Things to Know in Beowulf

Terms

Epic A long narrative poem that recounts the adventures of a hero in pursuit of a goal of national importance. The hero’s accomplishments reflect the values of his culture and usually figure prominently in the history or mythology of his people.

Epic Conventions Include: The plot begins in medias res- Latin for “in the middle of things.” The reader joins the story in the middle of the action. Most epics are serious in tone and written in verse. The language is rich and descriptive. Everything happens on the biggest stage, and the reader should visualize each scene as if it were played out on a big screen.

Antithesis A rhetorical device that pairs two opposite ideas together in the same sentence to create a contrasting effect.

Alliteration A stylistic device used to bring attention to an idea or group of words by repeating initial consonant sounds of closely related words in a sentence. Example: Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore.

Assonance Repeated vowel sounds in unrhymed stressed syllables. Example: The ea r ly bi r d catches the wo r m.

Kenning A poetic renaming of something instead of using an original name. Example: Anglo-Saxon’s would say “whale’s home” when referring to the sea.

Archetype A model of human characteristics. An archetype is an example of the way something should be. In literature you have common archetypes of characters such as the hero, villain, the mentor, the trickster.

Theme The main idea or underlying message in a story.

Characters and Places

Beowulf The hero of the story, a Geat who comes to the aid of Hrothgar in his fight against Grendel.

Hrothgar The king of Denmark who is in a twelve- year war with the monster Grendel. Beowulf comes to his aid to help fight Grendel.

Grendel A monster and descendent of Cain. Grendel repeatedly attacks Hrothgar’s mead hall and kills the Danes.

Unferth A Danish warrior who is bitter towards Beowulf and challenges him.

Wiglaf One of Beowulf’s kinsmen who helps him fight and is worthy enough to become his successor.

Greatland An island of modern day Sweden where Beowulf and his warriors (the Geats) live.

Denmark The country which Hrothgar rules and where his warriors live (the Danes).

Herot Hrothgar’s mead hall where the Danes feast and socialize. The site where Grendel also wages his war and attacks the Danes.

Themes Loyalty Revenge Bravery Identity Good vs. Evil Paganism vs. Christianity The Warrior’s Code