Beowulf: Sections 1-10

1. Beowulf: Sections 1-10 Wergild Christian & Pagan Elements Beowulf as an Epic Hero

2. Wergild • Anglo-Saxon Code • Killing one’s relatives or kin was, for the Anglo-Saxon nobility, an unspeakable crime. • An Anglo-Saxon who killed someone had to pay a price for his deed or accept the fact that the victim’s relatives would seek revenge. • If the murdered person was not related to the murderer, then this kind of payment was considered satisfactory by the relatives of the victim. • No such way of making amends existed, however, for taking the life of one’s own kin.

3. Wergild Lines 64-73 Lines 320-323 … His misery leaped The seas, was told and sung in all Men’s ears: how Grendel’s hatred began, How the monster relished his savage war On the Danes, keeping the bloody feud Alive, seeking no peace, offering No truce, accepting no settlement, no price In gold or land, and paying the living For one crime only with another. No one Waited for reparation from his plundering claws … …And there’s more: You murdered your brothers, Your own close kin. Words and bright wit Won’t help your soul; you’ll suffer hell’s fires, Unferth, forever tormented.

4. Pagan & Christian Elements Although a pagan poet may have originally composed and sung the poem, the Christian monk transcribing it probably added Christian elements. We often see a tension between the paganism of Beowulf’s day and the Christianity of the recorder’s day in the text itself.

5. Pagan & Christian Elements Lines 81-93 Lines 479-492 … Though he lived In Herot, when the night hid him, he never Dared to touch king Hrothgar’s glorious Throne, protected by God – God, Whose love Grendel could not know. But Hrothgrar’s Heart was bent. The best and most noble Of his council debated remedies, sat In secret sessions, talking of terror And wondering what the bravest of warriors could do. And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods, Made heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s Support, the Devil’s guidance in driving Their affliction off. … They could hack at Grendel From every side, trying to open A path for his evil soul, but their points Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon Had bewitched all men’s weapons, laid spells That blunted every mortal man’s blade. And yet his time had come, his days Were over, his death near; down To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless To the waiting hands of still worse fiends. Now he discovered – once the afflictor Of men, tormentor of their days – what it meant To feud with Almighty God.

6. Epic Hero • Beowulf is an archetype. He’s the perfect example of an epic hero. • Beowulf is the “dragon slayer.” He rescues a besieged community facing evil forces that lurk in the cold darkness. • An epic hero is the central figure in a long narrative that reflects the values and heroic ideals of a particular society.

7. Beowulf Possesses superior physical strength. Has highest ethical standards. Embodies the highest ideals of Anglo-Saxon culture. In his quest, he must defeat monsters that embody dark, destructive powers. At the end of his quest, he is glorified by the people.

8. Discussion Questions In lines 125-130, how has Beowulf already begun to be glorified? Why do you think Beowulf intends to fight Grendel without a sword? (Lines 164-175) What is Unferth’s motivation for challenging Beowulf? (Section 6) How does Unferth’s challenge build suspense? (Section 6) How does Unferth serve as a foil to the epic hero Beowulf?

9. Discussion Questions If Beowulf is an archetype of an epic hero, of what is Grendel an archetype? What details support your answer? As Section 9 closes, what details remind us that Beowulf is a hero of epic proportions, able to represent a people and their values?

10. Essay Assignment! • Aren’t you so pumped about Beowulf right now? • Me too.