6V Literature - Beowulf

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

HWAET

HWAET

Beowulf

• Introduction to Old English literature
  
• Beowulf opening lines and extract
  
• Assignments
  

Old English Literature

Characteristics Old English Literature

• Oral tradition
• Importance of scop or minstrel
• Poetry
• No end-rhyme or fixed rythm; alliteration

Beowulf

• example of an epic poem
  
• characteristically Germanic in content and outlook:
•       courage in battle
•       obedience to the king and other (war) leaders
  
•       belief in magic and in dangerous demons
  
• probably composed in 8th century (in England)
  
• original story much older (Scandinavia)
  
• earliest manuscript: c. 1000 (by anonymous monk)
  

The Beowulf Manuscript - first page

(now at the British Library in London)

Beowulf opening lines

Go to Survey p. 6

How should this be pronounced???

Which words remind you of Dutch?

What attracts a modern audience to this old story?

Assignments

Do assignment 1 (3 questions) (Reader&Workbook p. 5-6)

> work together!

Correct answers (assign. 1)

the mist bands = the fog (line 1)

the cloud-murk = the dark / darkness (line 5)

the mouth of the building = the gate / the door (line 14)

his bone-lappings = his flesh (line 31)

Correct answers

Assigment 2, ll 1-21:

Correct answers (assign. 3)

- the alert hero (line 37)

- Hygelac’s trusty retainer (line 47)

- the man (line 50)

- the man who of all men … in the days of this life (lines 78-79)

- the earl-troop’s leader (line 80)

- their lord (line 85)

[- Hygelac’s kinsman (line 102)]

- the man who had lately landed among them (line 114)

- the Geat captain (line 117)

- the hero (line 123)

What is your favourite line of the poem?
Write down the (part of the) sentence

Next literature lesson

What happened after 1066?

Middle English

Introduction to Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales