Beowulf
Beowulf
1. a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and
adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
BACKGROUND
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines. It is possibly the oldest
surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old
English literature. It was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th
century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the
“Beowulf poet.”
The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king
of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel.
After Beowulf slays him, Grendel’s mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious,
Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats.
After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle.
After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland.
The full poem survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, located in the British Library. It
has no title in the original manuscript, but has become known by the name of the story’s
protagonist. In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through Ashburnham
House in London that had a collection of medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce
Cotton.
KENNINGS
Kenning is a compressed metaphor or description using two nounsto describe a subject place and
objects.
There are many examples of kennings in Beowulf and they are used with great variety throughout the
story. Some more examples include: Many of these words appear in other readings of Anglo Saxon
poetry.
The kenning is another poetic device that was used by the oral poet.
A B
SUMMARY OF BEOWULF
Summary With loyalty and heroism in mind, Beowulf comes to the rescue of the Danes and King
Hrothgar. They have suffered at the hands of an evil monster, Grendel, who has pillaged their
kingdom for more than 12 years and killed many men. Beowulf, nephew to the king of the Geats, sails
across the seas to try to defeat the beast. Once he has convinced Hrothgar and Unferth of his many
feats, they allow Beowulf to defend the hall from the monster. Because of his code of honor, Beowulf
lays down his armor and sword so that he is Grendel's equal and has no unfair advantage. Upon
Grendel's arrival a great battle ensues, and Beowulf—with his mighty strength—tears Grendel's arm
from his body. Mortally injured, Grendel retreats home to die. Prepared to avenge her son's death,
Grendel's mother arrives the next day and kills one of Hrothgar's elders. Beowulf follows her down
into her swampy home and attempts to fight her, but his sword doesn't make a scratch on the horrible
beast. He grabs a magical sword hanging on her wall and wields a deadly blow. Then, he spots
Grendel's corpse and severs his head. Grendel's poisonous blood melts and destroys the sword
down to its hilt. Beowulf comes to the surface and presents Grendel's head and the hilt to Hrothgar. A
grand celebration in Beowulf's honor ensues. Beowulf then returns to the Geats, where he is
proclaimed a hero. Eventually, Beowulf becomes a great king of the Geats. But, as with Hrothgar, all
good things must come to an end. Fifty years into his reign, a great dragon is disturbed. A man
happens upon the beast's lair and steals some of the treasure the dragon has been hoarding for
years. The dragon seeks his revenge and wreaks havoc in Beowulf's kingdom. Beowulf knows that it
will be difficult to defeat the beast, but he has the best armor and swords. With his loyal warriors, he
sets out to defeat the dragon. Beowulf orders his men to stay back while he battles the dragon alone.
The warriors agree and, upon seeing the dragon, all of his warriors run from his side—except a young
thane called Wiglaf. Although Beowulf fights heroically, he is fatally wounded. Before Beowulf dies,
Wiglaf presents him with some of the riches from the dragon's hoard. The story ends much like it
starts: with a death and an elaborate burial. Beowulf is laid to rest with a mountain of treasure to mark
his heroic life. Sadly, at his death Beowulf finally shows some fallibility and dies without naming an
heir—a kingdom without an heir is at great risk of pillaging, death, and enslavement.
PUNCTUATIONS
Punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs and certain typographical devices as aids to the
understanding and correct reading of written text whether read silently or aloud.
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The
use of hyphens is called hyphenation. Non-hyphenated is an example of a hyphenated word.
30 item QUIZ (from whole topic)
Direction: Answer the following question and write the answer on your paper.
1. a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures
of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
a. EPIC
b. DASH
c. HYPEN
2. The ____ is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word.
a. DASH
b. EXCLAMATION POINT
c. HYPEN
a. SEMICOLON
b. COLON
c. COMMA
4. The _____ is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the
same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark in many typefaces, but it differs
from them in being placed on the baseline of the text.
a. COMMA
b. SEMICOLON
c. EXCLAMATION POINT
5. The ____ is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to U+002D - HYPHEN-MINUS and
U+2212 − MINUS SIGN, but differs from these symbols in both length and height.
a. HYPEN
b. DASH
c. EPIC
a. PERIOD
b. DASH
c. COLON
a. BEOWULF
b. EPIC
c. KENNINGS
8. ______ is a compressed metaphor or description using two nouns to describe a subject place and
objects.
a. EPIC
b. DASH
c. KENNINGS
9. ______ is the use of spacing, conventional signs and certain typographical devices as aids to the
understanding and correct reading of written text whether read silently or aloud.
a. KENNINGS
b. PUNCTUATION
c. BEOWULF
a. DASH
b. SEMICOLON
c. FULL STOP PUNCTUATION
Direction: Match the Column A to Column B . Write your correct answer on your paper.
A B