Beowulf Flashcards
what are the limitations of B criticism
we know so little about the historical circumstances of composition and translation scholars have free reign to indulge creativity leading to complications
how did c.19th scholars approach B
as a historical artefact preserving details of AS culture rather than a work of literature
what does it mean that the poem is capacious
it has lots of room for plural critical approaches and responses as long hist indicates
what are its mythological and historical allusions
myth = sigmund the dragon slayer
hist = Dane and Geat wars and genealogy of these people
narrator of B
indicates the culture as dif and distant to his own time
Christina in a time post-dating Christian dominance telling a pre-Christian story
characteristics of the narrative
habit of moving from main narrative to telling tales of people whose relationship with main narrative isn’t obvious = digressions
digressions of song and mythical/historical stories e.g. Finnsburgh Fall
tri-parte in three battles each harder than the last
bi-parte in two time periods
importance of the Finnsburgh Fall narrative digression
reveals story of tragic slaying between kin
thematic underlining of the doom anticipating Heorot in the future
not just poetic ineptitude but complex structure weaving between past, present and future to tell us that everything comes to destruction that the heroic age will end in fire and ashes just as Heorot and B do
thematic linking and interlace patterning
Lewis Nicholson: ‘the poem abounds in motifs, allusions and metaphors which are repeated’
‘these noble ruins of the house become associated in [the poet’s] mind with the pathos of the human body’
connects Hall of Heorot with Grendel’s body e.g. both are broken after the fight with B
the patterning of interlace works at a more grounded level than digressions
what is ring composition
where a passage’s elements mirror one another in a symmetrical way e.g. ABBA
this structure means the explanation of B’s birth is bookended - emphasizes its importance
repeating key phrases in subtle and varied context = one of the ways poets achieves interlacing on small scale
subtle thematic emphasis
sophisticated
what does Tolkien think underpins all the poem’s themes
change over time
themes
are interwoven with their opposites
- monsters and humanity
- past and present
- war and peace
- actual and apparent
biblical allusions
Grendel conceived of as related to Cain gives a sense of dislocation
alters temporal framework of passage inhabiting two frameworks at once
biblical past and present intertwined
motives of each monster and effect of such
Grendel - hatred
Mother - vengeance
dragon - mad about being robbed
recognizable emotions that connect them to mankind by mutual psychological landscape
not wholly other
monsters and heroism
their monstrosity makes B seem more attractive and emphasizes his heroism
what are some of the heroic conventions of B
exaggerated physical strength (swims w 30 coats of armour)
strength used for good
mental strength e.g. courageous, steadfast
selfishness (thought for own glory not society)
defeating beings that threaten order
often act alone
what does it reveal about the Anglo Saxon world
savage
what type of literary quality does the text have
strikingly cinematographic
melodramatic
sensational
poet takes time to notice small details like the decorated floor and flames in Grendel’s eyes
narrative structure weaves many narrative threads into one blanket
allusions and digressions are just as important as the main narrative frame
is B secular?
yes, it doesn’t engage directly with theology, morality or religious practice
history
a main concern of the poem especially in its digressions
what is the significance of Beowulf’s death
it marks the end of the Geatish people
what seems more unbelievable than Beowulf swimming across the English channel with thirty sets of armor
that when he gets there Hrothgar’s widow offers him the throne in place of the son who isn’t yet ready to rule securely but he refuses it
though a death means he has to take it eventually
his initial refusal bucks the trend of history tho as other figures wouldn’t do that
discuss Beowulf as monstrous
so superhuman as to be inhuman, resembling the monsters to an uncomfortable extent
aglæca = used to describe the monsters but also beowulf
his heroism makes him monstrous
dislike for weapons/reliance on brute strength = animalistic
but didn’t use weapons to give Grendel a fair contest
his name literally denotes comparison to the monstrous - bee wolf = bear
OE Grendel quotes
‘mearcstapa’ = border stepper/marches haunter
wanderer on the boundary of man and monster
‘weres wæstmum’ = in the shape of man
descendant of Cain so inherited his punishment of exile
what manuscript is b in and why is that significant
Nowell Codex referred to as the book of monsters
difference between Beowulf and Hrothgar’s style of speech
B = pragmatic stating what he will do and what is right with courage and epic heroism
H = grief ridden and detailed
what is interesting about the fight with grendel
meets Grendel on his own ground
