Beowulf - Text Analysis

Beowulf - Text Analysis

Name ………………………………..………………………………….....…..FILA A Class ……………..… Date………………

Text analysis

Beowulf leaves his homeland

Anonymous, Lines 194-216

Beowulf hears about the monster Grendel and decides to travel from Geatland, his home (southern Sweden), to Heorot (in northeast Denmark) to help the people in need.

Then tales of the terrible deeds of Grendel

Reached Hygelac’s thane in his home with the Gaets; run-on-line

Inversion Of living strong men he was the strongest, run-on-line

Fearless and gallant and great of heart.

5 He gave command for a goodly vessel run-on-line

Inversion Fitted and furnished; he fain would sail run-on-line

Over the swan-road to seek the king run-on-line

Who suffered so sorely1 for need of men.

And his bold retainers found little to blame run-on-line

Inversion10 In his daring venture, dear though he was,

They viewed the omen2, and urged him on.

Inversion Brave was the band he had gathered about him, run-on-line

Inversion Fourteen staltwarts3 seasoned4 and bold,

Seeking the shore where the ship lay waiting, run-on-line

15 A sea-skilled mariner sighting the landmarks.

Inversion Came the hour of boarding5; the boat was riding run-on-line

The waves of the harbour under the hill.

The eager mariners mounted the prow;

Billows6 were breaking, sea against sand.

Inversion 20 In the ship’s hold snugly they stowed their trappings7, run-on-line

Gleaming armour and battle-gear;

Launched the vessel, the well-braced bark8 run-on-line

Seaward bound on a joyous journey.

Comprehension

1. Match the following sentences with the relevant lines.

1. The leaders of his people let him go. / Lines 9/11
2. He wants to go and give his help to King Hrothgar. / Lines 6/8
3. The time of their departure comes: the sea is rough. / Lines 16/17-19
4. He orders a strong ship to be built. / Lines 5/6
5. The ship leaves the harbour and the journey starts. / Lines 22/23
6. Beowulf hears about Grendel. / Lines 1/2
7. Beowulf and his mariners get on the ship with their armour and weapons. / Lines 20/21
8. Beowulf looks for a group of sailors and warrior willing to go with him. / Lines 12/13

Name ………………………………..………………………………….....…..FILA A Class ……………..… Date………………

Structure and Style

2. Focus on the first 11 lines.

1. Find as many examples of alliteration as you can. Are there many? Yes, there are examples of alliteration in almost every line. P. 3

2. What is their function? To reinforce/ make the sound aspect more powerful/ and increase the musicality of the poem, finally, to help the scop memorize the poem; P. 3

3. Find four examples of run-on-lines. What do they underline?

Lines 1/2; 5/6; 6/7; 7/8; 9/10; They underline the difficulty of the task. P. 4

3. As in classical epic poems, Beowulf is not introduced directly. Find the phrase used to introduce him. Which Anglo-Saxon value does it refer to? The phrase used to introduce Beowulf is "Hygelac’s thane". It refers to the strong/ close bond between the king and his warriors: a "thane" was a noble warrior, follower of a great king and bound to him in life and death. Beowulf , however, is also Higelac's nephew, a very strong family tie in Germanic society, as strong as that between father and son. P. 10

4. Find the kenning referring to the sea.

The kenning referring to the sea is in line 7 where the sea is described as the "swan-road". P. 10

5. Recognise four example of inversion. What is their purpose?

Examples of inversion are in lines 3; 12; 16; 20; They help the readers/listeners focus their attention on some important features of the warriors and the events narrated. In particular, in lines 3 and 12 the warriors' strength and courage are highlighted, while in lines 16 and 20, the urgency of action and the warlike quality of the events are underlined. P.10

6. Courage and strength are the main characteristics of Beowulf. Find the words or phrases used to express these features. Words or phrases referring to Beowulf's strength and courage are respectively in lines 3 and 4 where he is described as "the strongest, fearless, gallant, great of heart"; (the adjectives "brave" and "bold" in lines 12 and 13 refer instead to Beowulf's warriors) P. 10

7. What does the expression “dear though he was” imply? It implies that Beowulf's people loved him and valued him enormously. P. 10

8. Which expression in these lines refers to the pagan tradition? "They viewed the omen" in line 11 refers to the pagan tradition of foretelling the future by examining the flight of birds or the entrails of animals.

Contextualization

9. Identify in about 150 words the typical values of Anglo-Saxon society present in this passage?

The heroic / warlike ideal was prominent in Anglo-Saxon society. This implied that the king had to be the best in all activities essential to that type of society, but ,above all, he had to be able to fight without fear and be ready to die in battle, which was considered the supreme honour. Moreover, he had to be generous towards his fellow lords giving them part of the spoils of war. In return for this, the king's fellow lords owed him absolute loyalty and were ready to die for him. In conclusion, strength, courage and loyalty were the most important values in the Anglo-Saxon society. Such values are all present in the above passage: Beowulf , in fact, is described as " the strongest, Fearless and gallant and great of heart" (line 4 ) and his men are referred to as "bold" (lines 9 and 13), "Brave" (line 12), and "Stalwarts" (line 13). (words 154)