BEOWULF REVIEW BEOWULF IS A CHAMPION WHO FIGHTS

BEOWULF REVIEW

BEOWULF IS A CHAMPION WHO FIGHTS 3 MONSTERS • Beowulf goes to Denmark and fights Grendel • Beowulf fights Grendel’s mom • Back home as king of the Geats, Beowulf fights a Dragon

GRENDEL • Is a monster descended from Cain (of Cain and Abel fame) • Has been attacking Herot, a mead-hall where the Danes live, each night for 12 years • The Danes have trouble fighting him because he attack when it’s dark • He fights without weapons or armor, but is protected from swords because of a spell he has placed on them • Lives in a lake in a swamp, and the songs and joy of the nearby Danes fuels his rage. The angrier he gets, the stronger he gets. • Beowulf, unarmed, wrestles with Grendel in Herot, and rips Grendel’s shoulder off. • Grendel goes back to his swamp to die.

GRENDEL’S MOM • Seeking revenge for her son’s death, she attacks Herot and kidnaps the best friend of Hrothgar, the Danish King. • Beowulf tracks her back to her underwater lair. • Beowulf wears his chain-mail armor and brings his sword, Hrunting, for this encounter. • His sword is useless, but his chain-mail saves his life. • He finds a giant’s sword and uses it to cut off Grendel’s Mom’s head. • He finds Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it, and takes Grendel’s head back to Herot as a gift.

DRAGON! • After he fights in Denmark, Beowulf sails home to Geatland, where he serves loyally under his king Higlac and Higlac’s son. • Beowulf ascends to the throne and rules the Geats in peace and prosperity for 50 years. • Then someone steals a cup from a dragon. • Dragon’s mad. • Beowulf faces the dragon alone, but his shield melts and his sword breaks, and the dragon cuts his neck. Dang. • Wiglaf, a young warrior, shows bravery in the face of death and kills dragon with Beowulf.

BEOWULF DIES! • Says that Wiglaf should succeed him as king, since Wigs was the only guy brave enough to stand beside Beowulf and fight the dragon. • Wants a tower erected in his honor.

KENNINGS! • Two or more words which, when put together, serve as a symbol or metaphor for another word. • Similar to epithets, they give a description of noun they replace • They were used for variety, entertainment, and to keep the beat and rhythm. • Sometimes they are obvious, some are more obscure

EXAMPLES OF KENNINGS • Candle of heaven – Sun • Peace-weaver – women • Light of battle – sword • Ring-marked blade - sword

ALLITERATION • The repetition of initial consonant sounds. • Also used for entertainment, variety and to keep the beat and rhythm Example from Beowulf: Many a mead-hall Scyld, son of Sceaf, Snatched from the forces of savage foes, From a friendless foundling, feeble and wretched, He grew to a terror as time brought change.

THEME VS. MAIN IDEA • Theme is a universal truth, or a lesson that can extends beyond the story. Lesson Learned • Main idea is what the story or selection is about. Plot

EXAMPLE OF THEME VS. MAIN IDEA In the Little Engine that Could: The main idea is that a train is having difficulties getting over a mountain. applicable to everyday life. The theme is that if you fail, you should keep trying until you succeed. This can be applied to MANY facets of life. This isn’t very