Transcript Beowulf/Grendel

Beowulf/Grendel
The Anglo-Saxons
449-1066
Beliefs and Traditions
 WYRD (or fate) controls life
 Honor requires revenge/compensation for injury
or death (Wergild)
 Love of war and violence
 Love of treasure, wealth, prosperity
 Loyalty to family, tribe, king
 Love of stories, especially hero stories
 Love of rituals (feasting, burials)
 Unwritten contract between king and warrior
(Comitatus); also generosity for loyalty
 Love of fame, glory, boasts
Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon
Poetry
Originally oral, not written
 Alliteration
 Kennings
 Repetition (of words, phrases, stories)
 No rhyme
 Gory details
 References to Wyrd/Fate/God
 Caesura
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Characteristics of Epic Literature
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Grand in scope, time, geography
Lofty/Formal language
Uses the supernatural
Battle between good/evil
Concerns deeds of noble warrior-hero and his companions
Characters of noble birth and/or are supernatural beings
from the past
Gods or semi-divine creatures come to aid of one side
Poem begins at a critical point or in the middle of the action
(in media res)
Characters speak long, lofty speeches
Genealogies are used within the text
Reveals the traditions/customs of the people
Poet invokes a Muse for inspiration
Map of Beowulf’s world
Beowulf
sails to
save the
Danes
By Gareth Hinds
Beowulf arrives
Hrothgar
Illustration
of Herot
Grendel attacks
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Illustration by Dr. Sarah Higley
Beowulf kills Grendel’s
Mother
By Robert Ingpen
Beowulf
meets
the
dragon
Beowulf meets the dragon
By JR Skelton
Beowulf slays the dragon
The
funeral
of
Beowulf
The first page of the BEOWULF
manuscript
Things to think about
while reading Grendel
 Is
it better to be a rational creature
or a doomed monster when man
does not rise to his full potential?
 What are the results of evil and evil
choices?
 How can you evaluate moral/ethical
choices?
 How does Gardner use language to
achieve specific effects?
More stuff to keep in
mind while reading
What is the impact of Gardner’s use of the
words pattern, theory, and mechanical
(and its forms)?
 Gardner openly opposes
existentialism!
 Gardner believes that when people use
their minds and act morally, they find
meaning.
 Most images in the book can be seen as
either positive or negative.
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Grendel
 Positive
images lead mankind to
happiness and meaning
– Patterns, theories, endurance, order,
Shaper, Queen, art, God, logic…
 Negative
images are almost always
associated with Grendel
– Chaos, confusion, meaninglessness,
hate, violence, rage…