BEOWULF EPIC POETRY IT WAS q anonymous authors

BEOWULF

EPIC POETRY IT WAS : q anonymous: authors were unknown q epic: it dealt with great heroes and great adventures q oral: The Anglo-Saxons hadn’t an alphabet

CHRONOLOGY OF THE POEM This is the oldest surviving poem in Old English. It was probably composed in the 7 th century to celebrate a king who died in this century. It was written down in the 11 th century by monks in a monastery

PLOT AND SETTINGS The poem is divided into three parts. Ø Ø Ø In the first part Beowulf goes to Denmark to defend king Hrothgar and his warriors from a terrible monster, called Grendel. In the second part Beowulf defeats and kills Grendel’s mother in a misty lake. In the last part Beowulf becomes the king of Geatland he defends his people from a dragon, but in this clash Beowulf dies. He is succeeded by Wiglaf his faithful retainer.

Beowulf: The Hero Beowulf is the typical hero of a military and aristocratic society. His main qualities are strength, loyalty, boldness , faithfulness and courage. Another heroic quality of Beowulf is his ability to put his people’s welfare before his own. Moreover he is very good at using weapons.

THE WORD «MONSTER» This word comes from the Latin noun monstrum and it means an exceptional phenomenon, prodigy or wonder. It refers to an imaginary being whose look is so strange and terrifying that it instantly excites disgust and fear. Human imagination has been concerned with monsters ever since the earliest cave paintings.

The MONSTERS OF THE POEM GRENDEL’S MOTHER THE DRAGON

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

YGGDRASIL, THE COSMOS

ANGLO-SAXON GODS The hammerwielding, humanityprotecting Thunder. God THOR LOKI, who brings tragedy to the gods The one-eyed, Raven-flanked God ODIN FREYN, whose farming associations bring peace and pleasure to humanity The beautiful, Cloak -clad Goddess FREYA SKADI, who prefers the winter mountains to the seashore

THE CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS IN «BEOWULF» v. Beowulf: he can be identified with Jesus Christ because as Christ died to save the whole humanity in the same way he dies to save his people , the Geats; v The Misty Lake: it stands for Hell v. The Monsters : They stand for evil, for devils and demons; v The Giant’s sword: its shape reminds a cross

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION STUDENTS: Vincenzo Palazzolo Marta Lo Cascio Costanza Nicolosi Federica Francesca Turdo Aurora di Trapani classe III D Anno scolastico 2017/2018