Beowulf Flashcards
(doesn't include funeral stuff)
Scops
Told stories/poems. From village to village to spread information. Stories told in communal banquet hall. Keepers of tribal history
Beowulf written in what year?
500 or 700
Epic Poem
a long narrative (storytelling poem that recounts, in grave and stately language, the achievements of a hero who usually embodies his civilization’s ideals
What is important about Beowulf?
Generally considered the earliest major work of English poetry
Longest of the many surviving poems written in Old English, earliest surveying English epic
Various elements were probably passed down through oral tradition
Good place to study British Lit because it is so old
Excellent example of “The Hero’s Journey” (Pattern of events that can be found in storytelling, in every culture and time period, which is why the pattern is super important)
History of the original manuscript
Exists in a single Anglo-Saxon manuscript, now owned by the British Library in London
The manuscript was originally created by two scribes
The manuscript containing the poem was damaged in a fire in 1731, leaving pages burned and brittle
The remaining pages were lasted into frames in 1845 to protect them
Because of fire damage, age, and application to frames, part of the pages have become obscured
Setting
Denmark/Sweden
Beowulf
bee wolf = bear
Hrothgar
Glory spear
Gar-Denas
Spear Danes
Hereogar
Army spear
Hrothmund
Glory and kingdom
Ectheow
Sword servant
Wergild
payment to slain man’s family to atone for passed, make sure the family doesn’t seek revenge
Wyrd
fate
ARCHETYPE
Can be an image, theme, symbol, idea, character type, or plot pattern
Seen in myths, dreams, literature, religion, fantasies, folklore
Carl Jung first applied the term to literature. Recognized universal patterns in all stories and mythologies regardless of culture or historical period
Hypothesized that part of the human mind contained a collective unconscious shared b all members of the human species, a universal, primal memory
Common Archetypes
Light vs Darkness Innate Wisdom vs educated Stupidity Water vs Desert Nature vs Mechanistic World Fire and Ice The Tower The Magic Weapon Fog The Castle The Maze The Crossroads Heaven vs Hell
Red as an archetype
blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder
Blue as an archetype
Highly positive, security, tranquility, spiritual purity
Green as an archetype
Growth, hope fertility
Yellow as an archetype
enlightenment, wisdom
White as an archetype
light purity, innocence, timelessness (negative: death, horror, supernatural)
Black as an archetype
darkness, chaos, mystery, the unknown, death, wisdom, evil, melancholy
3 as an archetype
light, spiritual awareness, unity (holy trinity), male principle
4 as an archetype
associated with the circle, life cycle, four seasons, female principle, earth, nature, elements
7 as an archetype
the most potent of all symbolic numbers signifying the union of three and four, the completion of a cycle, perfect order, perfect number, religious symbol
Stages of a Hero’s Journey
Departure, initiation, road of trials, the innermost cave, return & reintegration into society
Stage 1: Departure
The hero is called to adventure, although he is reluctant to accept
Stage 2: Initiation
The hero crosses a threshold into a new, more dangerous world, gaining more mature perspective
Stage 3: Road of trials
The hero is given supernatural aid, endures tests of strength, resourcefulness, and endurance
Stage 4: The Innermost Cave (The Belly of the Whale)
The hero descends into the innermost cave, an underworld, or some other place of great trial. Sometimes this place can be within the hero’s own mind. Because of this trial, the hero is reborn in some way - physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Through this experience, the hero changes internally.
Stage 5: Return and Reintegration with Society
The hero uses his new wisdom to restore fertility and order to the land
What Makes a Hero?
Special circumstance surrounding his/her birth
Special qualities revealed in his/her youth
Has a tragic flaw/weakness
Status/place is challenged
Goes on a quest
Heroic death
Hero is naive and inexperienced
the hero mets monsters or monstrous men
The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor
The hero yearns for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide/inspiration
The hero must go on a jounrye, learn a lesson, change in some way, returns home
The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge
The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from cities
The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses his/her parents at young age, being raised by animals/wise guardian
Goes through a rite of passage/initiation, an event that marks a change from immature to more mature understanding of world
Struggles fro something valuable and important
Has help from divine or supernatural forces
Has a guide or guides
Undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after his/her initiation
The hero has a loyal band of companions
Makes stirring speech to their companions
Hrothgar (character)
King of the Danes; builder of Herot
Welthow (character)
Hrothgar’s wife and queen
Unferth (character)
Hrothgar’s chief spokesman, jealous of Beowulf, tries to downplay Beowulf’s ability
Wiglaf (character)
Beowulf’s kinsman
ANGLO-SAXON HIERARCHY
King = expected to be generous to his loyal subjects Thanes = claimed kinship to founder of tries. They were expected to be loyal
THE MEAD HALL
Large wooden structures where the king lived sometimes
Centre of Anglo-Saxon culture
Religion
The came to Britain with their own pagan beliefs
They had firm belief in fate (wryd)
They worshiped ancient Germanic gods like Tui, god of war and sky; Woden, chief of gods; Fria, Woden’s wife and goodness of the home
Christianity had been introduced by the Romans and the Celts were converted
Irish monks helped establish Christian hold on the island
Scots were converted easily, and many monasteries were built in Scotland
Roman celtic Saint Augustine arrives in 597
Saint Augustine was able to convert King Ethelbert of Kent; this led to the entire kingdom being
The church promoted peace, helped unite the English people
Brought education and written literature
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
Spread by scope who recited long epic poems. These poems were either heroic or literary
These verses were easy to memorize
Preliterate people
Comitatus
Code of loyalty, Germanic friendship structure that compelled kings to rule in consultation with their warriors. King had to be nice to them, and they would serve the King loyally
Herot
hart, means deer or stag
gabled
high pointed roof
Mid-earth
.
Land-dwellers
.
Cain and Able
(Cain??) killed his brother, included to show increasing influence of the church
swan road
.
Weders
Geats
Parley
negotiation sort of, sort of like border customs
Types of Heros
Aristotelian Tragic Hero ex: Hamlet
Classical Hero ex: Macbeth
Romantic Hero ex: robin hood
Modern Hero ex: death of a salesman - willy loman
Hemmingway Hero ex: The old man and the sea - santiago
Antihero ex: homer simpson
literary hero ex: Beowulf
Jung’s idea of literary hero
- based on Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes
- world myths/heroes are all basically the same story, retold in infinite variation
- Jung believed archetypes are reflections of the human mind
- Our minds divide these character to play out the dram of our lives
- Our minds divide stories into these categories, in life and in dreams
Stages of a Literary Hero
- introduction in this ordinary world, provides contrast later
- hero called to adventure, hero is presented with problem, challenge or adventure
- Hero is reluctant at first, balks on the threshold of adventure for he fears the unknown
- the hero is encouraged by wise man/woman, motivation is given
- hero passes the first threshold - fully enters the new situation, is now committed and cannot return
- hero encounters tests and allies, must pass challenges
- hero finds a dangerous quest - may be underground, descend into hell, a labyrinth to rescue someone to get treasure
- hero endures the supreme ordeal, faces certain death, on the brink of fight, critical moment
- hero seizes the sword, having survived death/beaten monster/finds treasure/gets lady
- road back, is pursued by vengeful forces from whom he has stolen
- resurrection, hero emerges, transformed by his experience
- return home with treasure/love
WHAT IS AN EPIC?
A long story in poem form
Has a hero
story of the hero’s travels and his fights with monsters, gods, and bad guys
written in 3rd person
originally sung, often to harp
contain information about the culture that created them: religion, dress/ornaments, homes, weapons and war, roles of me and women, values, moral standards
epics often contain clues to what the people who created them feared or did not understand (natural disasters, natural features, death, the heavens, storms
TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
- Has a larger than life quality
- Is a natural leader of others
- Is not emotionally connected to his/her followers, been thought they die for them or fights for them
- Is appealing to opposite sex but rarely has an extended relationship
- Defeats monsters and/or fights gods/very bad guys
- Has good on their side
- Is associated with light, strength, and values
- Often stands alone in battle
- Is smarter than everyone else, generally problem solver
- Has weakness that often destroys them or leads to death/near death
- Is on the move, travels to find adventure
- Is a skilled fighter
