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Members: Baldres, Cyril Joy Bengado, Nicole Angela Cabuyao, Emmanuel Samar, Josemen Lit1 Activity "BEOWULF" BACKGROUND Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines. It is possibly the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. It was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the “Beowulf poet.” The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel’s mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland. The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, located in the British Library. It has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story’s protagonist. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through Ashburnham House in London that had a collection of medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. CHARACTERS Beowulf The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic
culture. In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler. King Hrothgar The king of the Danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from that exhibited by the youthful warrior Beowulf. He is a father figure to Beowulf and a model for the kind of king that Beowulf becomes. Grendel A demon descended from Cain, Grendel preys on Hrothgar’s warriors in the king’s mead-hall, Heorot. Because his ruthless and miserable existence is part of the retribution exacted by God for Cain’s murder of Abel, Grendel fits solidly within the ethos of vengeance that governs the world of the poem. Grendel’s mother An unnamed swamp-hag, Grendel’s mother seems to possess fewer human qualities than Grendel, although her terrorization of Heorot is explained by her desire for vengeance—a human motivation. The dragon An ancient, powerful serpent, the dragon guards a horde of treasure in a hidden mound. Beowulf’s fight with the dragon constitutes the third and final part of the epic. Shield Sheafson The legendary Danish king from whom Hrothgar is descended, Shield Sheafson is the mythical founder who inaugurates a long line of Danish rulers and embodies the Danish tribe’s highest values of heroism and leadership. The poem opens with a brief account of his rise from orphan to warrior-king, concluding, “That was one good king” (11). Beow The second king listed in the genealogy of Danish rulers with which the poem begins. Beow is the son of Shield Sheafson and father of Halfdane. The narrator presents Beow as a gift from God to a people in need of a leader. He exemplifies the maxim, “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people everywhere” (24–25). Halfdane The father of Hrothgar, Heorogar, Halga, and an unnamed daughter who married a king of the Swedes, Halfdane succeeded Beow as ruler of the Danes.
the story begins, but he lives on through the noble reputation that he made for himself during his life and in his dutiful son’s remembrances. King Hrethel The Geatish king who took Beowulf in as a ward after the death of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father. Breca Beowulf’s childhood friend, whom he defeated in a swimming match. Unferth alludes to the story of their contest, and Beowulf then relates it in detail. Sigemund A figure from Norse mythology, famous for slaying a dragon. Sigemund’s story is told in praise of Beowulf and foreshadows Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon. King Heremod An evil king of legend. The scop, or bard, at Heorot discusses King Heremod as a figure who contrasts greatly with Beowulf. Queen Modthryth A wicked queen of legend who punishes anyone who looks at her the wrong way. Modthryth’s story is told in order to contrast her cruelty with Hygd’s gentle and reasonable behavior. PLOT Initial Situation King Hrothgar and the Danes are at the mercy of the marauding demon Grendel, who keeps attacking Heorot Hall. Not only is this what's happening at the beginning, which should tip you off that it's the initial situation, it's also an obvious set-up. A wild demon attacking a defenseless group of people? It's time for a hero to come on the scene and put this to rights. Conflict A Geatish warrior, Beowulf, throws his armor and weapons aside and fights the demon Grendel in a wrestling match to the death. How much more obvious can a conflict get? We've got two guys in a no-holds-barred wrestling competition to the death. If that's not a conflict, we don't know what is. Beowulf isn't usually very subtle about these things.
Complication Grendel's mother shows up to avenge the death of her son. This is just the kind of frustrating thing that happens to you when you're a heroic Geatish warrior. Here you are, going all-out and wrestling a demon to the death, and just when you think you've won and you have a few minutes to get drunk and celebrate, the demon's mom comes along and gets her panties in a twist because you killed her kid. We love mothers, but they do seem to make things complicated sometimes. Climax Back home in Geatland, Beowulf must defend his people against a marauding dragon. Just when you think Beowulf is going to live happily ever after, he has to face his greatest challenge yet: a fifty-foot-long firebreather. If anything screams "climactic battle scene," it's the arrival of a dragon. Suspense Beowulf hangs out on the side of the dragon's barrow, recalling his past glories and wondering if he's going to die fighting the dragon. If you're tempted to yell, "Just get on with it!" at this point, you're not the only one. Beowulf hangs out for several hundred lines, talking about his past glories and wondering if he's going to die while fighting the dragon. Still, it does help to build suspense... because it makes us wonder, too. Denouement Beowulf is mortally wounded, but manages to kill the dragon and win its hoard of treasure. It's a double-whammy: Beowulf dies, but so does the dragon. After that, it's obviously all downhill, so this is definitely the denouement. Conclusion The Geats give Beowulf a splendid funeral and prepare to be attacked by their neighbors. Is anything more conclusive than a funeral? Beowulf is dead, and after mourning his death and celebrating his heroic deeds, the Geats look to the future. Of course, without his protection, it's a pretty bleak future.
