Beowulf

Beowulf

THE STORY

• Anonymous epic poem - Germanic oral tradition
• Written in Old English
• Manuscript kept by the British Library in London
• Composed probably between 700 and 1000 CE
• Manuscript written down by two scribes around the year 1000 CE

• Many storytellers contributed to its final form
• Author: probably a cultured man practicing the art of poetry
• Probably Christian (many elements added to the final version of the work)

THE STORY

MANYANTAGONISTS

DRAGON

BEOWULF

GRENDEL'S MOTHER

GRENDEL

MAIN CHARACTERS

THE STORY

• Story of Beowulf as a king
• After 50 years in peace and prosperity he fights a terrible dragon who stole an important cup
• Beowulf defeats the monster
• Eventually he is mortally wounded and dies

PART 2: THE DRAGON

• Story set in the VII century
• Beowulf travels from the land of the Geats (southern Sweden) to the land of the Danes (Denmark)
• He has to free this land from Grendel, a fire breathing and man-eating monster
• He defeats Grendel and his mother

PART 1: GRENDEL

Info

• All the qualities of a perfect warrior (loyalty, bravery, strenght, wisdom)
• Not a flat character - he changes over time, with age
• He is also a reflexive character: in the end, as an old man, he reflects on his responsibilities as a king

A PERFECT HERO

• Meter based on the number of the accents and not the number of the syllables.

• No rhymes, but a lot of repetitions, alliteration and kennings
• Elevated language

the language

• The meaning of heroism and the qualities of a good leader (from the young age to the old age, he learns how to be a leader and a king)

• The supernatural (dragons, monsters - obstacles)

• The struggle between good and evil

• Christian values (many Christian references added to the man who wrote the final manuscript around 1000 CE, probably Christian)

MAIN THEMES AND STYLE

• No clear references
• Some values (bravery, integrity)
• Supernatural creatures (dragons)

BEOWULF AND J. K. ROWLING

BEOWULF AND J. R. R. TOLKIEN

• One of the most important translations from the writer J.R.R. Tolkien (1872-1973), the creator of The Lord Of The Rings
• The saga has been really influenced by Beowulf especially in the The Hobbit prequel trilogy where Bilbo Beggins has to fight with a dragon to save an entire city

BEOWULF TODAY