Beowulf
Beowulf: not the original title
Middle Ages
Three literary periods
o Anglo Saxon (450-1066)
Beowulf (8th-10th century)
o Anglo Norman (1066-14th century)
o Middle English (14-15th century)
Anglo-Saxon invasion
o Anglo-Saxon starts with the collapse of the roman empire
o +/- 450
o Heptarchy: 7 kingdoms
Saxons: in the south
Angles: middle
o De-Christianisation because of the invasion
o 7th century: Christianisation
o Christianity: religion of the book
Vikings: second invasion
o Danes from Scandinavia
o Stopped by Alfred the Great
King of the West Saxons (871-899)
Trade, intermarriages…
Alfred the great stopped the Danes by bringing together the 7 kingdoms
o 1016-1035 King Canute
King of both England, Denmark and Norway
Germanic heroic poetry: Beowulf
o Difference between time of the story and historical time
o Action =/ story
When =/ when
Who? Danes =/ who?
How? Heroic language
Written by Christian so infused by Christian values
What happens vs. how told/narrated
o What?: the action
3 great fights
To defend human society against evil
Against Grendel
Against Grendel’s mother
Against the dragon
o He wins but is injured so he dies
o How?
Oral poetry: the scop (bard) (professional singer)
tells the story and is in the story
Often a musical instrument involved
o creates a rhythm to easily remember and musical
environment.
o Intoned (harp)
Christian poet > Pagan ancestor
,ISLE 2022-2023
Written manuscript
Rare: religion, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Mercia > West-Saxon formal dialect
Not complete because of a fire in 1731 damaged, some words got
lost
Pagan & Christian: tension
Beowulf is cremated
Pagan values
o old Germanic values
o based on heroism and revenge
o No laws
If someone was killed revenge
failed to take revenge very shameful
Christian values
o based on forgiveness
tension/convergence
o mixture of 2 modes/trends
Oral
o Narrates the history
o Pagan hero invokes the heroic code
Written
o The Christian poet invokes God and the bible
o Ironic tension with Christian values?
Beowulf
About
o author unknown
o Very sure it’s 1 author
How is it narrated?
o Traces of oral traditions
Call to Attention: so. , we have heard
Insider perspective: we have heard
Tendency to digress: about Beowulf but he only appears in line 343
Tendency to foreshadow: line 7, he would flourish later on, 81-83
Circular structure: starts with a funeral, ends with a funeral
Parallel and appositive expression: repetition of the same in different words
Stylistic features
o Verse form
alliterative verse, early form of the Germanic languages
2 balancing halves with a break (caesura)
A change of rhythm after the break
no rhyme!
o Alliteration
o Litotes
o Elegiac
o Kenning & compound words
Bone-house: body
Gold-giving: king
Whale road: kenning
Tend to describe one thing with two words
,ISLE 2022-2023
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Introduction
Finest Arthurian romance
o Survives in one manuscript
o Consists of three religious poems
Pearl, patience and purity
Believed to be by the same poet
o Author has good knowledge about the region
The dialect of the poems
Details of Sir Gawain’s journey
Well acquainted with the international culture of high Middle Ages and
ancient insular traditions
Alliterative Revival
o Alliterative verse recited by oral poets
o The start of the Gawain
Pretends it’s an oral poem: asks audience to listen to a story he has heard
Beheading game
o A supernatural challenger offers to let his head be cut off in exchange for a return
blow
English in 1400
o Widespread
First language for literature
o
Canon
Important to understand how literature in English developed into what it is today
Possible reasons for canonization
o Historical relevance
o Significance for contemporary culture
o Introduce something new into literature
Ex. Latin in England
o Innovative formal techniques
o Exemplary example of a certain literary tradition/genre/mode
o Content
o Beauty of language
Content
Beowulf vs Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
o Stress on lineage
Stress on who their ancestors were
Heroic
Beowulf: Pagan
King Arthur: British
Patriotism
o Importance of courage and honor
o Cultural differences
Beowulf: Pagan hero
No Christian values
King Arthur/Gawain: Christian
New ideals
, ISLE 2022-2023
o Courteousness
o Chivalry
Refined taste
o Opening: Christmas
No treason allowed
More interest in women
Being humble
o Grendel vs the Green Knight
Supernatural beings
The Green Knight walks away with his head
The Green Knight is a worthy opponent
Challenge
Grendel = physical challenge
The Green Knight = psychological/moral challenge
o You must have courage to behead one
Reasons for canonization
o Significance for contemporary culture
Themes
o Appeal of the narrative
How it’s written
Cliffhanger
Knows how to create suspense
Sexual tension
Combination of moods
Mystery
Horror (beheading)
Comic (the Knight picks up his head and walks out)
o Captures the ideology of its time
Christian
o Fine example of Arthurian romance
Arthur is a legendary figure of Britain
Defender of the Kelts
The Knights of the round table
Exemplary figures
Combined with the beheading game
Narrative, formal and stylistic features
o Late example of Arthurian ‘romance’ genre
Key terms: ‘chivalrous and courteous’
o Relatively short epic poems
o Hero embodies national and religious ideals
Heroic proportions
o Oral tradition > narrator
o Alliterative revival
Long lines
Caesura
No fixed numbers of stresses
o Final 5 lines of stanza
Single stress vs three stress
Bob: one stress
Wheel: 4 three stress lines
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