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Introduction to Beowulf (ENGL 210)
Introduction to Beowulf (ENGL 210)
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ENGL 210-0012022W1
Lecture 1: Introduction to Beowulf
September 12th, 2022
Background to Beowulf
The poem originates from an oral tradition (who’s the author? No idea.)
● Takes place in Anglo-Saxon (before the Norman Conquest of 1066)
● A great deal of debate about how this poem comes down to us – emanates from an oral
culture, but even when it was written down, it was committed to paper in a manuscript
We have Pagan (pre-Christian-ish) and Christian traditions combined together here,
● Some complex layering here – Roman Empire (when it collapsed) already adopted
Christianity as the chief religion in the empire
● In this era, this area of the world is obscure and confused. The Roman Empire falls, and
Britain becomes prey to the Viking era (invasions!)
○ A return of Pagan religions, of the Nordic supernatural pantheon of gods
○ These words are part of our language today – Thursday is Thor’s day(?)
● In the 6th century, the era of St. Augustine (the founder of the church in England), Britain
is re-Christianized. Christianity is built into pre-Christian, Pagan traditions.
○ The idea that Jesus is born again is laid onto existing cultural frameworks
Beowulf and Nostalgia
The poem is looking back at a society of warrior-kings. An era, a period, and a societal structure
that leads to its own destruction.
● We are left wondering, as the poem’s various narrative voices do: do we celebrate or
condemn this era? Is this something meant to be endorsed or questioned?
● This poem has historically been received as an epic. An epic is often seen as a
foundational document of a culture.
○ If ancient Greece had the Odyssey, then Britain must have an epic as well.
● Themes in Epics: central figures (male heroes), [villains], legacy (change over time?),
genealogies, gods, narrative structure, values of a culture (or society), fate and destiny
○ Wyrd (origin of our understanding of the word “weird”)
■ What is someone’s fate? Destiny?
● How would you describe this world? Gold and beautiful things are intimately connected
with status. This society is very honour driven. Loyalty to the king, monarch, or head of
society (the King is seen as having a connection to the supernatural and gods – this
worshipping ritual is a reflection of ancient tradition). The transactional nature of honour
is laid own in the way that debts are handed out and repaid.
○ Honour is a kind of moral status. It’s not simply being above or below someone
on the hierarchy but has to do with the degree to which someone is worthy of
respect.
● The hall inside is like a condensed version of society. All of the comforts within is
mitigated by the monster stalking the people from the outside.
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