Beowulf Epic Definition long stylized narrative poem celebrating

Beowulf

Epic Definition: long, stylized narrative poem celebrating the deeds of a national hero. 2 types 1. folk epic - customs, rituals, & ideals of a tribal society 2. literary epic -. . . of a more civilized society Purpose: didactic - to teach * in particular to teach a new king how to rule

Beowulf 1 st complete epic in any Germanic language(English - not Latin) to survive; author is unknown Social setting: A-S England Geo. setting: Scandinavia; earlier Supernatural content: Germanic folklore Hero: Beowulf - purely English hero

Didactic: ideal ruler has 4 heroic virtues 1. fortitude 2. prudence 3. loyalty 4. generosity * all are necessary to fulfill the Code of Comitatus

2 parts to Beowulf 1. Beowulf's encounters with Grendel & with Grendel's mother Heaven/God has allowed Grendel to attack b/c of the Danes' pride & ignorance of the true God 2. 50 yrs. later - Beowulf's people are attacked by a dragon

Themes 1. fortitude & prudence 2. external(monsters) vs. internal (pride, greed, & cowardice)evil 3. Christianity(personal God) vs. Paganism(Wyrd or Fate) 4. Beowulf as a Christ-figure

Characteristics of Old English Poetry 1. Oral - no written language; nomadic people who passed down their values and history through scops sang their stories 2. sound was important 3. redundancy - aided memory and built tension 4. long speeches and descriptions - slowed the pace, built tension, aided memory, genealogies were important

2 types of redundancy common to OE poetry 1. variation - repetition of an idea in different words using same grammatical form 2. periphrastic epithet - expressions of an idea in a more elegant way • kenning - metaphoric compound