BEOWULF
Plot
Beowulf jest to najstarsza, epicka opowieść średniowiecznej Europy, spisana w X wieku, na podstawie pogańskiego oryginału. Tekst powstał w kulturze anglosaskiej, a mnisi spisując pogański tekst nadali mu chrześcijańskie brzmienie. Opowieść składa sie z dwóch części, pierwszej, w której główny bohater - Beowulf - zabija potwora i drugiej, w której zabija smoka i ucieka. CŻĘŚĆ I. Bohater, Beowulf, mieszka w południowej Szwecji. Dowiaduje się sie, że potwór najeżdża dom duńskiego króla i pragnie mu pomóc. Zatem Beowulf pojechał do Danii. W nocy potwór Grendel napada na śpiących rycerzy. Bohater walczy z potworem i obcina mu ostrym mieczem ramię. Duńczycy cieszą się i wyprawiają z tej okazji przyjęcie. Następnej nocy napada na nich matka potwora Grendela, zabija śpiących ( pijanych) rycerzy, w śród, których znajduje sie przyjaciel Beowulfa. Szwedzi i Duńczycy chcą wytropić matkę potwora. Dowiadują się, że mieszka ona w jeziorze. Beowulf skacze w toń jeziora i znajduje w nim ciało potwora Grendela i jego matkę. Wywiązuje sie walka, w czasie, której Beowulf ucina głowę matce Grendela i oddaję ja królowi. W nagrodę otrzymuje od króla wielkie bogactwo. CZĘŚĆII W czasie bitwy ginie król Szwecji. Nowym królem państwa zostaje Beowulf, w nagrodę za swoja odwagę i męstwo. Władzę sprawował ponad 50 lat. Na państwo rządzone przez starego, Beowulfa napada smok. Przyczyna napaści jest kradzież rycerza ze Szwecji. Beowulf uparcie i zaciekle walczy ze smokiem, pokonuje go, ale ten rani go swym zębem ze smoczym jadem. W wyniku zakażenia Beowulf umiera, a przyjaciele usypują mu pośmiertny kopiec. Ta staro-angielska epika jest pełna w swej treści pobocznej dygresji na tematy polityczne i historyczne. Anonimowy poeta połączył opowieść folkloru, legendy, podania ludowego z historyczna tradycją. Legenda zawiera materiał dygresyjny do opowiadań historycznych, dlatego opowieść ta często traktowana jest, jako źródło wiedzy historycznej i niejednokrotnie była badana pod kątem elementów prawdy w niej zawartej.
The text comes from 8th century or slightly earlier; manuscript kept in British Library; begins with a prologue;
Old English heroic epic- features:
f long narrative poem -it has 3182 lines, it tells a story of Beowulf
f great hero as a main character – it describes the most heroic man of
f the Anglo-Saxon times, brave, strong, Beowulf who fights a troll-like monster, a water hag (wiedźma) and a dragon
f chronology of the events
f subject matter –actions of the heroic personage decide the fate of a nation, a culture, or a race
f descriptions- of nature, battles, landscapes, people
f numerous speeches that revel something about the past or the speaker's characteristics-Beowulf does not give many, but from those he gives, the reader learns about his character traits (cechy)
f supernatural elements:
· super-human physical strength of Beowulf,
· monster Grendel presented as a Devil,
· underwater cave when you can breathe,
· Grendel mother’s blood that melts the sword,
· the sword made by giants
f historical background of the events
o The events described in the poem take place in the late 5th century, after the Anglo-Saxons had begun migration and settlement in England and before the beginning of the 7th century, a time when the Saxons were arrived to Scandinavia and Northern Germany.
o Real historic events are for example the raid by King Hygelac into Frisia, ca. 516 or the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern.
o Many of the personalities of Beowulf also appear in Scandinavian sources: Eadgils- semi-legendary king of Sweden, Hroðgar- a Danish king, Scyldings - members of a legendary royal family of Danes etc.
f women not important- appear very rarely, usually as mothers of wives or sometimes to make alliances
f dignified (dostojny) style and lg that create a special atmosphere
f sublime lg (zachwycający), solemn style (uroczysty, poważny), elevated (podwyższony) and rather formal language
f dialects occurs
f alliteration is used to unify(ujednolicać) lines of poetry, as opposed to rhyme
f the poet uses epithets in order to fulfill the alliteration and some primitive metaphors (kenning), similes (porównania) and many other literary techniques certain communities (entire society ) are described
f special mood- no references to the light, dark, only gloomy atmosphere through descriptions of the nature, external danger
The presentation of Beowulf
õ young,
õ brave, he goes to slay the dragon even though all his men abandon him, he realizes that the dragon is more powerful than he is, but he will still not back down
õ strong, he possesses a strength of 30 men
õ a chosen one, a warrior,
õ fights with courage, risk his life in many battles, he fights a dragon even though his death would be inevitable
õ an example to follow
õ honourable, true to his words, always fair- he decides not to use any weapon in his battle against Grendel since Grendel does not use, he promised to kill Grendel and his mother and he did it
õ he do not expect a reward for his actions, he just want to help the Geats and relieve them of Grendel
õ his intelligence is far above any others, he used the sword made by the giants to kill Grendel’s mother.
õ altruistic because he always put the needs of others before his own
õ loyal, strong sense of duty, this means that he is always devoted to his people, his king, and their security
õ later he becomes a king himself and he is loyal to his subjects
õ rewarded with treasure for his deeds
õ believes in wyrd (fate)
õ famous in battles
õ good speaker
õ his a pagan - the pagan believed in many gods (polytheistic), but only one is chosen as the one to worship (oddawać cześć) which represents the chief god and supreme (naczelny) godhead
The presentation of Grendel
ô a monster, almost Devil, at first he appears to be a demon, a “hellish enemy” of people, however, it is soon revealed that he is human, terrifying and threatening
ô he resides in the dark, wet marshes
ô Grendel has swift, hard claws, and enormous teeth that snatch the life out of his victims, which are numerous, he not he only kills he drinks the blood of his prey
ô he is not only a deadly enemy to Hrothgar and Herot, but to the Geats in general, he has been attacking hem for eleven years, always at night
ô he is said to be, the “kin of Cain” (najbliższa rodzina z Kainem) - an outcast, excluded from the society
ô God banished him from mankind (when Adam and Eve had children, they had two boys. Their names were Cain and Able. When Cain killed Able, God “banished him far from mankind”. From Cain came trolls, elves, monsters, and giants. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, so he shares Cain’s banishment)
ô he seems to take his only pleasure from assaulting Herot and warriors. He is displaced from land, wealth and God. It is this displacement that causes Grendel to destroy. Since he cannot be like other people, he chooses to destroy them, because God has “no love for him”
ô mad, suffering, he had no sorrow over the killings he committed, he did them willingly, but not because he is a mindless beast, but because he is jealous of the Geat’s feasting and celebrating under God’s love
ô cruel, savage, grim (groźny), fierce (zawzięty),
ô associated with night (sorrow), darkness (suffering),mist (weeping-płacz)
Nature
{ there are beautiful descriptions of nature for example in the place where Grendel’s mother lives- fire on flood, unnatural cave under water when you can breathe. This descriptions are like a tale, but more realistic.
{ the nature gives dark mood to the story- there are no references to sunshine, good weather, nature is cold, unfriendly and hostile to people, menacing (groźna) and terrifying
{ like a tale, but more realistic
Mixture of pagan and Christian elements:
© Christian elements:
1 References to the Old Testament- exactly to the Genesis (about making the world), the Cain and Abel story
2 God is said to be a creator of everything, God’s will is the same what Fate (wyrd)
3 Grendel is described as descendent (potomek) of Cain
4 The dead awaits (oczekiwać) God’s judgment
5 Hell are ready to take Grendel’s and his mother’s souls
6 Those who believe will find Father’s embrace (uścisk)
7 Wins the one who is on the Lord’s side
8 Beowulf is chosen by God
9 Beowulf represents a Christ-like figure. He helps the Danes in their fight of good versus evil. Like Jesus came to save the Jewish people, Beowulf came to the aid of the innocent Danish.
There is no references to the New Testament, Christ and his sacrifice which are the basis of Christianity.
© Pagan elements:
1. payment of wergild monprice
(Old English: “man payment”), in ancient Germanic law, the amount of compensation paid by a person committing an offense to the injured person or, in case of death, to his family. In certain instances part of the wergild was paid to the king and to the lord.
2. Superhuman personifications. Beowulf is depicted as a superhero. In the first battle against Grendal, Beowulf chose not to fight with weapons, but instead to fight with his extraordinary strength. Beowulf dives into the lake to reach Grendal's mother and swims without oxygen for days.
3. The dragon is also seen as a super-powerful creature. It is the enemy which is most often used in pagan stories
4. Belief in Fate (wyrd). Fate always goes as it must. Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.
5. In many pagan stories, the fight between the dragon and the hero, represent the battle between good versus evil (Beowulf and Grendel)
Christian overtones dominate.
The importance of the hall:
T The poem contains two examples of mead halls:
- Hrothgar’s great hall called Heorot, in Denmark
- Hygelac’s hall in Geatland
Both function as important cultural institutions that provide light and warmth, food and drink, and singing and revelry (hulanka). The mead-hall represents a safe haven for warriors returning from battle. The mead-hall was also a place of community, a centre of social life, lavishly decorated ...
Ylayda