Anglo Saxon literature

1. Anglo Saxon literature First communicated orally Handed down from generation to generation with consequent variations additions omissions embellishment Copies written down in monasteries by monks Many changes due to misunderstanding mistakes in translations even intentional changes in the text

2. Anglo-Saxon poetry elegiac epic Old English Different from modern English in spelling, pronunciation and grammar Ðonne onwæcneð eft wineleas guma, gesihð him biforan fealwe wegas,baþian brimfuglas brædan feþra,hreosan hrim ond snaw hagle gemenged.Þonne beoð þy hefigran heortan benne,sare æfter swæsne Sorg bið geniwad

3. The Wanderer: • Ðonne onwæcneð eft wineleas guma, gesihð him biforan fealwe wegas,baþian brimfuglas brædan feþra,hreosan hrim ond snaw hagle gemenged.Þonne beoð þy hefigran heortan benne,sare æfter swæsne Sorg bið geniwad • Then the friendless man awakes again,He sees before him fallow waves,Sea birds bathing, preening their feathers,Frost and snow fall, mixed with hail.Then are the heavier the wounds of the heart,Grievous with longing for the lord. Sorrow is renewed

4. Long narrative poem which tells the heroic deeds of a national hero Aristocratic- military society Wide setting Primary epics Literary devices Didactic aim Objective narration Epic poem Elevated language Supernatural events Divine Intervention myth, legend, and history Narrative formulae banquet, battle, voyage, funerals

5. The hero Generally male, of noble birth or high position reflects important ideals of his society performs courageous deeds that reflect the values of the times his actions determine the fate of many must face challenges and opponents that the ordinary person could not handle.

6. alliteration Stresses kennings Poetic form and devices Poetic form and devices Poetic form and devices litotes Repetitions caesura riddles

7. h H G Alliteration g g k m m t m m c m f Repetition of the same initial consonant t f b b f Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes f h h Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot. H

8. Caesura ða com of more         under misthleoþum Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær; mynte se manscaða         manna cynnes sumne besyrwan         in sele þam hean. Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot. Punctuation reproduces pause effect of the caesura.

9. kenning a metaphorical phrase often hyphenated or compound word used to name a person, place, thing, or event indirectly. From the old Norse kenna To know gold-shining hall= Herot guardian of crime = Grendel strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon whale-road = ocean wave-courser = ship

10. The first great work of English national literature

11. Beowulf’s Name • Strong Bear Wolf cunning and speedy Sweet Bee Great Protectors in Norse mythology • In most cases, the son was named after the father • Don - Donald (son of Don) - McDonald (son of son of Don) McDonaldson (son of son of son of Don) Beowulf’s father– Edgetho This proves that Beowulf had his own powers and abilities (and was more important than his father)

12. Background: Time and Place The tale is not set in England, but in Scandinavia its characters are not English. Three tribes involved: the Geats , the Swedes and the Danes How does Beowulf come to be the first literary work of England? During the VI and VII centuries, Scandinavian tribes invaded and settled the territory that would become England. Their legends and stories travelled with them

13. Background A blend of legend and history, as it also contains precise references to real historical events and tribal struggles Unknown author; possibly one Christian author in Anglo- Saxon England Unknown date of composition (roughly 8th-11th Century ) Written in Old English • It is from this poem that we derive many of the details for the reconstruction of Anglo-Saxon social life. It was not until 1936 when the J.R.R Tolkien published a paper on the poem that it became popular.

14. Structure Chronologically, it is divided into two main sections Beowulf's defeat of the dragon with the help of Wiglaf.  Beowulf as a young man 1 Beowulf as an old man 2 In terms of action, it is divided into three main sections Introduction of the characters and Beowulf ‘s defeat of Grendel 1 Beowulf's defeat of Grendel's mother 2 3

15. Beowulf and the Ilyad Both deal with warrior societies The heroic code of a warrior society was always expressed in epic poetry Homeric world Aedo Bard or scop Germanic world “Hygelac’s thane” Beowulf is not introduced directly by naming him but by a traditional epithet Pious Aeneas Fleet-footed Achilles

16. The plot First part Beowulf , nephew of Hygelac, king of the Geats, crosses the sea to help Hrothgar, king of the Danes His palace of Heorot has been attacked over twelve years by a monster called Grendel At night the monster comes, Beowulf struggles with it bare hands and kills it plucking off one of its arms Grendel’s mother wants to revenge her son Beowulf has to fight her too He finally kills her in a cave at the bottom of a pool, with the help of a mysterious sword

17. The plot Second part Beowulf has been king of the Geats for fifty years A fire-breathing dragon, after discovering the theft of the treasure it had been guarding, is trying to destroy the country Accompanied by young Wiglaf, Beowulf confronts the monster. Although he finally manages to kill it , he is mortally wounded. He instructs Wiglaf to have a barrow constructed to mark the burial site of his remains from the funeral pyre. Beowulf dies

18. Why has this story lasted through the ages? It is unique: no other poem of its size and length has survived in Old English It offers a noble picture of an age, its hierarchical society and the splendour of its warrior class It combines the attraction of a tale of bravery with high moral values Intermingled with the battles of monsters are tales of human struggle • Good against evil • Strength of heart and spirit • Truth and light vs. dark power

19. Grendel Grendel is a monster, one of a giant race which survived the great flood. It is told that his origins stretch back to Cain, who killed Abel. Grendel’s Mother Grendel's mother is supposedly a smaller creature than her son. She is a vengeful creature who illustrates the constant cycle of war in the poem, even when the enemy appears to be defeated.

20. Christian or Pagan ? • Beowulf tells of a period in the midst of religious • change being neither entirely pagan, nor fully • Christian • It is likely that some monks, while copying texts, put in • their own views about their work.

21. Christian Elements Beowulf prays the Creator of all things, the ruler of the Heavens References to the Old Testament Passages containing biblical history.: references to Cain, Abel, and the flood, heaven, hell, and the day of judgment. God’s will: identical with Fate

22. Pagan elements • Beowulf's funeral ship • The observance of omens • The practice of cremation • Gold/wealth as a hero’s reward • Boasting • Lack of belief in an after-life – pagan immortality • Concept of fate – wyrd • Monsters

23. Courage as the quality that can stand against Fate. Themes The Feud Fate The eternal conflict between dark and light, good and evil

24. Top 8 Problems women have about dating Beowulf • 1. Hangs out with dragons. • 2. Chain mail rips up bed sheets. • 3. Throws his swords around apartment. • 4. Wakes up in the middle of the night screaming "She's gonna eat me!” • 5. Only washes twice a year. • 6. Smells like Grendel breath. • 7. Freezer full of dragon meat. • 8. Leaves the toilet seat up. He’s a queer fish!

25. The main characteristic of Old English poetry is alliteration. Another characteristic is a special kind of metaphorical ______, made up of several _____ which replaces a _____. An example is a kenning for the sun: “jewel of the sky”. Kennings are used a lot in Beowulf to add colourful descriptions to the story. But sometimes the ________ is not easy for modern _______. For example, the kenning for a chief or king is “breaker of the ring”. This kennings comes from a king’s custom of breaking off pieces of gold from spiral rings (which he often _____ on his arm) to give as _________ to his followers. phrase words noun readers wore rewards meaning

26. Ready for some questions? The Christian scribes always gave a faithful reproduction of Anglo-Saxon works True False True False Beowulf was king of the Geats Beowulf can be considered an epic True False False It is written in middle English True True False Beowulf killed Grendel cutting its head The dragon began to attack the Geats because it wanted to avenge Grendel’s death False True

27. Who was Grendel? A kenning for the human body could be

28. Grammar stop although, though, even though in spite of ,despite Although (formal) and though (informal) are followed by a subject and a verb (clause) e.g. Although Grendel was incredibly strong, Beowulf pulled off his arm Despite (formal) and in spite of (informal) are followed by a noun or a pronoun: this, that, what or a verb with –ing e.g. Despite Grendel’s incredible strength, Beowulf pulled off his arm

29. sub v Although Beowulf is old, it is still an exciting story noun Despite the antiquity, Beowulf is still an exciting story

30. Let’s practice! Despite __________the fact that I don’t have any experience with children, I have been offered a job on a children’s summer camp Despite _________the collapse in profits for recording companies, more people are going to live concerts than ever Although ________Judy wasn’t feeling well, she didn’t want to miss the concert. despite John often feels lonely _________ having plenty of friends __________ Henry is a very talented actor, he finds it difficult to get good parts in plays Although _________Pavarotti’s origins were humble he became the richest opera singer in the history of music Although ________playing with only 10 men, Manchester united still won the match Despite despite Frank decided to walk home _________the fact that he was late

31. Thank you

32. Excellent choice! You are correct! Back to questions

33. That’s incorrect! Try again Back to questions

34. Excellent choice! You are correct! Beowulf was nephew of King Hygelac Back to questions

35. Excellent choice! You are correct! When reproducing these works, many writers eliminated any aspects which either contrasted or did not fit into their Christian belief Back to questions

36. Excellent choice! You are correct! It attacked the Geats because a thief had stolen its hoard Back to questions

37. Excellent choice! You are correct! He killed Grendel ripping its arm Back to questions

38. Excellent choice! You are correct! It was written in Old English Back to questions

39. Excellent choice! You are correct! It can be considered an epic as it is a long narrative poem which celebrates the deeds of a hero Back to questions

40. That’s incorrect! Beowulf was nephew of King Hygelac Back to questions

41. That’s incorrect! It was written in Old English Back to questions

42. That’s incorrect! When reproducing these works, many writers eliminated any aspects which either contrasted or did not fit into their Christian belief s written in Old English Back to questions

43. That’s incorrect! It can be considered an epic as it is a long narrative poem which celebrates the deeds of a hero as written in Old English Back to questions

44. That’s incorrect! He killed Grendel ripping its arm Back to questions

45. That’s incorrect! It attacked the Geats because a thief had stolen its hoard Back to questions

46. That’s incorrect! It can be considered an epic as it is a long narrative poem which celebrates the deeds of a hero Back to questions

47. Old English was a Germanic language heavily inflected, i.e. Different word endings as in modern German or in the classical languages, Greek and Latin. Modern English, a syntactical language, still retains an example of this in the possessive case, the so called “Saxon genitive”

48. We must distinguish two types of epics: Primary or folk epic whose author is unknown and is oral. ( Examples are Iliad and Odyssey) Secondary or literary epics whose author is well known and is written ( An example is Paradise lost by John Milton)

49. The poet’s point of view coincides with that of the literary characters described. The poet doesn’t criticize the customs and the ideals of the country he belongs to.