Beowulf and Grendel (2006)

The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster. The monster, Grendel, is not a creature of mythic powers, but one of flesh and blood - immense flesh and raging blood, driven by a vengeance from being wronged, while Beowulf, a victorious soldier in his own right, has become increasingly troubled by the hero-myth rising up around his exploits. Beowulf's willingness to kill on behalf of Hrothgar wavers when it becomes clear that the King is more responsible for the troll's rampages than was first apparent. As a soldier, Beowulf is unaccustomed to hesitating. His relationship with the mesmerizing witch, Selma, creates deeper confusion. Swinging his sword at a great, stinking beast is no longer such a simple act. The story is set in barbarous Northern Europe where the reign of the many-gods is giving way to one - the southern invader, Christ. Beowulf is a man caught between sides in this great shift, his simple code transforming and falling apart before his eyes. Vengeance, loyalty and mercy powerfully entwine. A story of blood and beer and sweat, which strips away the mask of the hero-myth, leaving a raw and tangled tale. Written by Roundstone Communications

TEXT/MOVIE CHECK: Beowulf and Grendel


1.__________staggers off the cliff, stuck with spears, wrapped in netting, and engulfed in flame.
A. Hrothgar B. Grendel’s father
2.The child Grendel tries to dislodge the dead body of his father. He resolves himself and repeatedly swing his sword to the corpe’s __________.
A. chest B. neck
3.The dissicated head of Grendel’s father is positioned in a crude alcove-shrine, which fire has somewhat preserved it.
A. True B. False
4.Snorri touche’s Hrothgar’s forehead with blood saying “ Hrothgar, much loved King of ______, under Odin’s eye I blood you lucky on all path’s that leave this hall.
A. Geats B. Danes
5.When Beowulf asked the fisherman about the name of the land where he is, the fisherman could not directly tell what it is but leads to say the place is called the ____________.
A. Geatland B. Daneland
6.When one of the Geats told Beowulf that one night a dragon came, Beowulf____________
A. thought dragons are just tales B. dragons are dangerous
7.Complete the lines of Breca: “Danes say.Danes who ran. I have also known Danes who will say the fought off ____________when he wandered North.”
A. Attila B. Conan
8.Hrothgar told his wife Wealtheow that probably, __________, brings this ferocious troll to make his end.
A.. Odin B. Thor
9.Who said this line” Meet me in the light if you have the guts. Or fight me now!”
B. Hrothgar B. Beowulf
10.In the field beyond the Danish village, Selma was picking berries when ____________arrived mounted in a horse.
A. Wealtheow B. Hrothgar
11.When Beowulf and other warriors arrived at Daneland, he introduced themselves to Erik as _______.
A. Hrothgar’s allies B. Hrotgrar’s friends
12.When Hrothgar’s hug Beowulf and tell him that he thought he was smaller, Beowulf replied______.
A. I was eight when I left. B. I have grown too much!
13.Beowulf told Selma he could not remember her when he was young in the Daneland. Selma told him she came at place as ____________.
A. a teenager B. old as she is now
14.While Selma’s parents were killed by the Wulfings, Beowulf ‘s parents __________ .
A. were also killed by Wulfings
B. brought at Danes by the feud of Wulfing s
15.According to Selma, the Saxons’s bowling game would roll a ball against standing__________.
A. body B. skulls
16.Selma corrected Beowulf when he mistakenly thought of Grendel’s name as ____________.
A. Grundol B. Grennel
17.Beowulf was wondering why Grendel would not fight him. Selma told him_____________.
A. Grendel is just waiting for the right time
B. he had not done anything wrong to him.
18.Grendel told Selma “ Grendel. What sort of name—“ Selma replied “Means ‘Grinder”” .
A. True B. False
19.He leads Beowulf to the cave of Grendel.
A. Gremur B. Erik
20. He said” Even the trolls want my beautiful hair.”
A. Breca B. Thorfinn

ENGLISH LITERATURE

The literature of England is one of the highest achievements of a great nation. It should not, however, be read simply as a national expression. It is a body of significant statements about abiding human concerns. The language in which it is written has evolved over hundreds of years and is still changing. Several nations, including Canada, the United States, and Australia are indebted to England for a literary heritage.

Old English Literature

The beginnings of English literature appeared in the 7th or 8th century AD. After the Romans withdrew their troops from Britain in 410, there followed a long period of social unrest, war, and turbulence. The Britons were forced to defend themselves alone against Picts and Scots from Scotland. Then the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came from the European continent. They plundered city after city. If these invaders left any literature, none of it has survived. By the middle of the 6th century the Britons had been pushed to the western borders of England, where they set up small tribal governments. When this society became established, English literature began.
In 597 Pope Gregory I sent Augustine to convert the British to Christianity. He established a Benedictine abbey at Canterbury as the seat of his diocese. This became the center of learning and scholarship of all Western Europe.
The Venerable Bede (673?-735), a monk, was the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar. His beautifully written 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' is a monumental account of his times.
Another monk, Alcuin (735-804), was probably the most learned man in the Europe of his time. He was a liturgical reformer and was largely responsible for the revival of Latin scripts under Charlemagne. Alfred the Great (848?-899) made contributions to this already rich literature by writing in the native tongue and encouraging scholarly translations from Latin into Old English (Anglo-Saxon).
Alfred translated some Latin texts himself into the tongue of the West Saxons; and it was under him, probably, that the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' was begun. This history of the chief events of each year is of prime importance to historians. Under Alfred, Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History' also was translated from the Latin, so that the people could study their past.

Old English Poetry

'Beowulf', the most notable example of the earliest English poetry, is an odd blend of Christianity and paganism. Old English, the language of 'Beowulf', is the source of modern English. Although Old English differed greatly from the language of today, much of the vigor and precision of modern English comes from the many Anglo-Saxon forms still used. The older language was a highly inflectional one; that is, it had many case endings for the nouns, pronouns, and adjectives and a complex system of verbs. It resembled modern German in grammar and in much of its vocabulary as well.
The story of 'Beowulf' takes place in lands other than England; but the customs and manners described were those of the Anglo-Saxon people. This epic poem describes their heroic past. It tells of Beowulf's three fierce fights--with the monster Grendel, the equally ferocious mother of Grendel, and the fiery dragon. By conquering them, Beowulf saves his people from destruction.
Only two Old English poets are known by name. Caedmon (7th century) was an unlearned cowherd. According to legend, he was inspired by a vision and miraculously acquired the gift of poetic song. Unfortunately, only nine lines by this first known poet survive. The second known poet was Cynewulf (8th century). Little is known of him except that he signed his poems in a kind of cypher, or anagram, made up of ancient figures called runes (an alphabet used by early Germanic tribes preceding the use of the Roman alphabet in England). His poems, such as 'Christ', deal with religious subjects.

Beowulf

Hrothgar, king of the Danes, or Scyldings, builds a great mead-hall, or palace, in which he hopes to feast his liegemen and to give them presents. The joy of king and retainers is, however, of short duration. Grendel, the monster, is seized with hateful jealousy. He cannot brook the sounds of joyance that reach him down in his fen-dwelling near the hall. Oft and anon he goes to the joyous building, bent on direful mischief. Thane after thane is ruthlessly carried off and devoured, while no one is found strong enough and bold enough to cope with the monster. For twelve years he persecutes Hrothgar and his vassals.

Over sea, a day's voyage off, Beowulf, of the Geats, nephew of Higelac, king of the Geats, hears of Grendel's doings and of Hrothgar's misery. He resolves to crush the fell monster and relieve the aged king. With fourteen chosen companions, he sets sail for Dane-land. Reaching that country, he soon persuades Hrothgar of his ability to help him. The hours that elapse before night are spent in beer-drinking and conversation. When Hrothgar's bedtime comes he leaves the hall in charge of Beowulf, telling him that never before has he given to another the absolute wardship of his palace. All retire to rest, Beowulf, as it were, sleeping upon his arms.

Grendel comes, the great march-stepper, bearing God's anger. He seizes and kills one of the sleeping warriors. Then he advances towards Beowulf. A fierce and desperate hand-to-hand struggle ensues. No arms are used, both combatants trusting to strength and hand-grip. Beowulf tears Grendel's shoulder from its socket, and the monster retreats to his den, howling and yelling with agony and fury. The wound is fatal.

The next morning, at early dawn, warriors in numbers flock to the hall Heorot, to hear the news. Joy is boundless. Glee runs high. Hrothgar and his retainers are lavish of gratitude and of gifts.

Grendel's mother, however, comes the next night to avenge his death. She is furious and raging. While Beowulf is sleeping in a room somewhat apart [x] from the quarters of the other warriors, she seizes one of Hrothgar's favorite counselors, and carries him off and devours him. Beowulf is called. Determined to leave Heorot entirely purified, he arms himself, and goes down to look for the female monster. After traveling through the waters many hours, he meets her near the sea-bottom. She drags him to her den. There he sees Grendel lying dead. After a desperate and almost fatal struggle with the woman, he slays her, and swims upward in triumph, taking with him Grendel's head.

Joy is renewed at Heorot. Congratulations crowd upon the victor. Hrothgar literally pours treasures into the lap of Beowulf; and it is agreed among the vassals of the king that Beowulf will be their next liegelord.

Beowulf leaves Dane-land. Hrothgar weeps and laments at his departure.

When the hero arrives in his own land, Higelac treats him as a distinguished guest. He is the hero of the hour.

Beowulf subsequently becomes king of his own people, the Geats. After he has been ruling for fifty years, his own neighborhood is woefully harried by a fire-spewing dragon. Beowulf determines to kill him. In the ensuing struggle both Beowulf and the dragon are slain. The grief of the Geats is inexpressible. They determine, however, to leave nothing undone to honor the memory of their lord. A great funeral-pyre is built, and his body is burnt. Then a memorial-barrow is made, visible from a great distance, that sailors afar may be constantly reminded of the prowess of the national hero of Geatland.

The poem closes with a glowing tribute to his bravery, his gentleness, his goodness of heart, and his generosity._

BEOWULF

Context


Though it is often viewed both as the archetypal Anglo-Saxon literary work and as a cornerstone of modern literature, Beowulf has a peculiar history that complicates both its historical and its canonical position in English literature. By the time the story of Beowulf was composed by an unknown Anglo-Saxon poet around 700 a.d., much of its material had been in circulation in oral narrative for many years. The Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian peoples had invaded the island of Britain and settled there several hundred years earlier, bringing with them several closely related Germanic languages that would evolve into Old English. Elements of the Beowulf story—including its setting and characters—date back to the period before the migration. The action of the poem takes place around 500 a.d. Many of the characters in the poem—the Swedish and Danish royal family members, for example—correspond to actual historical figures. Originally pagan warriors, the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian invaders experienced a large-scale conversion to Christianity at the end of the sixth century. Though still an old pagan story, Beowulf thus came to be told by a Christian poet. The Beowulf poet is often at pains to attribute Christian thoughts and motives to his characters, who frequently behave in distinctly un-Christian ways. The Beowulf that we read today is therefore probably quite unlike the Beowulf with which the first Anglo-Saxon audiences were familiar. The element of religious tension is quite common in Christian Anglo-Saxon writings (The Dream of the Rood, for example), but the combination of a pagan story with a Christian narrator is fairly unusual. The plot of the poem concerns Scandinavian culture, but much of the poem’s narrative intervention reveals that the poet’s culture was somewhat different from that of his ancestors, and that of his characters as well.


The world that Beowulf depicts and the heroic code of honor that defines much of the story is a relic of pre-Anglo-Saxon culture. The story is set in Scandinavia, before the migration. Though it is a traditional story—part of a Germanic oral tradition—the poem as we have it is thought to be the work of a single poet. It was composed in England (not in Scandinavia) and is historical in its perspective, recording the values and culture of a bygone era. Many of those values, including the heroic code, were still operative to some degree in when the poem was written. These values had evolved to some extent in the intervening centuries and were continuing to change. In the Scandinavian world of the story, tiny tribes of people rally around strong kings, who protect their people from danger—especially from confrontations with other tribes. The warrior culture that results from this early feudal arrangement is extremely important, both to the story and to our understanding of Saxon civilization. Strong kings demand bravery and loyalty from their warriors, whom they repay with treasures won in war. Mead-halls such as Heorot in Beowulf were places where warriors would gather in the presence of their lord to drink, boast, tell stories, and receive gifts. Although these mead-halls offered sanctuary, the early Middle Ages were a dangerous time, and the paranoid sense of foreboding and doom that runs throughout Beowulf evidences the constant fear of invasion that plagued Scandinavian society.
Only a single manuscript of Beowulf survived the Anglo-Saxon era. For many centuries, the manuscript was all but forgotten, and, in the 1700s, it was nearly destroyed in a fire. It was not until the nineteenth century that widespread interest in the document emerged among scholars and translators of Old English. For the first hundred years of Beowulf’s prominence, interest in the poem was primarily historical—the text was viewed as a source of information about the Anglo-Saxon era. It was not until 1936, when the Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien (who later wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, works heavily influenced by Beowulf) published a groundbreaking paper entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” that the manuscript gained recognition as a serious work of art.
Beowulf is now widely taught and is often presented as the first important work of English literature, creating the impression that Beowulf is in some way the source of the English canon. But because it was not widely read until the 1800s and not widely regarded as an important artwork until the 1900s, Beowulf has had little direct impact on the development of English poetry. In fact, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Pope, Shelley, Keats, and most other important English writers before the 1930s had little or no knowledge of the epic. It was not until the mid-to-late twentieth century that Beowulf began to influence writers, and, since then, it has had a marked impact on the work of many important novelists and poets, including W.H. Auden, Geoffrey Hill, Ted Hughes, and Seamus Heaney, the 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature, whose recent translation of the epic is the edition used for this SparkNote.
Old English Poetry
Beowulf is often referred to as the first important work of literature in English, even though it was written in Old English, an ancient form of the language that slowly evolved into the English now spoken. Compared to modern English, Old English is heavily Germanic, with little influence from Latin or French. As English history developed, after the French Normans conquered the Anglo-Saxons in 1066, Old English was gradually broadened by offerings from those languages. Thus modern English is derived from a number of sources. As a result, its vocabulary is rich with synonyms. The word “kingly,” for instance, descends from the Anglo-Saxon word cyning, meaning “king,” while the synonym “royal” comes from a French word and the synonym “regal” from a Latin word.
Fortunately, most students encountering Beowulf read it in a form translated into modern English. Still, a familiarity with the rudiments of Anglo-Saxon poetry enables a deeper understanding of the Beowulf text. Old English poetry is highly formal, but its form is quite unlike anything in modern English. Each line of Old English poetry is divided into two halves, separated by a caesura, or pause, and is often represented by a gap on the page, as the following example demonstrates:


Because Anglo-Saxon poetry existed in oral tradition long before it was written down, the verse form contains complicated rules for alliteration designed to help scops, or poets, remember the many thousands of lines they were required to know by heart. Each of the two halves of an Anglo-Saxon line contains two stressed syllables, and an alliterative pattern must be carried over across the caesura. Any of the stressed syllables may alliterate except the last syllable; so the first and second syllables may alliterate with the third together, or the first and third may alliterate alone, or the second and third may alliterate alone. For instance:


Lade ne letton. Leoht eastan com.
Lade, letton, leoht, and eastan



are the four stressed words.


In addition to these rules, Old English poetry often features a distinctive set of rhetorical devices. The most common of these is the kenning, used throughout Beowulf. A kenning is a short metaphorical description of a thing used in place of the thing’s name; thus a ship might be called a “sea-rider,” or a king a “ring-giver.” Some translations employ kennings almost as frequently as they appear in the original. Others moderate the use of kennings in deference to a modern sensibility. But the Old English version of the epic is full of them, and they are perhaps the most important rhetorical device present in Old English poetry.


Plot Overview




King Hrothgar of Denmark, a descendant of the great king Shield Sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. But the jubilant noise from Heorot angers Grendel, a horrible demon who lives in the swamplands of Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes suffer many years of fear, danger, and death at the hands of Grendel. Eventually, however, a young Geatish warrior named Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s plight. Inspired by the challenge, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a small company of men, determined to defeat Grendel.


Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow, accepts Beowulf’s offer to fight Grendel and holds a feast in the hero’s honor. During the feast, an envious Dane named Unferth taunts Beowulf and accuses him of being unworthy of his reputation. Beowulf responds with a boastful description of some of his past accomplishments. His confidence cheers the Danish warriors, and the feast lasts merrily into the night. At last, however, Grendel arrives. Beowulf fights him unarmed, proving himself stronger than the demon, who is terrified. As Grendel struggles to escape, Beowulf tears the monster’s arm off. Mortally wounded, Grendel slinks back into the swamp to die. The severed arm is hung high in the mead-hall as a trophy of victory.


Overjoyed, Hrothgar showers Beowulf with gifts and treasure at a feast in his honor. Songs are sung in praise of Beowulf, and the celebration lasts late into the night. But another threat is approaching. Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her son’s death. She murders Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisers, before slinking away. To avenge Aeschere’s death, the company travels to the murky swamp, where Beowulf dives into the water and fights Grendel’s mother in her underwater lair. He kills her with a sword forged for a giant, then, finding Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it and brings the head as a prize to Hrothgar. The Danish countryside is now purged of its treacherous monsters.


The Danes are again overjoyed, and Beowulf’s fame spreads across the kingdom. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to Hrothgar, who has treated him like a son. 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. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him.


In time, Hygelac is killed in a war against the Shylfings, and, after Hygelac’s son dies, Beowulf ascends to the throne of the Geats. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to Geatland. When Beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. Enraged, the dragon emerges from the barrow and begins unleashing fiery destruction upon the Geats. Sensing his own death approaching, Beowulf goes to fight the dragon. With the aid of Wiglaf, he succeeds in killing the beast, but at a heavy cost. The dragon bites Beowulf in the neck, and its fiery venom kills him moments after their encounter. The Geats fear that their enemies will attack them now that Beowulf is dead. According to Beowulf’s wishes, they burn their departed king’s body on a huge funeral pyre and then bury him with a massive treasure in a barrow overlooking the sea.

To All English American Lit Students

Hi, guys! I now officially start our interactive discussion on English-American Literature. Please be reminded of the following:

1. You are expected to watch the following movies at home and answer exercises which will be provided to you later:

a) Othello
b) Hamlet
c) Love's Labor's Lost
d) Midsummer Night's Dream
e) Gulliver's Travels
f) Moby Dick
g) The Last of the Mohicans
h) Sense and Sensibility
i) Pride and Prejudice
j) Frankenstein
k) Island of Dr. Moreau

2) Hand-outs and CDs will be provided next week. So prepare payments for the hand-outs and CDs. (P50 for the Hand-outs and P35 per cd)

Note: Aron is assigned to look for a copy of the movie "Beowulf" starred by Angelina Jolie.

One of you is expected to post the text of Beowulf. Refer to English-Am textbook of the HS.