Monkeynotes study guide summarybeowulfshort plotstory. It is also a masterful poem that weaves superhuman, almost magical powers around its heroic protagonist, beowulf. Songs are sung in praise of beowulf, and the celebration lasts late into the night. Beowulf is cremated on his funeral pyre overlooking the sea, and then he is buried in a barrow containing the dragons treasure. Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called heorot. Beowulf steels himself and goes into the barrow to fight the dragon. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. Since then, its been translated into many different languages and even as a book for kids. Beowulf spots another sword, hanging on the wall and apparently made for giants, and cuts her head off with it. With his theory, theres no true author of beowulf, but rather an editor of sorts who aggregated already existing poems and stories into one longer poem.
Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides. The setting of the epic is the sixth century in what is now known as denmark and southwestern sweden. In this lesson, well take a look at the old english epic, beowulf. Based on beowulf score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on anonymouss beowulf. History beowulf is the earliest major work in english. King hrothgar gives a short speech, thanking god for grendels defeat and claiming beowulf as an adopted son. Classic literature, original gangster s1 e15 beowulf thug notes summary and. Beowulf is 3182 lines, each line with four accents, divided into two parts. But, before we dive into a summary of beowulf, lets look at the major players in the poem. Scyld shefing was the first great king of the danes, known for his ability to conquer enemies. But when beowulf and the dragon fight, all of beowulf s men flee except wiglaf. Beowulf study guide contains literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, char.
The free beowulf notes include comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. These free notes consist of about 52 pages 15,501 words and contain the following sections. Watch this 60second recap summaryoverview of beowulf and. Hrothgar and his people rejoice, rewarding beowulf with treasure and honors. Beowulf, a young warrior in geatland southwestern sweden, comes to the scyldings aid, bringing with him 14 of his finest men. Poem summary beowulf is the longest and greatest surviving anglosaxon poem. He returns to geatland, where he and his men are reunited with their king and queen, hygelac and hygd, to whom beowulf recounts his adventures in denmark. Oct 24, 2010 beowulf might seem a little intimidating at first. Beowulf was probably composed as an elegy for a death of a king in 7th century. Neutron star is an english language science fiction short story by american writer larry niven. Whether it was originally written or oral is not known. His ship funeral early in the poem is a significant ritual. Beowulf is an old english poem about a geatish hero who comes to denmark to kill a monster beowulf comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of the danes, to fight the monster grendel.
The modern english version we read today is a translation from old english. Download the free study guide and infographic for beowul. The introduction contains a short history of the english language and a description of anglosaxon culture. King hrothgar and his people are plagued by grendel, a monster who attacks heorot every night to pillage and kill hrothgars men.
With wiglafs help beowulf kills the dragon, but not before he himself is terribly wounded. This epic poem describes the hero beowulf marching with his fourteen warriors and arrive at the place of heorot where he finds that he king of heorot hrothgar terrified by a monster called grendel. Beowulf summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Beowulf is as good as his word, and defeats grendel in handtohand combat, wrenching the monsters arm from its socket. It was originally published in the october 1966 issue issue 107, vol 16, no 10 of worlds of if. What, according to beowulf, is better than mourning a death. To cover nearly 900 years of literary history, this course surveys and explains the major genres, literary movements, and historical. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Beowulf, plot beowulf was written in old english and its the oldest epic poem in the english language. But, the next night grendels mother comes looking for revenge. An anglosaxon epic poem is considered the oldest surviving old english poem, over three thousand alliterative verses celebrating the greatdane who protected king hrothgar, conquered grendel and was ultimately defeated by a dragon. Beowulf epic poem written in 700750 beowulf is a short epic when compared to others, it has only 3200 lines. Beowulf study guide from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by. Sparknotes books list of books by author sparknotes. Either way, has you covered when it comes to free book notes on the most widely read books in high school and college curriculums. Summaries of beowulf lectures introduction to beowulf. Anchor books, doubleday, 1977, introduction and commentary by the translator. Short plot story summary synopsis beowulf is a long poem with no break in its narrative. Grendels mother, a swamphag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to heorot seeking revenge for her sons death. Character list danes scyldings scyld scefing a mythical figure, scyld was the founder of the tribe of the scyldings long before beowulf s story begins. A concise biography of anonymous plus historical and literary context for beowulf.
Summaries of beowulf lectures introduction to beowulf, september 10, 2014 keywords. Accompanied by his kinsman wiglaf, ten warriors, and the thief, beowulf sets out to confront the dragon. The videos are short, to the point, and the quiz allows me. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad.
The heynesocin text and glossary have been closely. Well explore what happens, how its written and why it has such a lasting legacy. The present work is a modest effort to reproduce approximately, in modern measures, the venerable epic, beowulf. Character list cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. Hrothgar once sheltered beowulf s father during a deadly feud, and the mighty geat hopes to return the favor while enhancing his own reputation and gaining treasure for his king, hygelac. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him. Beowulf is a poem that describes events that happen to danish king hrothgar and his great hall, heorot. Based on celtic and scandinavian folk legends and historical matter contains both pagan and christian values, the legend is traditionally pagan, poet who wrote down the oral tradition of beowulf was most likely a monk who added christian elements beowulf epic hero who battles evil. In the great hall of hrothgar, king of the danes, the warrior beowulf, son of a swedish king, wages battle with the monster grendel. More tales from tolkiens notes and drafts of the first, second, and third ages of middleearth giving readers more background on parts of the lord of the rings and the silmarillion. Beowulf is an epic poem originally told in the old english between the 8th and 11th centuries. Some of the characters are based on members of danish and swedish royalty.
The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. Beowulf is well suited for uppergrade high school students of all abilities. Maybe you missed a class, or maybe you just cant quite comprehend stream of consciousness style. That very night, grendels monstrous mother avenges her son in another gory attack on heorot. Beowulf, knowing his death is near, decides to fight the dragon. Performances like this are presented in beowulf by hrothgars court scop, honoring beowulf. Old english, translation, kingship most of this class was background to old english and to the poem, but there are a few useful things to remember about old english poetry and about beowulf we talked about what it means to translate a work, in terms of language old. Though its authorship is unknown, the poem was written between 925 and 1025. Beowulf manages to kill grendel and his monstermother at his abode beneath a lake. May 27, 2010 beowulf the animation beowulf vs grendel aldus jendell manalo. But in each chapter there are five sections so one chapter of beowulf here equals one section in sparksnotes. The oldest existing story written in old english, beowulf is the classic tale of courage and honor.
Beowulf orders his men to stay on top of the barrow in safety, observing the fight rather than participating in it. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. Jan 01, 2004 a new translation of beowulf, by alan sullivan and timothy murphy, is enhanced by sarah anderson with commentary and notes that explain unfamiliar terms, assist with literary allusions, and clarify a wealth of cultural and historical references. Overjoyed, hrothgar showers beowulf with gifts and treasure at a feast in his honor. The poem, filled with biblical allusions to the old testament, is also influenced by germanic oral tradition and old norse myth and legend. Poem summary cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. The old english epic poem beowulf tells the story of a young geatish warrior who comes to the aid of hrothgar, the king of the danes, whose. The aim of this course is to introduce you to british literature from its beginnings, ca. Course heros video study guide provides an indepth summary and analysis for the epic poem beowulf.
Hes not literally adopting beowulf, of coursehulking geat warriors do okay without foster parentshes just symbolically including beowulf in his family. At first, grendels mother appears to prevail, and hrunting proves incapable of hurting the woman. The poem begins with a brief genealogy of the danes. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis.
The best option that helped me understand completely was reading sparks notes after each chapter. The first and most terrifying monster in english literature, from the great early epic beowulf, tells his side of the story in a book william gass called one of the finest of our contemporary more. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to hrothgar, who has treated him like a son. See all books authored by sparknotes, including to kill a mockingbird sparknotes literature guide, and fahrenheit 451 sparknotes literature guide, and more on. Beowulf hunts her down and swims to the bottom of a fiery lake to kill her.
545 196 268 1147 1034 1565 1288 1229 1287 866 1099 674 745 356 794 1471 1057 495 1146 978 56 321 86 1504 521 1108 125 1472 391 395 295 614 412 941 656 876 296 109 86 67 109