Name______
Beowulf Line Notes: Part 1
Introduction Page 39:
- Anglo-Saxon Period:
- Beowulf’s Setting:
- Old English Language:
- Beowulf:
- King Hrothgar:
- Grendel:
- Herot:
- Scops:
- Pagan vs Christian influences:
- Lessons Learned:
Page 40-41: Analyzing the Visual
Analyzing the visual, what information can you gather pertaining to what Beowulf will be about?
Lines / Interpretation/Significance“The Wrath of Grendel”
Always pull out textual evidence (“key words”) when providing a response
1-2 / What judgments might we make about this creature’s relationship to society?
1-4 / Contrast the description of Herot with the dwelling of the monster .
1-14 / Scop is retelling the Christian story of creation: shows the Christian/Pagan blending of cultures. As we read, continue to find examples of Pagan and Christian influences.
*all* / Notice syntax (sentence structure)—sentences are short & choppy when the speaker is describing Grendel: Shows the anger & evil of the monster
1-14 / What judgments might you make about this creature’s relationship to society? Use textual evidence.
19 / Rhetorical element and effect?
19-23
23-29 / Write a definition for the word “evil” as the poet might have described it.
31-32 / Rhetorical element and effect?
34-35
34-40 / Paraphrase the events that take place in these lines. (3-4 Sentences)
Now, give the author’s purpose or main idea of these lines. (Condense your paraphrased response)
55 / Symbol? Effect?
50-58 / Key diction and explain effect
59 / Good vs. Evil (epic struggle)
62 / Grendel’s reign = 12 years. What does this mean for Hrothgar?
62-63 / Kenning?
63-64
65 / Sung – reference to scops
69-73 / Concept of wergild (blood money)—usual way in which Anglo-Saxons settled conflict. Wergild is the value of a man’s life, payable to his family by his murderer. Notice that this struggle cannot be solved that way.
74 / Kenning?
79
79-84 / How does the poem establish that the coming battle is not just a battle between a hero and a monster, but a battle between good and evil?
85 / Christian allusion (reference)?
90-91 / Pagan allusion?
93-103 / Shift in language and tone. How? Why?
“The Coming of Beowulf”
104 / Reference to Hrothgar’s ancestry – shows the importance of family history in Anglo-Saxon culture.
Healfdane?
109 / Higlac?
109-122 / Remember that an epic hero embodies the values and ideals of the culture that produces him. What qualities do you think were valued by Anglo-Saxons, based on the descriptions in these lines?
118-119 / Pagan allusion?
121-122 / 14 Geats in Beowulf’s party
125-133 / Rhetorical element? Reference to our first poem.
129 / Rhetorical element (different from the one above). Effect?
130-141 / Importance of armor – Remember that armor was a mark of a warrior’s status. Armor was expensive and was handed down from generation to generation.
143 / Christian allusion?
125-143 / Why does Beowulf sail to Denmark?
146-147 / Important reference?
152-171 / Hrothgar’s warrior speaking to Beowulf and his men. Paraphrase these lines.
154-157 / Warrior’s defensiveness. Key diction that alludes to this?
161-165 / What are the warrior’s impressions of Beowulf?
166 / Importance of ancestry.
170-171 / Warrior demanding information from Beowulf.
174-198 / What does Beowulf’s way of identifying himself suggest about the values of a warrior culture?
176 / Edgetho?
180-181 / Kenning?
185-190 / Remember that Beowulf was shaped in part by Christian ideas about the nature of good an evil. Biblical language describes the devil as prowling for unsuspecting prey and working undetected while people slept. What details are given about Grendel in these lines?
Continue to look for descriptions of evil characters as we read.
202-203 / Warrior willing to trust Beowulf because he is desperate.
200-212 / What is the warrior’s answer to Beowulf? Use key diction.
214-216 / Motif (repeating symbol)?
220-221 / Two Rhetorical Elements and Effect:
A.
B.
230-233 / Why do you think Beowulf ordered some of his men to remain outside Herot with their weapons?
233-234 / Description of Beowulf
248-254 / Explain Beowulf’s boast (Anglo-Saxon custom – like giving a resume). How do his boasts of past deeds and his announcement of his plan establish him as a hero?
258
261-279 / Beowulf’s pledge to fight with no weapons (boasting)
264-279 / Paraphrase Beowulf’s plan in these lines.
What are his reasons for fighting barehanded?
281-284 / Motif again?
284 / Reference to Fate – Anglo-Saxon (pagan) concept