The Epic Hero
• Performs feats of great
strength or courage
• Noble birth
• Battles supernatural
creatures
• Dangerous quests or
journeys
• Embodies cultural ideals
• Great warrior
The Epic Hero
• Actions consist of responses to catastrophic
situations in which the supernatural often
intervenes.
• Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat
to society
• Destiny discovered through a series of episodes
punctuated by violent incidents interspersed with
idyllic descriptions.
Beowulf : The Epic Poem
• An EPIC is a long narrative poem
which follows a hero’s struggle
against universal issues.
• The epic will contain 3 elements:
• A larger-than life hero
• The Supernatural
• Elevated language style
Elevated
Language
Look for:
• Kennings
(two-word phrase for a common word)
ex: world-candle for sun or whale-road for ocean
• Symbolism
• Highly descriptive passages
But what was an aspiring author to do?
Especially if nobody can read !
Epics: An oral tradition
Many epics were
not originally
written down by
their authors.
Instead, they were
memorized and
retold or sung by
wandering
entertainers.
• Some sections of epics were retold from
time to time. It helped the storyteller learn
the epic and also caught up any audience
member who may have missed a part.
The Storytellers
These entertainers
also served to bring
news from other
areas. Often, if a
heroic deed had
occurred in the area,
it might be blended
into the stories he
told.
The Storytellers
The names changed by area:
• Scop (pronounced shop)
in Anglo-Saxon lands
• Troubadours in France
• Minnesingers in Germany
Changing Stories
• Other influences also
played a part in changing
the epics.
• The text of Beowulf shows
both Norse pagan belief
and Christianity, often in
the same line.
• This may have evolved as
the storytellers encountered
villages with different
beliefs.
Writing it Down
When these stories which had been orally passed on
were finally written down, they were also subject to
many changes.
-- Mistakes in translations
-- Misunderstanding out-of-date slang
-- Political correctness
-- or even intentional changes in the text
Selective Editing
It all depended on
who did the writing
and their feelings
about the texts.
“Christianizing” the old text
• Some parts of Beowulf seem not to match the style
of the rest of the text. Other areas seem to be as if a
narrator feels the need to stop and make a comment.
Much of these areas involve various comments and
concepts of Christianity. It is likely that some
monks, while copying texts, put in their own views
about their work.
The Mead Hall
• Social, governmental, emotional center of
the village
• Mead = honey-based wine
Setting: Beowulf’s time and place
Europe today
Insert: Time of Beowulf
Elements of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
• Chant-like effect of the four-beat line
• Alliteration (“Then the grim man in green gathers
his strength”)
• Caesura-pause or break in a line of poetry
(“Oft to the wanderer
weary of exile”)
• Kenning-metaphorical phrase used instead of a
name (“battle-blade” and “ring-giver”)
• Epithet-description name to characterize
something (“keen-edge sword”)
• Hyperbole-exaggeration
Anglo-Saxon Values
•
•
•
•
•
Belief in fate (Wyrd)
Accumulated treasures amount to success
Fame and fortune zealously sought after
Loyalty to one’s leader crucial
Importance of pagan, Germanic, and
Christian ideals to people whose lives were
often hard and uncertain
Anglo-Saxon Values
• Fierce, hardy life of warrior
and seamen
• Strength, courage, leadership
abilities appreciated
• Boisterous yet elaborately
ritualized customs of the
mead-hall
• Expected the hero to boast
Anglo-Saxon Hero
•
•
•
•
•
Strong
Courageous
Loyal
Desires fame
Generous
Anglo-Saxon Ideals
Codes of Conduct
• Good defeats evil
• Wergild--restitution for murder or expect
revenge from victim’s relatives
• Boasts must be backed with actions.
• Fate is in control
• Fair fights are the only honorable fights
Paganism vs. Christianity in Beowulf
Pagan
Christianity
• God is mentioned by the mentioned
• Stong nature
by two of the main characters
Beowulf and Hrothgar
presence
• Grendal as Lucifer
• Both are outcasts
• Strength of the
• Grendal is described as a
warrior
descendant of Cain, a clear
biblical reference.
• You are
powerless and are • People follow Christian
qualities and obey
subject to fate
commandments in the hopes of
a better life.
(wyrd)
Title of Epic Poem
• Anglo-Saxon word
Beo means “bright” or
“noble”
• Anglo-Saxon word
wulf means “wolf”
• Beowulf means bright
or noble wolf
• Other sources say Beo
means “bear”
Beowulf
• Epic hero
• Geat (from southern
Sweden)
• Nephew of Higlac
(King at story’s start)
• Sails to Denmark to
help Hrothgar
Hrothgar
• Danish king
• Builds Herot (banquet
hall) for men
• Tormented by Grendel
for 12 years
• Loses many men to
Grendel
• Joyless before
Beowulf’s arrival
Grendel
• Referred to as demon
and fiend
• Haunts the moors
(swampy land)
• Descendant of Cain
• Feasts on 30 men the
night of 1st attack
Grendel’s Mother
• Referred to as she-wolf
• Lives under a lake
• Challenges Hrothgar when she kills one of his best
men
Fire Dragon
• Lives in Beowulf’s kingdom
• Wakes up when thief steals cup
• Guards countless treasures