|
|
|
What is Beowulf?Beowulf describes the heroics of a great Scandinavian warrior around the year 600. The hero defeats two dreaded monsters, only to meet his fate against a third monster in old age. The world of warriors in Beowulf is based on loyalty and bravery, and combines pagan customs of revenge with Christian faith in the will of God. Beowulf is the oldest surviving epicin English literature. An unknown bard composed it and probably recited it to the accompaniment of harp music. However, it was probably not put in writing until the 900's, when monks made several copies. It is likely that the monks removed mentions of pagan gods and replaced them with Christian references to the Bible. The words were first written in Old English. This would be a foreign language to us, although a few words are familiar: scyld (shield), sweord (sword), Gode (God) and strong. Only
one
original manuscript survives today. This copy survived a disastrous
fire in 1631. If you look at the photograph at right, you can see the
scars of the fire, visible
at the
upper left corner of the page. The manuscript is now
housed in the British Library, London. |
 |
What is an epic?An epic is a long story in the form of a poem, which tells about a hero and his great exploits. The protagonist, or hero, usually has superhuman qualities and abilities. Sometimes he also has a fatal flaw which causes his undoing. The most famous epics in western literature are the Iliad and the Odyssey, which celebrate the deeds of Greek heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus. Click here for very readable illustrated translation of Beowulf. Top of Page |
 |
|
|
 |
|
The
Setting of the Epic, perhaps 600 A.D.
Beowulf came from what is now southern Sweden, and sailed to Denmark to defeat Grendel. |
Viking
Ship
like Beowulf's
The Oseberg ship was
excavated from a large burial mound in Norway. The ship was built in
around 815-820 A.D. and was used as a sailing vessel before it became a
burial ship for a prominent woman in 834.
|
 |
 |
| Salute
to Beowulf
after Grendel's Defeat |
Banquet
in Hall Heorot |
| Top of Page | |
Beowulf Projects |
|
|
Beowulf Map
To review
the plot, create an illustrated and annotated map of the
events and locations in Beowulf.
Show Beowulf's progress in sequence. Include these locations:
Beowulf
Character Gram
To delineate Beowulf's character, find words and phrases from the text which give clues about Beowulf. Quote the words and give page numbers. Identify these categories:
Arrange these around
a portrait
of Beowulf.
|
Beowulf Obituary Try
your hand at epic writing style. Compose a memorial poem for
Beowulf
to be read at his funeral or as the evening's entertainment in a
medieval hall. Describe his heroic character by celebrating
his exploits.
Write your poem using poetic language techniques such as metaphors, alliteration, and rhythm. Beowulf Vocabulary Mandala To recognize significant vocabulary, select a theme:
or a pair
of opposite themes:
Collect 50
words from Beowulf
that portray your selected theme(s). In your rough draft,
list
the word and their page numbers. On the final product,
arrange
the words in an artistic
pattern.
|
