle, and even seeking revenge. These are not the Christian ideals of humility and peace. The Christian writer of Beowulf has superimposed certain Christian motifs and ideas onto a pagan culture.

Scyld represents the Old Testament figure of King David. Like David, Scyld began his life with much less than what he ended it with. As a boy, David was made fun of and not taken seriously by his father or brothers. It was not until he defeated the giant Goliath, and proved his worth, did they recognize him as a strong and resourceful person. Similarly, Sclyd was a "foundling to start with," but then "flourished later on." Both figures started with next to no power, ended as great Kings, and were remembered for generations. Great connection here with Scyld and David. I think there is also resemblance to Moses. Both were orphans who rose to lead their people. The same could be said about Beowulf

Beowulf's plan is to fight Grendel with his bare hands, because Grendel does not use weapons and because he wants the fight to be equal - "When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel." Ultimately, Beowulf does end up grappling with Grendel and as Lillie says he rips of his arm and Grendel retreats to die in his murky lair

Beowulf travels with eleven thanes and the thief who originally disturbed the dragon. When he reaches the barrow, he turns to face his men, and like his battles with Grendel and his mother, he boasts that he alone will fight the dragon and that he will "pursue this fight for the glory of winning." Beowulf enters the barrow and encounters the dragon, who attacks him with fire. Beowulf is protected by the special iron shield he had made, however it does not hold up long enough. Here the poem foreshadows Beowulf's death, "that final day was the first time when Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle." Beowulf strikes at the dragon with his sword, Naegling, but the "glittering sword, infallible before that day, failed when he unsheathed it". The dragon again breathes fire that engulfs Beowulf. Upon seeing their king falter, ten of his men abandoned him. However, Wiglaf rushed to his king's side "We must bond together, shield and helmet, mail-shirt and sword." Wiglaf ducked behind the shield with Beowulf as the dragon breathed fire again. Wiglaf's courage in joining him in battle inspired Beowulf to rise up and fight. He attacked with Naegling again, but the sword snapped upon the dragon's head. Exposed, the dragon was able to bite Beowulf on the neck. Wiglaf stabbed the dragon in his belly and Beowulf was able to draw a knife from his belt and strike the fatal blow in the dragon's flank. Though the dragon was defeated, Beowulf paid for the battle with his life.

In Beowulf, various kennings are used so a reader does not encounter the same word so many times. A few examples of this are: ~Whale-road : Sea ~Shield-bearer : Thane ~War-Gear : Armor If you think from the author's point of view on this, since the story is about the Thanes, you are going to need to use the word "Thane" a lot, right? So, why not come up with a way to use the word repeatedly and not overuse said word? Litotes are also used frequently in Beowulf. A few examples of litotes in the text are: ~"'I shall win the gold by my courage, or else by mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away.'" (2535-2357) ~"The fabled warrior...... trusted in his own strength entirely.... No cowardly path." (2540-2541) Litotes are used in Beowulf to help show that Beowulf was a strong, powerful hero. The litotes do this by showing the reader that either the narrator, Beowulf, or the Thanes have any doubt in Beowulf's abilities

Grendel's mother came back to Heorot to get revenge for the death of her son Grendel. She attacks by surprise, killing Hrothgar's best counselor and overseer of the country and draggin his body away. Beowulf is responsible for seeking after her and destroying her. He finds her at her home in the lake. Hesitantly, he plunges in and the battle is on. None of the armor or war gear he had could withstand her vicious attack nor was any of it harmful or useful in defeating Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother has Beowulf and is about to bring him to his demise until he sees "a sword in her armory, an ancient heirloom from the days of the giants, an ideal weapon". This sword was so big and heavy that only someone like Beowulf would be able to make use of it in battle. He did just that, hitting her in her neck, and cutting her head off, ending the fierce battle. Beowulf has so much trouble because his armor and weapons are useless against Grendel's mother but he ultimately wins using a weapon found in her own home, and ancient sword

Beowulf tells of the events that took place basically from the time they arrived until the time they left, explaining the details of the combat between himself and Grendel as well as himself and Grendel's mother. He also told him of the rewards that he was promised and which he received. He got off track a bit talking about Hrothgar's daughter and her engagement to Ingeld. Oddly, he dwelled a little on this subject and presented a rather lengthy scenario of the would be results of such a marriage. Hrothgar believes this marriage is just what is needed to end a long time feud between his family and Ingeld's family but Beowulf believes it will only spark a fire and rekindle the feud. This tells us that Beowulf thinks that anger and resentment cannot be overcome by a peaceful marriage. He talks as if these feelings of vengeance and resentment will rule the marriage and lead to additional feuding between the two families instead of a peaceful end to a long lived dispute.

Beowulf presents King Hygelac with the treasures and rewards that were received from Hrothgar. In exchange for this and in recognition of Beowulf's heroism, Hygelac rewards Beowulf with a treasure of his own, giving Beowulf land, seven thousand hides, and a throne and a hall.

Part II is darker than Part I. Part I depicts Beowulf as a young man, fighting and conquering the demons that haunted Hrothgar. It was celebratory and showed the saving of a kingdom. Part II opens with the death of Hygelac and the awakening of the dragon. The tone is sorrowful through to the end of the poem. Though Beowulf defeats the dragon he does so at the cost of his life and leaves a nation mourning their hero and shield. This shift in tone is due to the end of Beowulf's reign and life drawing near. The dark tone is foreshadowing the doom of Beowulf's people after his death. Beowulf was their shield and his death will be a signal to their foes that they are now vulnerable. Part II is a funeral song to both Beowulf and his people - the Geats

The Germanic heroic code is kinship and loyalty between tribesmen. In Beowulf it is best represented by the relationship between a king and his thane (warrior). This relationship is one that is built on trust and mutual respect. A warrior will defend his king to death; while a king will repay his warrior's loyalty by rewarding him with spoils and land. In addition, the bond of kinship is shown when a kinsman is killed. The dead man's kin has an obligation to extract payment for the death; whether through the death of the slayer or a payment of a "weirgild"(man-price). A king feels this kinship bond with his people and this is a main theme of Beowulf that is shown in Hrothgar's despair of the killings by Grendel and his mother. Hrothgar is humiliated because his unable to kill the monsters, nor is he able to exact payment. An example of the generosity shown by kings towards their thane, and vice versa, is after each of Beowulf's victories against Grendel and his mother Hrothgar bestows many gifts upon Beowulf, including some that were considered very precious, such as a standard, breast-mail, helmet, sword and battle saddle that was the king's personal saddle. Beowulf turns around and presents this gifts to Hygelac on his return to Geat. An example of loyalty is shown during Beowulf's battle with the dragon. His personally selected band of warriors abandoned him during his greatest time of need, all but one. Wiglaf showed great courage in joining his lord in battle, especially after seeing him mortally wounded. He stood side by side with Beowulf and helped deliver the fatal blow. After the battle and Beowulf's death, Wiglaf berated the other warriors for abandoning Beowulf: "...tidings of how you turned and fled and disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner die than live in shame

a. Collective Consciousness - Beowulf is thought to have started as an oral folk story. The story was passed down through generations and communties by scops (poets). The oral tradition lends itself to people adding to the story as it is passed around. Inside the poem itself, the collective consciousness is shown by the oral presentation of other stories of great heros, kings or battles such as after Beowulf defeats Grendel a singer tells of the triumphs of Sigemund. It is through singers and poets that these folk stories were passed into the general consciousness of the people of that time and were able to survive until they could be transcribed. b. Concerned with the foundation or downfall of a people, the way a people define themselves - Beowulf centers around the Danes and the Geats. Both tribes define themselves as heroic and morally upright. Their warriors pride themselves on strict adherence to the heroic code. The characters use terms such as "Victory-Shieldings", "prince of goodness" and "flower of manhood". This shows a deep concern for the way they are thought of and portrayed to other tribes. It is important for them to be thought of as brave, loyal and moral. c. Folk epics have supernatural intervention - The author of Beowulf includes many references to the Lord's help and intervention in all three of Beowulf's battles in the poem. For instance, as Hrothgar is praising Beowulf for his defeat of Grendel he says "But now a man, with the Lord's assistance, has accomplished something none of us could manage". Everytime Beowulf goes to fight a monster he always leaves his life or death in the hands of the Lord and believes it is a fate that was predetermined and destiny. In addition, the monster Grendel and his mother are stated to be direct descendents of Cain that were cast out by God after Cain slayed his brother. Therefore they are constantly referred to as demons and "hell" beasts. d. Cover wide territories of earth and wide spaces of time - Beowulf begins when Beowulf is a young man and ends after he has ruled the kingdom of the Geats for 50 years. But, it could also be said to span an even longer timespan through all of the stories of the past the singers recount. In addition, the poem geographically spans from Geatland to Denmark, and some could argue down to hell when Beowulf swims down to confront Grendel's mother. e. Assumes background of literature - Beowulf recounts multiple stories of previous events in history. The author never fully explains the background of the stories, rather they jump straight to the part that illustrates the point they are trying to make. The author assumes that the reader already knows the background of the historical events being relayed and does not need to explain the parts that don't matter. For instance after Beowulf's defeat of Grendel a poet recounts the story of the Finnsburg Episode. In this story, the author does not give the background of what happened prior to the battle that killed Hildeburh's brother and son. Another example is discussing Hygelac's death and the cause of the feud between his father Hrethel and heirs and the Swedish king Ongentheow. The poem refers to the battle and the repercussions, but does not give you a full history. f. Occurs early in time history, fragmented - Beowulf obviously is set in a medieval time period. However, the historical stories that occur within the poem occurred several centuries prior to the transcription of the poem. The poem does mention a king of the Angles who was on the island of Britain, while the story is set in the nordic area. The poem jumps back and forth between ancient historical events and more modern events such as mentioning the Angle king. None of this is told in a chronological order. g. Mingles history with fantasy - Beowulf mingles history with fantasy by using the names of acutal historical kings such and Hygelac, Ongentheow and Sigemund. Fantasy obviously incorporates the supernatural monsters Grendel, Grendel's mother and the dragon. It is said that Grendel had a charm on him that protected him from being harmed by swords. Also, Beowulf was able to battle Grendel's mother underwater without drowning.

Hrothgar tells Beowulf to "choose the better part, eternal rewards". Hrothgar is telling him that there is more than just spoils and pride and not to get caught up in that and let those things be the death of him. "Do not give way to pride" is advice that Hrothgar gives to Beowulf. For a while he will be strong and powerful and dominant but eventually that time will come to an end and death will be knocking at his door. Hrothgar is telling Beowulf to do what he does for the right reasons and not to be arrogant, boastful or overly prideful because one day it will all come to an end and eternal rewards are better than material, temporary rewards which will stay behind when he dies. He gives him this advice because he too was once a great warrior but became confident that his battling days were over and was not prepared for the attacks of Grendel which destroyed many of his people and because he wants Beowulf whom he considers his son to be successful as any father would want for his son. If and when the day comes, Hrothgar wants Beowulf to be a worthy king and leader.

Beowulf is dying from the injuries received from the dragon. He is reflecting on his life and legacy. He asked Wiglaf to bring some of the treasure to him so he can see what he won for his people before he dies. Beowulf even in last breathes is worried about how his people will manage and looks at the treasure for a means of good for his people. Also, seeing the treasure will help ease Beowulf's journey into the afterlife: "dearest Wiglaf, under the grey stone / where the dragon is laid out, lost to his treasure, / hurry to feast your eyes on the hoard. / Away you go, I want to examine / that ancient gold, gaze my fill / on those garnered jewels; my going will be easier / for having seen the treasure, a less troubled letting-go / of the life and lordship I have long maintained" (2744-2752).

They see the body of Beowulf and the dragon. Wiglaf berates and scolds them for their fear and their lack of loyalty to their fallen leader. Wiglaf goes on to describe how Beowulf provided them armor and equipment and picked them amongst all others. Wiglaf also gives sends a message to the Geats informing them of Beowulf's death and that attacks and attempted invasions were likely once others have learned that their leader has fallen. It's important to note that these men broke the Germanic code that was very important at this time.

I don't believe they will. Beowulf was renowned for his great strength, his battles and they respected him as a king. When the Franks, Frisians, and Swedes learn of his death, they will come to invade because Beowulf was the only deterrent for the Geats. None of the others including Wiglaf can defend them from what is about to come