Old English & Beowulf

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Literature & Culture

OLD ENGLISH

Medieval times

• tradition: told by 
  scops 
  
  

The oldest

• composed +/- 1200 years ago(?)
• changed dialects, almost up in smoke, lines were lost
• lone survivor; remarkable then and now.

Your thoughts on: Old English

Super hero characteristics

BEOWULF

EPIC POETRY

• Long narrative poem (but quite short)
• Written in an elevated style, boombastic
• Celebrates deed of a legendary hero or God
  
• Exerternal Conflict, when a character struggles against some outside force person nature society or fate.
  
• Superficial characters
• Straight forward (monster-slay-treasure)

BEOWULF

REMARKABLE & SUCCESFULL - WHY?

• Being worthy of your father’s legacy
  
• Heroic deads (reprimand/debt/honour)
• Un-Beowulfy to Christian standards
  
• Appealed to Anglo-Saxon warriors
  
•  Tangibility of a hero compared to God

Discuss in groups of 3
How realistic was Beowulf according to Medieval standards?

BEOWULF

While listening

CHARACTERS

Write down info on the characters

Task 1

CHECK YOUR READER FOR DETAILED INFORMATION 

• Read a part of the New Verse Translation of Beowulf (by Seamus Heaney). 
• After reading, pick one of the characters and answer the following questions:

Main focus: Character Interview 

• At least ten open questions. 
• Full answers 
• ! Use information from the story in questions and/or answers

The arm-thing

The mixed-up fairy tale-thing

The Anglo-thing

The monster-thing

#lifeofBeowulf