Beowulf Anglo-Saxon Period

Fast Facts Beowulf was written by an anonymous writer because records were not kept at the time of its creation, which was during the oral story telling tradition. As a story is told orally, it is often changed to suit the needs of the current culture’s beliefs and values.

It embodies early English civilization’s values and beliefs. Like other epics, bards would sing the story which contained gods, journeys abroad and into the underworld, monsters, dragons, and communities plagued by evil.

Fast facts continued 3200 lines long Written in Old English between 700 and 750 AD Depicts the setting as 6th century (500s) Has Scandinavian and Celtic folk legends

Fast Facts Cntd Has some Christian influence; likely author, a monk  Only written manuscript dates to 1000 AD “Survived King Henry VIII’s destruction of the monastaries” (EL 19) during the 1500s

Beowulf in a Snap-shot Beowulf is a Geat king who travels to Denmark to save King Hrothgar’s people from Grendel. Beowulf, like Odysseus from Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, must conquer a foe, restore order, return home to save his home, and face a final foe before his death.

Terms Motifs- reoccurring elements(words, objects, ideas, etc.) Epic-a long narrative poem which depicts the deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies a society’s values and beliefs.

Archetype-a pattern that is repeated throughout literature Most common types of archetypes: settings, plot, images, hero, dragons, wolves, snakes, and other animals

Resources Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston Elements of Literature 2007 pgs 18-20, 1412, 1424