ThoughtCo. Literary critics such as Fred C. Robinson argue that the Beowulf poet tries to send a message to readers during the Anglo-Saxon time period regarding the state of Christianity in their own time. Beowulf's own beliefs are not expressed explicitly. Afterwards, a barrow, visible from the sea, is built in his memory. Encyclopedia.com. Grendel soon appears and, before Beowulf can stop him, kills one of Beowulf s own men. It uses the unique rhyme scheme: abbcac. The original Old English poem, one of the most extended and powerful works of Anglo-Saxon to have survived, has several unresolved puzzles about it that lend it an air of mystery and strangeness. After stipulating a number of conditions to Hrothgar in case of his death (including the taking in of his kinsmen and the inheritance by Unferth of Beowulf's estate), Beowulf jumps into the lake, and while harassed by water monsters gets to the bottom, where he finds a cavern. Beowulf ventures forth to seek out the monster in her watery home on the moor. Unferth, who has by now changed his opinion of Beowulf, lends him Hrunting, his sword. The old element of fate or Wyrd that so permeated the old Nordic tales is still present but far less pervasively. Time passes and Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, ruling well and wisely for fifty years. He is not an ordinary member of the community, and he has no close family member or friend with whom he can share his feelings. Line 30 echoes line 7, describing the people as strange. Plot Summary We'll start with a brief summary of Beowulf before proceeding to some textual analysis and critical reading. In the ninth and tenth centuries, however, England was repeatedly subject to violent incursions by Scandinavian raiders (the Vikings), which has led some scholars to argue against dating the poem from that era. England was divided into a number of small kingdoms in those days, and so there were many to convert. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Beowulf is the oldest surviving northern European epic, which is a poem that tells the story of a hero or heroes and recounts a peoples history or traditions. Wayland the Smithwhom Beowulf credits with making his mailshirtwas a legendary armorer of magical ability, and was as familiar to the Anglo-Saxons as was Hercules to the ancient Greeks. When they werent scraping together a skimpy existence, they were fighting neighboring tribes and clans. The poem begins with the funeral of Scyld (Shield) Scefing, great-grandfather of Hrothgar and founder of the Danish dynasty. . [69], The Beowulf manuscript was transcribed from an original by two scribes, one of whom wrote the prose at the beginning of the manuscript and the first 1939 lines, before breaking off in mid-sentence. It is perhaps no accident that as he approaches the dragons lair, he is accompanied by 12 menthe number of Christs apostles. Or did the poem's author intend to see Beowulf as a Christian Ur-hero, symbolically refulgent with Christian virtues? A woman could divorce her husband and take her fathers money home with her if she chose, and could maintain property separate from her husbands even after marriage. It is known, however, that the repetition in Beowulf is due at least partly to its origins as an oral poem. Especially between wealthy families, marriages were generally arranged with the welfare of the woman in mind, so the husband had a financial interest in maintaining a strong, happy union. The poem did not appear in print until 1815. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Beowulf begins with the story of Hrothgar, who constructed the great hall, Heorot, for himself and his warriors. Many believe that "Beowulf" may have been composed as an elegy for a king who died in the seventh century, but little evidence indicates who that king may have been. "Beowulf" is the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language and the earliest piece of vernacular European literature. Beowulf is unable to do any harm to the fearsome dragon, and the old warrior is forced to take cover. It was probably in his reign that the Beowulf manuscript was written, and the presence of a Dane on the English throne may explain why a poem with so much Danish content was produced in England at this time. Or, he may feel that since his task is over, he is no longer welcome and should leave. His interests were combined when he began writing poems, since he uses vivid visual images in his poetry. In return, they promised to be loyal and obedient to the king. [68] Since then, parts of the manuscript have crumbled along with many of the letters. Hollander, John, ed., The Best American Poetry 1998, Scribner, 1998, p. 324. It is monumental and inescapably present for the poet as part of his literary legacy, and yet it is something he can only feebly understand. Yet another celebration follows. Britannia was later called England after the Angles, who, together with the Saxons, settled the area in the fifth century. 29 Jun. The English churchman Alcuin (735-804) inspired what is now known as the Carolingian Renaissance, setting up a number of important libraries and schools in France for the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, and serving as his official adviser on religious and educational issues. https://www.thoughtco.com/beowulf-what-you-need-to-know-1788397 (accessed July 13, 2023). Then he sees a giant sword hanging on the wall of the cave. [128][121] This tale type was later catalogued as international folktale type 301 in the ATU Index, now formally entitled "The Three Stolen Princesses" type in Hans Uther's catalogue, although the "Bear's Son" is still used in Beowulf criticism, if not so much in folkloristic circles. The writer was most likely an eighth-century West Mercian or Northumbrian monk who might better be called an editor than an author, for many sections of the poem undoubtedly had a long career in oral tradition before receiving final form in Beowulf. When a crowd is feasting and celebrating there, the noise is very loud. Beowulf is the first hero in English literature. Richard Wilbur was born in New York City on March 1, 1921, to Lawrence L. Wilbur, a portrait painter, and Helen Purdy Wilbur, whose father and grandfather had been newspaper editors. Grendel - CliffsNotes Integral to this system was a series of highly personal relationships between the king and each of his men. Although originally untitled, the poem was later named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf, whose exploits and character provide its connecting theme. However, the child / Grown monstrous describes Grendel, who is a giant monster but also the child of a monster. The lord, on the other hand, was expected to protect his men from their enemies, and to generously share the spoils of war. In accordance with Norse burial customs, Beowulf s body is burned in a great fire on a cliff overlooking the sea. But the Danish subject matter also fits with an eighth-century date, when relations between the English and the Danes were cordial, due primarily to their shared linguistic and cultural past, and active trade. The poem has also inspired fresh creative works, from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" to Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead," and it will probably continue to do so for centuries to come. The poem begins in medias res or simply, "in the middle of things", a characteristic of the epics of antiquity. Upon his return to Geatland, Beowulf gives King Hygelac the treasure he received from Hrothgar, and recounts his adventures. ." In such communities, townspeople often gathered after work to listen to songs such as Beowulf. they sail to Denmark. Many people had lived through World War I (19141918), the Great Depression (from 1929 into the late 1930s), and World War II (19391945). Do the people keep themselves apart from him, or does he just believe that they do? Beowulf has been translated many times in verse and in prose. The first book focuses on a lot of blue, black, and brown colors because most of the events occur at night time. It suffered damage in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, in which around a quarter of the manuscripts bequeathed by Cotton were destroyed. Beowulf. "[66] Kiernan theorised that Smith failed to mention the Beowulf manuscript because of his reliance on previous catalogues or because either he had no idea how to describe it or because it was temporarily out of the codex. Hill, Donald, Richard Wilbur, Twayne Publishers, 1967. Beowulf strikes the dragons skull with his sword, but the sword snaps from the force of the blow. [70] Knowledge of books held in the library at Malmesbury Abbey and available as source works, as well as the identification of certain words particular to the local dialect found in the text, suggest that the transcription may have taken place there. The burial rites described in the epic show a great similarity to the evidence found at Sutton Hoo, but too much remains unknown to form a direct correlation between the poem and the burial site. He heads for the dragons lair with a small group of warriors. The following is a selection. However, the tranquility ends when a fire-breathing dragon becomes enraged after a man steals from its treasure-filled lair. is rendered "Bro! Hygelac rewards Beowulf handsomely for his bravery. Leo Sherley-Price. After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf remains by his side, grief-stricken. Wiglaf takes advantage of this opportunity to plunge his own sword into the dragons belly. Poetry for Students. . The greatest surviving Old English poem, an epic that recounts two main events in the life of the legendary hero, Beowulf, with some digressions on apparently historical matters. Stepanchev, Stephen, American Poetry Since 1945, Harper & Row, 1965. For the Germanic peoples of the early Middle Ages, their history and legends were inseparable, and possessed similar qualities of truth, in that they provided a sense of national origin and identity. The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. His concern for structure coincides with his evident response to sensory impressions, according to the editors of American Tradition in Literature. [138] In 1930, James A. . The first translation into modern English was made by J. M. Kemble in 1837. All Old English poetry was based upon alliterationthe repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of neighboring words. Bogan, Louise, Achievement in American Poetry 19001950, Henry Regnery, 1951. ." Then, after an evening of feasting and drinking, the king and his fellow Danes . Donaldson, E. Talbot, trans. Literature and Its Times. Like the book, Love at First Sight tells the story of Hadley and Oliver, a pair of travelers (played by Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy) who find themselves sitting next to each other on a cross-Atlantic plane trip. Wilbur condenses much of the action from the original poem in this stanza. The Roman Empire had fallen to Germanic invaders in the relatively recent past (the traditional date is 476), but had been moribund for many years before its final dissolution.