1 / 8

BEOWULF

BEOWULF. First epic of England. What is it?. Anglo-Saxon literature (starting in 449 A.D.) takes on two typical forms: Elegiac poem: poem that grieves for the dead Heroic poem: epic verse that recounts the deeds of a famous warrior or warriors

hansel
Télécharger la présentation

BEOWULF

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. BEOWULF First epic of England

  2. What is it? • Anglo-Saxon literature (starting in 449 A.D.) takes on two typical forms: • Elegiac poem: poem that grieves for the dead • Heroic poem: epic verse that recounts the deeds of a famous warrior or warriors • Beowulf is the first surviving heroic poem written entirely in the English language.

  3. Dates from the 8th-11th centuries (manuscript survives from the 11th) Action takes place in sixth-century Scandinavia Originally told in Old English (language spoken by Anglo-Saxons in England during the years 500-1100) by scops, traveling minstrels who made their living by entertaining listeners (usually after feasting!) with poems, songs, and stories. Beowulf read aloud in Old English

  4. Could have been easily lost… • Manuscript survived in a Renaissance antiquarian’s possession; in 1731, the manuscript was saved from a fire but did not escape damage: 2,000 letters crumbled away from the edges of the manuscript. • An Icelandic scholar (GrimurJonssonThorkelin) transcribed the manuscript in 1786 and published it in 1815. As the manuscript itself deteriorated further; Thorkelin’s work was essential for scholars to preserve certain parts of the poem. And thank goodness! Just imagine if you couldn’t read Beowulf today!

  5. Many sources • Scandinavian Sagas • German Heroic Poetry • Irish folk tales • Classical Epics (Odyssseyand Aeneid) • Old Testament • Newly Christian society

  6. Huge debate over the pagan and Christian elements in the poem • The FACTS: • That the scribes of the Beowulf manuscript were Christian is beyond doubt (monks transcribing in a monastery). • And, Beowulf was transcribed in Christianized England (conversion took place in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D.) • YET the only Biblical references in the poem are to the Old Testament: Christ is never mentioned.

  7. Questions to ponder • The poem is set in pagan times. • Beowulf does offer prayers to the Father Almighty, however. • So is Beowulf a pagan who uses Christian phrases? Is Beowulf a Christian? Is the “narrator” a Christian? How is he describing (or even judging) this pagan society? Finally, is the poem a Christian or a pagan poem?

  8. Review • Beowulf is the ________ surviving heroic poem in the English language. (most accurate, most distinguished, oldest, most violent). • German storytellers who first told the tale of Beowulf were known as _______ (bards, minstrels, tenors, scops). • Which of these is not a source for Beowulf?: Irish folktales, Scandinavian sagas, the New Testament, The Odyssey

More Related