What is Beowulf?
It is a familiar theme: a brave hero battles
his archenemy, and evildoer who will stop
at nothing to win.
This theme of hero and villain goes back
more than 1200 years to a time when
Anglo-Saxon storytellers sang of the
legend of Beowulf, the warrior.
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
Why is Beowulf important?
• the first English literary
masterpiece
• one of the earliest
European epics written in
the vernacular, or native
language, instead of
literary Latin
Epics of other cultures
You can compare the magnitude of
Beowulf with that of the Iliad and the
Odyssey of ancient Greece and the
Sundiata of Mali.
The Anglo-Saxons left few records of their
life and history. Beowulf shows their
dreams, goals and fears, as well as their
values of loyalty, bravery and honor.
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
When was it written?
Estimates of the date of composition range
between 700 and 1000 AD.; written in
England
The story survives in one fragile
manuscript copied by two scribes near the
end of the 10th or the first quarter of the
11th century
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
History
Beowulf began
as an oral
poem, passed
by singers of
one generation
to the next.
It’s a good guess Beowulf would have
disappeared along with those singers
themselves if it had not been written down
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
Who wrote the poem?
No one knows.
Like all early oral poetry, it had as many authors
as singers who performed it.
The singers may have performed it when warriors
gathered in meadhalls to celebrate like those
described in Beowulf.
It was originally spoken in Old English, the
language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons during the
years 500 to 1100.
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
Setting
set around 500
AD
the narrative
also recounts
historical
events that
happened
much earlier.
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
Setting
• Denmark and
Geatland (a
region in what
is now
southern
Sweden)
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
Trivia: Beowulf as inspiration
Beowulf has influenced …
classical music (the American composer Howard
Hanson’s Lament for Beowulf, ca. 1926),
a novel (John Gardner's Grendel, 1971),
animated film (Grendel! Grendel! Grendel! with
Peter Ustinov, ca. 1982),
even a comic-book series (Beowulf, Dragon-
Slayer, ca. 1975).
EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?
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EQ: How is Beowulf an epic hero?