1. Beowulf: Epic Hero.

2. Epic ► Long narrative poem, serious adventures, victories as well as defeats are cited  Primary epic  Secondary epic

3. Primary Epic ► No known authorship of the story  Iliad and Odyssey  Beowulf and Gilgamesh

4. Secondary Epic ► Author is known  Paradise Lost by John Milton  Idylls of the King by Lord Alfred Tennyson

5. Blood Feud ► If one member of the family is harmed by another family, then vengeance is taken upon that other family  “eye for an eye”  Wergold: instead of violence, money is given as compensation for a killed family member.

6. Marks of an Epic ► Heroic age of kings and warriors ► Consistency of the hero ► Motivated fighting/fighting for a just cause ► Narrative unity—story never loses focus

7. Kennings ► A miniature riddle or metaphor using a combination of two words to mean one poetic word for poetic purposes  Mind-plan, whale-road, battle-play, Glory- Father, evening’s night-light, belly-fire

8. The Epic Hero ► Hero: common term for the main character  Possess “good” qualities that enable him to triumph over a villain who is “bad”

9. Aristotle’s Tragic Hero ► Must come from a high lofty position ► Can be neither too good nor too bad ► Must have a tragic flaw  Must have all three or he is not a tragic hero

10. Characters of Beowulf ► Hrothgar: King of the Danes ► Beowulf: a great, strong valiant warrior ► Grendel: monster who threatens Hrothgar’s kingdom ► Grendel's Dam – Grendel's mom –dwells at the bottom of the swamp ► Hygelac: King of the Geats, Beowulf's uncle ► Shild: ancestor of Hrothgar, Danish king who arrived as a child alone in ship loaded with treasures ► Wayland or Weland: makes Beowulf’s amour ► The Dragon: guarding a vast treasure, he awakens when a slave steals a cup from the treasure hoard ► Wiglaf: helps Beowulf in his battle against the dragon ► Hrunting: Unferth’s ancient sword which he lends to Beowulf ► Naegling (Nag `ling): Beowulf’s sword used against the dragon