1. The Epic Form: Epic Conventions & Elements Literary Term Glossary
Definition
Example
Epic Hero
A larger than life figure, typically of noble or semi-divine birth who pits his courage, skill and virtue against evil forces.
Achilles
Beowulf
Tragic Flaw
The character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist.
Achilles: Anger
Archetype
Characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of when or where they live.
Common literary archetypes include stories of quests, descents to the underworld, ascents to heaven, etc.
Quest
A perilous journey undertaken by an epic hero in order to prove heroism, win honor, and undying renown.
Gilgamesh: Immortality
Divine Intervention
Help or harm provided to an epic hero by a god or other supernatural force.
Athena helps Achilles in battle with Hector.

2. The Epic Form: Epic Conventions & Elements Literary Term Glossary
Definition
Example
Folk Epic
Stories about a hero that were originally recited and performed. They were written down long after being performed.
Beowulf
Gilgamesh
Literary Epic
Stories about epic heroes that are written by an individual, specific author, drawing on the style of the folk epic.
The Iliad
The Odyssey
The Divine Comedy
Invocation
An opening statement of purpose by a supernatural force who would help tell the story.
Sing, O goddess, the rage of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans (The Iliad)
In Medias Res
“In the Middle of things” The reader joins the story in the middle of the action.
Sing, O goddess, the rage of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans (The Iliad) The poem starts in the middle of Achilles wrath; we later find out how it happened.
Elevated Style
A serious, lofty tone of language.
Long speeches given by the characters of an epic suggest the impressive formality.

3. The Epic Form: Epic Conventions & Elements Literary Term Glossary
Definition
Example
Epithet
A descriptive term (word or phrase) accompanying, or occurring in place of, a name, and having entered common usage.
“Man’s Best Friend” = Dog
“Richard the Lion-Hearted” = Richard I
Foreshadow
The presentation of hints and clues that tip the reader off as to what is to come later in the work
Political upheavals foreshadowed war.
Situational Irony
 The contrast between the intention or purpose of an action and its result.
Every war constitutes an irony of situation because its means are so melodramatically disproportionate to its recognized ends.
Foil Character
A character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight various features of that other character's personality, throwing these characteristics into sharper focus.
Unferth is a foil to Beowulf

4. Beowulf: names / places to know
Description
Beowulf
A Geat (from Sweden) and hero of the story
Grendel
Man-eating monster; foe of Hrothgar and Beowulf
Shild
Legendary (old) King of the Danes. Great-grandfather to Hrothgar
Hrothgar
King of the Danes (from Denmark) and friend of Beowulf’s father
Higlac
King of the Geats (Sweden) and uncle to Beowulf
Edgethow
Beowulf’s father. Exiled and lived in Denmark under Hrothgar
Unferth
Hrothgar’s attendant at court; loans Beowulf Hrunting (his sword)
Herot
Gathering place for warriors; built by Hrothgar

5. Social Order in Beowulf
Name
Description
Thanes
Warriors – expected to be brave and swore loyalty to their king
Wergild
The practice of paying a killed man’s family to make up for death.
Also intended to prevent a family for seeking revenge
Wergild & Beowulf
Hrothgar paid a wergild for Beowulf’s father. This perhaps influenced Beowulf to help Hrothgar in his time of need.

6. Beowulf: Language Old English Alphabet
                                                                                                                                      
Beowulf: Language
The Old English alphabet is a bit different from our modern one. Their alphabet did not include the letters J, Q, or Z, and the Anglo-Saxons had four letters that we no longer use in our standard alphabet today. The letters “thorn,” “eth,” “ash,” & “wyn” all come from the runic alphabet used by the Germanic peoples.
If the scribe who wrote the Beowulf manuscript wrote down the letters in the alphabet today, it would look like this.
Old English Alphabet
The English language is divided into 3 periods: Old English ( ), Middle English ( ), and Modern English (1500+). While many people think of Shakespeare’s English as old, Shakespeare wrote & spoke Modern English, albeit, an early form of it. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a good example of Middle English poetry. Beowulf, which dates back to approximately 700, is an Old English, or Anglo-Saxon poem.

7. 1 Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
1 Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, LO, praise of the prowess of people-kings
           
2 þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,
3 hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.  we have heard, and what honor the athelings won!
         
4 Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena/ þreatum, Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadron foes,
5 monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, from many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,
6 egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð/ awing the earls. Since erst he lay
7 feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, friendless, a foundling, fate repaid him:
8 weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, for he waxed under welkin, in wealth he throve,
9 oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra till before him the folk, both far and near,
10 ofer hronrade hyran scolde, who house by the whale-path, heard his mandate,
            
11 gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning. gave him gifts: a good king he!
12 ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned, To him an heir was afterward born,
13 geong in geardum, þone god sende a son in his halls, whom heaven sent
14 folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat to favor the folk, feeling their woe
        
15 þe hie ær drugon aldorlease/ that erst they had lacked an earl for leader
16 lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea, so long a while; the Lord endowed him,
17 wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf; the Wielder of Wonder, with world's renown.
18 Beowulf wæs breme blæd wide sprang/, Famed was this Beowulf: far flew the boast of him,
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in. son of Scyld, in the Scandian lands. B E O W U L F T R A N S I