Beowulf

Who wrote Beowolf?

anonymous or “Beowulf Poet”

Genres of Beowulf

Genre: heroic narrative (over 3,000 lines long)

• Also sometimes called epic poem (debated)

or an elegy

• Lines are alliterative and separated by a

caesura

• Poet often uses epithets or formulas

• Poet uses kennings, poetic descriptions of

everyday things

How does Beowulf exist in writing form?

Exists in manuscript only (known as the Nowell

Docex)

• The single copy is found at the British Library

• Manuscript is likely from the end of the 10th

to the early part of the 11th century

What is this?

Scholarly Concerns

Organized by 3 agons: three struggles with supernatural

forces of evil, or “monsters.”

• Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, a dragon

• All three occur in places that represent archetypal

fears: “barricaded night-house, infested underwater

current, and the reptile-haunted rocks of a

wilderness” (Haney xii)

• Organized as exploring the destinies of three people by

tracing their histories and/in relationship to the central

character.

• Danes (at the height of power)

• The Geats (stable, but a threat is looming)

• The Swedes (present in the margins of the story as

a threat)

• The narrative is constantly interrupted by side stories

• Sometimes called digressions

Who is Beow?

Hrothgar’s grandfather

What is Heorot?

The great hall that Hrothgar builds

How long does Grendel menace Hrothgar’s kingdom?

Twelve years

Where does Beowulf sail from to help the Danes?

Geatland

Who stops Beowulf when he first arrives?

A lookout who guards the sea-cliffs

What does Beowulf ask of Hrothgar?

Permission to fight Grendel

Why does Beowulf plan to fight without a sword or shield?

Because Grendel never fights with a sword or shield

Why does Unferth disparage Beowulf’s reputation with a story about a battle at sea?

Unferth is jealous of Beowulf.

What do Beowulf and Breca swim out to sea to fight?

Sea monsters

What boast or promise does Beowulf make to Wealhtheow, the Queen?

He’ll slay Grendel or die trying.

What does Beowulf hold up as proof of his victory over Grendel?

Grendel’s arm

What happens to Grendel after the battle?

He returns to his swamp home to die.

Who is Sigemund, whom the Danish bard sings about to celebrate Beowulf’s victory?

A great hero who slew a dragon

What does Beowulf say when he is thanked for his heroic deed?

He expresses regret that he mortally wounded Grendel but did not kill him.

Hrothgar does what by celebrating Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel?

Wins the respect of the Danes’ for ruling justly

From whom is Grendel descended?

Cain

What happens when Grendel’s mother comes to Heorot seeking revenge?

She kills Hrothgar’s advisor and steals Grendel’s arm.

What does Unferth give to Beowulf for the battle?

His Sword!

With what does Beowulf kill Grendel’s mother?

A famous ancient sword he finds on the sea bottom

What does Beowulf bring back to King Hrothgar as a prize?

Grendel’s decapitated head and the hilt of a melted sword

To whose kingdom does Beowulf go to live?

To his old friend, King Hygelac’s

Why does the dragon awaken in fury?

A thief has disturbed the dragon’s treasure and stolen a goblet.

Whose treasure was it in the first place?

The last survivor of an ancient race who gave it up when he realized he would die too

How does Beowulf’s sword fail him when he fights the dragon?

First the sword barely harms the dragon. Later it breaks.

How does the dragon die?

Wiglaf stabs his belly, then Beowulf delivers the final blow.

What does Beowulf die of?

He receives a poisonous dragon bite in his neck.