Download Beowulf

Beowulf
English 12A
About Beowulf
Scandinavian legend
Takes place in 6th century
Retold by scops over hundreds of years.
First written version in Old English sometime in the 11th Century
Manuscript
Only one original manuscript survives
Written
by Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631) in a collection of medieval
manuscripts.
Saved from a fire, but edges of 2,000 letters crumbled away.
Original poem is 3,182 lines.
Beowulf and “The Net”
The original manuscript has been preserved by an initiative called “The
Electronic Beowulf Project”
 Preservation is done through the British Library.
Themes to explore
Good vs. Evil
A hero defined
The interweaving of Christianity and Paganism
Key Terms
Scop: a traveling minstrel
Epic: A long narrative poem that celebrates the deeds of a heroic figure.
Legend: A story that celebrates a hero, someone who embodies the virtues and
attitudes of a nation.
Kenning: A two-word metaphor in Anglo-Saxon poetry
Caesura: A pause in a line of poetry
Fate: Man’s inevitable predestination.