Where Are We? As we read Beowulf, we are in Denmark and Sweden, around 500 AD, before the move towards one king, Christianity, peace, and literacy. Though we are in Denmark and Sweden, these tribal cultures (the Geats and the Scyldings) are much like those in early Anglo-Saxon England. Beowulf

Literary Genre of Beowulf Epic: A long narrative poem in elevated style. It presents a character of high degree and details important events that have a national, worldwide, or cosmic setting. (The Odyssey, the Star Wars films) Most epics have the following characteristics: 1.) an epic hero of imposing stature and who is meaningful as a legend or historical figure 2.) their actions take place on a grand 3.) the action consists of a great deeds requiring superhuman courage and maybe superhuman strength 4.) supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons) are involved or interested in the action 5.) the style is grand or elevated 

Anglo-Saxon Culture The mead-hall: Within the tribal cluster of wooden buildings surrounded by a strong wooden fence, stood the mead-hall. Here the king and his warriors (called thanes) feasted and drank mead (Anglo-Saxon beer). In the mead-hall, they were entertained by a bard. The mead hall in Beowulf is called Herot. The Bard (scop): The job of the bard was very important. Besides telling a story, his job was to retell current and past events, to record, remember, and retell history all from the record of his mind. . Fame and honor meant a lot to these people; it was the bard’s job to preserve a record of their achievements for later generations

Main Characters in Beowulf Beowulf -The hero. A Geat who leads his band of warriors to find and kill Grendel. Grendel- Man-monster who raids Hrothgar’s mead-hall, eating his people. Hrothgar - King of the Scyldings in Denmark. Hygelac - King of the Geats-Beowulf’s king back in Sweden. Unferth - One of Hrothgar’s thanes--he questions Beowulf’s strength and ability. Wealhtheow - Hrothgar’s wife.

3 Major Combats Beowulf vs. Grendel Beowulf vs. Grendel’s Mother Beowulf vs. Dragon 3 Aspects of each Combat: Nature of the enemy Beowulf’s motivation Weapons involved

In the Anglo-Saxon culture, the group or the community was valued over the individual. The worst thing that could happen to a person was to have their tribe wiped out, or to be banished. Joy, security, and survival came from the group. Grendel is alone, “banished from men, a cursed and ugly creature.” We see in lines 78-79 that perhaps Grendel is sorrowful and bitter that that he has been banished as the seed of Cain. He sees the men sleeping “fast in slumber, forgetting grief,/Forgetting the woe of the world of men.” Perhaps he wants to have a community, to have happiness, or to cure his loneliness. This is all speculation; however, we definitely see that he does not like it that Hrothgar’s people are so joyous.

Once Beowulf and his men land safely, they “gave thanks to God” for a safe journey. This mentioning of God would have taught the audience that even great heroes must acknowledge a higher power greater than themselves and perhaps even to avoid boasting too much and getting a big head. *God is also mentioned in the following lines: 234-235, 288, 361-362, 439 500, 516, 530, 677-678, 684, 698, 707, 717, 906, 1090-1093, 1093, 1103, 1130, 1132, 1169-1225

In lines 163 – 190, we see the first of what seems to be long-winded speeches in Beowulf. While the coast guard is visually impressed with the stature of Beowulf and his men, he must challenge them so that he may know if they are friends or enemies. The information in these speeches could be said more economically, but we must remember that these long epic speeches fulfill several purposes: 1.) They provide story information (in this speech we learn how impressive Beowulf and his men look). 2.) They can chronicle ancestry (important to know where someone came from both for the characters in the story, but for the scop to provide a oralhistory of important people, deeds, and battles in his culture). 3.) An bard may have left off at a certain point (these stories were told in more than one sitting, perhaps over days) so people needed to be reminded, say the next day of where a story left off. 4.) Being able to speak well was valued by the Anglo-Saxon culture. We will see that Beowulf speaks well and thus is a valued leader. In lines 191 - 210, Beowulf responds with his own “wordy speech.” We see the coast guard is once again impressed and he agrees to allow Beowulf into his country.