Unknown Poet

Beowulf

BeowulfGermanic traditional

epic Specifically Anglo-Saxon Warring culture

3,000 line epic poemFirst literary

composition in the English Language

Composed sometime between 600-900 C.E. 700 is our best guess.

Written down 200-300 years later.

History of the textPoem exists in one

manuscript only (in British Library)

Survived fire in 18th century

This scare led to the copying, editing, translating of the copy

Now an integral part of the canon. A group of the most

important literature of any given time period, genre, author, etc.

Beowulf Poem written in England

Set in Scandinavia Follows the Scandinavian prince,

Beowulf. Poem has three major plots

1. Beowulf, a warrior for the Geats, crosses the sea to help the Danes kill the man-eating monster Grendel. He must also kill Grendel’s mother

2. Beowulf returns and rules for fifty years as king. A dragon terrorizes the country and Beowulf must confront it.

3. Beowulf slays the dragon but meets his own death. He enters the legend of his people as a hero.

http://www.beowulftranslations.net/beowulf-map-900.shtml

BeowulfPoem shows life in

the Dark Ages.Begins with soldiers

in a hall, drinking mead

Grendel eats them all.

Yum.Grendel is the

spawn of Cain, the murderous brother in the Old Testament.

Grendel

To identify elements of Anglo-Saxon cultureAnalyze use of literary elementys:

Imagery SymbolismAlliterationKennings

Analyze central theme of the poemAnalyze characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon

heroRecognize pagan and Christian elements

Objectives