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Beowulf

Beowulf. Text and Context. Background. Composed around 10 th century A.D. The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for many years before it was written. The action of the poem takes place around 6 th century A.D.

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Beowulf

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  1. Beowulf Text and Context

  2. Background • Composed around 10th century A.D. • The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for many years before it was written. • The action of the poem takes place around 6th century A.D. • The poem deals with ancient Germanic forebears, the Danes and the Geats

  3. Background • Only a single manuscript of the poem survived the Anglo-Saxon era. In the 1700’s it was nearly destroyed in a fire • It was not until 1936 when the Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien published a paper on the poem that it became popular. • The first major work in vernacular old English.

  4. The Beowulf Poet • The poet is Christian • The poem reflects established Christian tradition • Allusions to the Old Testament • Beowulf is a Redeemer who is sent by God to save man from sin • The price of salvation is life itself • Correspondences between Beowulf’s death and the death of Christ

  5. Heroic Values in Beowulf • Relationship between king and his warriors • The king rewards his warriors with gifts - comitatus • If a kinsman is slain, obligation to kill the slayer or obtain payment (wergeld) in compensation

  6. Heroic Values in Beowulf • Gold/treasure • Loyalty • Bravery • Glory/fame • Fate =Wyrd (see later Shakespeare’s wyrd sisters)

  7. Conflict Christian Values and Heroic Values • This tension is at the heart of the poem • Pagan history and myth are made to point to a Christian moral • Beowulf is poised between two value systems

  8. The Character of Beowulf • He fights for personal honor, but is committed to service to his own people and humanity. • A superhuman who remains recognizable • Contrast old and young Beowulf • Beowulf as savior

  9. Themes - Topics • Good vs. Evil • Fate • The Importance of Establishing Identity • Tension between Heroic Code and Christianity • Significance of artifacts

  10. Important Elements of the Poem • Elegaic tone – mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem (don’t confuse with eulogy) • Heroic poem • Contrasts • Christian and pagan • Youth and old age • Rise and fall of nations • Joy and sorrow • Fate and God’s will Violence Irony

  11. Sutton Hoo • Burial site discovered in 1939 • Important links to Anglo-Saxon world and Beowulf • Remains of a boat were discovered and large burial chamber containing numerous artifacts • Artifacts suggest a distinctly Christian element intermingled with pagan ritual. • Episodes in Beowulf now have tangible archaeological violence to add creditability to the blend of customs in the text.

  12. Sutton Hook Images

  13. Suggested Further Reading • Beowulf, A Verse Translatioin. Trans. Seamus Heaney. Ed. Daniel Donaghue. Norton Critical Edition. 2002. • Norton bibliography on Beowulf , p. 2902. • Websites on Beowulf, Old English poetry, and Sutton Hoo.

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