unit i presentation (anglo-saxons, epic literature, beowulf)

8/14/2019 Unit I Presentation (Anglo-Saxons, Epic Literature, Beowulf)

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The Anglo-Saxons, Beowulf, and Epics

to 1066 C.E. Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons

Britain home to several Celtic tribes, including the

Brythons (whose name would be given to the country as Britain)

Celtic religion was a form of animism, in which godslived in all things (stones, water, trees, etc), headed by priests called druids.

The Celts were a collection of small tribes withoutmuch social structure or organization



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Julius Caesar invades Britain first (55 BCE)

The Roman Emperor Claudius defeated the Celts

completely (43 CE) For the next 350 years, Roman culture (walls, roads,

villas, baths, etc.) spread on the island

When Rome evacuated its troops (409 CE) in order toprotect itself from barbarians, the land was left without order or government

A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts into

the far west of the country.

Angles

Saxons

Jutes

Celts

clans linked by family ties centered around a strong warrior figure

people farmed, established local governments,produced fine craftwork- the signs of civilization

English emerged as a written language

(not in a form we can read today)



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offered no hope of an afterlife to keep people frombreaking laws

people were encouraged to follow laws and to fight

valiantly in battle by the idea that good people wouldbe remembered and have stories told about them- this was the Anglo-Saxon immortality

they valued earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty,generosity, and friendship

similar to what we call Norse mythology, did notbelieve the gods “cared for” humans in the way Christians would

Anglo-Saxons desired to be remembered throughstories, which would be passed down from generationto generation

bards (called scops) sang around campfires while they strummed a harp, telling of heroic deeds (usually battles and warriors)

these scops memorizes popular stories and spreadthem to various tribes, changing the story as they retold it (always exaggerating more)

this practice inspired young warriors to imitate theheroes of old (like Beowulf ) in an attempt to establish

their own story

when Christianity became Rome’s official religion (ca.400 CE), monks quickly traveled to Britain and built

monasteries after the Anglo-Saxon invasions (mid-400’s CE),

monks began to convert the various tribes

they used Anglo-Saxon stories (like Beowulf) to helpconvert listeners, by retelling the story and replacingpagan gods with references to God and Christ

by 700 CE, Christianity had replaced the paganreligions



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from 700 – 1066, Anglo-Saxon dominated thelandscape, unifying the island

then, William the Conqueror, seeking his own

kingdom, landed (1066 CE) and defeated the Anglo-Saxon army under King Harold

William was from France, so French replaced Englishas the language of the ruling class and the islanddeveloped ties with the European continent that last tothis day (including a long history of warfare!)

Terms, Concepts, Activities

the repetition of a consonant sound in words that

placed closely together e.g. the lovely ladies from Lousiville left Florida

after they landed late at night

adds a sense of rhythm to the language

shows creativity, makes the phrase stick in thelistener’s mind



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reference to a person, place, thing, event, or other work of art

e.g. “You might as well be the Statue of Liberty,”Sam yelled.

e.g. The water rushed over John’s head as thoughhe was only a twig caught in the biblical flood

provides a context or shows further meaning

signals that a moment in the story is significant orhas meaning beyond what is happening

a metaphorical renaming of a person, place, orthing

e.g. There’s Mr. Thompson’s room, that repositoryof wit and wisdom

e.g. Thomas turned and faced the shepherd of demons

heightens the tension in the story

provides reader with vivid descriptions tounderstand the subject

• The original or ideal (“best example”), upon which later versions are based.

•

Beowulf is an archetypal epic hero, becauselater heroes followed the same pattern (brave,superhuman abilities, sought glory, etc).

• There are many different archetypes, including:

• the hero (Neo, Odysseus)

• the mentor (Morpheus, Gandalf)

• the seducer (the One Ring, the Ice Queen)

• the trickster (Hermes, Coyote, Aladdin)



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long poem or story that retells the adventures of an epic hero.

the centerpiece of an epic is the hero’s journey,during which the hero must overcome monsters,enemies, and other obstacles in order to achievea goal (usually, the protection of asociety/culture)

an epic is a very specific type of literature,considered to have taken place “in the past” butnot “in another age” (e.g. within a fewgenerations)

originated as oral traditions, passed down (andaltered many times) until they were recorded

served as a means to communicate values that were important to a culture, as well as to establishnational pride and to provide a role model

probably began with some true event that becameexaggerated as well as combined with other storiesduring each retelling

these stories linked a culture together by creating a

sense of common history and future

• Qualities of a myth:

• emerges from a large cultural group (e.g.Greek, Egyptian, etc)

• explains the workings of the universe/natureor pass along guidelines, morals, advice, wisdom, etc. about how to interact with thegods & with the natural world

• includes intervention by gods, often usesmagic

• were considered to have taken place “inanother age”, before this particular segment of time (e.g. long before the present)



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Epics are not myths:

longer than most myths

involve more detail and more description of the hero & the hero’s journey

focus on the exploits of a human hero (a mythfocuses on a god or demi-god)

epics were said to have taken place “in thepast”, while myths took place “in another age”(one way to think of this is to consider thedifference in our minds between the NewTestament & the Old Testament in The Bible).

1) overcomes impossible tasks with superhumanabilities

2) “better” than average human, but still mortal

3) goes beyond human limitations, discovers/faces what is beyond his society’s understanding

4) sets out to accomplish a task / defeat an evil / gain areward.

5) embodies his culture’s most valued traits

6) is slain or accepts death gracefully at the end;demonstrates the proper way to die, provides

comfort for those who know they will die one day 7) central figure in an epic story or poem

symbol: a person/place/thing/event that is itself and representative of some abstract idea

provide an example of a symbol and what it issymbolic of

when we see something that represents an idea, wesay it is symbolic of __________

an object may be symbolic of one idea at one timeand symbolic of something else at another time

symbolism is relative to the reader

you must provide proof of symbolism (e.g. Theflag in the story is symbolic of death because itflies over the graves of each of the victims.)



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1) Identify as many symbols as possible from “TheBattle with Grendel”. Explain what twoof themsymbolize.

2) Choose two characteristics of the epic hero, andexplain how Beowulf fulfills these.

3) Which characteristics of an epic does this story f it? Are any missing?

4) Identify another possible archetype in this story andexplain why you believe this character is anarchetype.

1) An archetype could be said to be (a) first & best (b) last &best (c) the best (d) I don’t know

2) An epic is (a) the story of a hero’s adventure & growth (b)the story of a hero vs. a villain (c) any long story (d) Idon’t know

3) A myth might include (a) talking animals (b) mortalheroes (c) gods and magic (d) I don’t know

4) An epic hero (a) is loved by all who know him (b)possesses qualities that are important to his culture (c) isrewarded in the afterlife (d) I don’t know

5) Which of the following might be a symbol-symbolizedpairing? (a) cake-mouth (b) sword-violence (c) anger-hurt (d) I don’t know

Christianity vs. Paganism



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originally Scandinavian (pagan), no link toChristianity, values very different:

boasting of exploits (Christ was humble)

glory-seeking (Christ glorified the Father)

violence, war (Christ blessed the meek)

vengeance, destruction (Christ turned theother cheek)

the monks who settled in Britain were missionaries- they sought to convert the Celts, then the Anglo-Saxons, toChristianity

Beowulf, a story to which the Anglo-Saxons could relate, was altered so that the Christian God received the glory (asif to say to the paga audience, “See? Our God can make youstrong, too.)

the story’s changes also helped the monks relate popularBiblical stories (Beowulf’s sacrifice for the Geat kingdomcould be compared to Christ’s sacrifice for the Christian

kingdom) the story relayed important Christian ideas to the audience

(Grendel as a descendent of Cain, the idea of “original sin”)

Christian scribes had to provide a context for Grendel,because (a) God created everything, (b) but an all-goodGod would not create an entirely evil monster

solution: Grendel becomes a descendant of Cain, the firstmurderer

pagan monsters tended to be servants of the gods, whoacted in accordance with the god’s will

pagan monsters also served a purpose: guard a treasure,protect an area sacred to a god, hold humans back (andthus becoming like gods)

Christian monsters were basically evil, without a definitepurpose or mission, other than to do evil, causedestruction, create sin, etc.



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the scribes kept many pagan elements that madeBeowulf so popular, in order to link the audience’shero (Beowulf) with the Christian’s hero (Christ): the warriors fear a shameful death (such as Grendel

killing you while you slept) Grendel is more monstrous than human

mead halls, gold and treasure, and weapons are all listedto add prestige to the kingdom and its king

warriors boast of their exploits in order to continue theirlegend

the partying and drinking were celebratory acts and were considered signs of the king’s generosity

the mead hall is alternatively praised and cursed in thestory

it is described in all its majesty, but with the reminderthat it would burn to the ground

in some ways, the monks would have disliked themead hall as much as Grendel, because it was a placeof violence, drunkenness, and noise

thus, the monks felt no remorse to mention that meadhall would eventually be destroyed by fire- this was afitting end to a place built by a king who was

celebrating violence

1) What is the relationship between Grendeland Hrothgar’s people? How might it have

been symbolic of the relationship betweenthe monks and the Anglo-Saxons?

2) What do Grendel’s characteristics tell youabout the Anglo-Saxon’s greatest fears and

worries?

3) Although Beowulf is not very Christ-like, hedoes share some characteristics. What arethey?



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The Hero’s Journey

1) Establishes himself as unique or special.

2) Receives the “call to adventure”.

3) Answers the call, sometimes facing minorobstacles that usually prepare him for theultimate struggle or further establish his ability.

4) Faces the monster

5) Defeats the monster, usually using the attributesmost prized by his society or with a magical weapon (indicating his unique status).

6) Is revered as a hero, his name is established,sometimes receives a prize or reward.

How does Beowulf establishhimself as unique among warriors?



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• Beowulf points to his swimming match• What does Beowulf claim also happened during the

match, which made winning even more difficult?

• when they arrive on shore, they are greeted withcompliments

• Beowulf must “talk down” Unferth• what does this exchange between the two warriors tell

us about how Anglo-Saxons viewed conflict within atribe?

What is Beowulf’s call toadventure?

• Hrothgar has built a mead hall to commemoratehis rule as king

•

Grendel begins attacking the hall• Beowulf hears of the attacks and sets out, seeking

glory and fame for himself

• Why were Anglo-Saxons eager for fame and glory?



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What happens when Beowulf

answers the call?

Beowulf is challenged by Unferth

minor obstacles like these allowed the hero toprove his worth

in this case, Beowulf must show that he will notback down when he is challenged

What happens when Beowulf facesthe monster?



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the battle is a long struggle, in which many lesser warriors are slaughtered

the outcome is never in doubt

from the outset, Grendel realizes Beowulf is morethan his equal

What happens after Beowulf defeats Grendel?

• Grendel’s arm is left swinging from a rafter,and Grendel escapes to the marshes, where he

will bleed to death.• In this scene, particularly, the Christian scribes

were careful to attribute Beowulf’s victory toGod.

• Grendel’s fate as an opponent of God is made very clear: Hell.



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What happens after Beowulf

defeats Grendel?

• Beowulf’s reward is glory and fame

• His name will be recorded and his memory honored, the Anglo-Saxon version of immortality

• that you did in this life was the only measure of the quality of your life

Each of us is the “hero” in our personal story.

Our monster can be metaphorical (addiction, self-

doubt, depression, etc.) or literal (a parent, a bully,etc.)

The hero must answer the “call to adventure”. We must recognize that we have a problem or issue.

The hero must face the monster. We must choose to deal with our problem or face up to

the person who is terrorizing us.

The hero defeats the monster. We will defeat our monster, if we face up to it. If the

confrontation ends in a fight, we need not win- the actof facing the monster is all that is required.



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The hero receives a reward. We are freed from the problem or person who had been

controlling or terrorizing us.

In some cases, the hero must allow himself to beslain in order to conquer the monster. Sometimes, we must allow our “old self” to be slain, so

that a “new self” (more responsible, not afraid of theperson/problem, able to handle life’s struggles) cancome into being.

This concept of rebirth is at the heart of Christianity,and of most epics.

The hero (like our “self”) dies, but is born again, a newcreature.

Epics are not just entertaining stories or records of pastheroes. They are also instruction manuals. They teachus how we create our metaphorical monsters (greed,lust, alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.); they teach us where to look for it; they teach us how to face themonsters; they teach us how to defeat it; and they show us the reward that awaits those who choose toface their monsters.

In your group, analyze the assigned section of “Beowulf”, then report to the class what you have

learned.

Activities for Class



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in your group, define the assigned term in your ownwords

provide two examples of your own creation of the term

in your group, do one of the following:

identify a modern epic (movie or novel) and identify each characteristic that it possesses, then explain why it might not possess any characteristics that aremissing

identify a modern epic hero from real life (must havelived in the past 200 years) and explain how they f iteach trait

get into groups and receive your assigned speech from

the story the group identifies:

speaker audience purpose tone style thesis, main ideas, supporting details persuasive devices determine the speech's success (defending their rating)



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How does Beowulf’s speech fit with what you wouldexpect of an epic hero?

Compare Beowulf’s speech, given when he arrives onshore, to another character’s speech. How are thedifferent? How are they similar? What would accountfor the differences & similarities?

Create a modern epic hero, including

appearance

personality

adventure

resolution

identification of each trait that he possesses

1) The story tells us that Hrothgar’s kingdom will eventually be overthrown, and the mead hall will be burned. Whatdoes this tell you about the Anglo-Saxon worldview?

2) What other possibility might explain the story’sinsistence on reminding the reader that these kingdoms

were doomed? (hint: think about who wrote down thestory)

3) Which of Beowulf ’s adventures do you consider a moreeffective story? Why?

4) Why do epic heroes stumble across just what they needto defeat the monster?

5) Some critics suggest that epics like Beowulf are alsoguides that teach us how to face our personal monsters. If so, what lessons can we learn from Beowulf?

unit i presentation (anglo-saxons, epic literature, beowulf)

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