Beowulf

A Terrifying Tale of Good vs Evil

Study Guide

PLOT SUMMARY

SETTINGS

MAIN CHARACTERS

TYPE OF WORK

DATE, PLACE OF
PUBLICATION

TRANSMISSION OF THE
STORY

VERSE FORMAT

STRUCTURE AND
SOURCE

LANGUAGE

POINT OF VIEW

THEMES

HEROES AND VILLAINS

IMAGERY

C LIMAX

MANUSCRIPT
TIMELINE

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Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings... 2003

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Type of Work
Beowulf is an epic, a long poem telling a story about a hero and his exploits. It is further classified as a folk
epic in that it pieces together its story from folk tales transmitted orally for centuries, probably sometimes to the
accompaniment of a musical instrument such as a harp. Beowulf consists of 3,182 lines written in vernacular Old
English (native language of the author's time and place) rather than in Latin, the lofty language of religion, philosophy,
science, history, and, of course, literature. That fact does not mean that the writing inBeowulf is inferior; on the
contrary, it is superior.
Today, this epic is recognized as the greatest work in Old English. Unlike many other epics, Beowulf has
characteristics of an elegy (a somber poem or song that praises or laments the dead). In fact, J.R.R. Tolkien, author
of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, maintained that Beowulf is more an elegy than an epic. However, that observation is
not in accord with the prevailing body of opinion about the genre of Beowulf.

Date and Place of Composition

Beowulf was probably composed between 700 A.D. and 900 A.D.The place of its composition was probably
Northumbria, an important Anglo-Saxon kingdom between Scotland on the north and the Humber River on the south.
Northumbria was home to Roman Catholic monks who excelled in learning and literature. The most famous was the
Venerable Bede (672-735), who wrote The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and popularized the use of "A.D."
(abbreviation for the Latin Anno Domini, meaning in the year of the Lord) in dating events in relation to the year of the
birth of Christ.

Transmission of the Story

Beowulf was first transmitted orally for one to three centuries. Although its author did not write it down, two
English scribes did so in about 1000 A.D. Their manuscript, considered one of the great heirlooms of world literature, is
now preserved in the British Library in London. The scribes' manuscript was earlier held in Ashburnham House, the
library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631), who collected historically important manuscripts. Sir Robert
bound Beowulf with four other manuscripts in a combined codex known asCotton MS. Vitellius A.xv, the 15th item on
the first shelf of manuscripts placed under the bust of Emperor Vitellius in his library. TheBeowulf manuscript was in
what was known as the Nowell Codex.

After fire ravaged the library in 1731, the manuscript was rescued by British authorities. However, water
damage and burned edges made it difficult to read.

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Settings
The time is the Dark Ages, between 500 and 700 A.D. The action takes place first in a Danish kingdom ruled by
Hrothgar, situated on the island of Zealand (site of present-day Copenhagen, Denmark). There, in the great mead hall
of the king, Beowulf confronts a monster that has been terrorizing the king and his men. (A mead hall was a communal
gathering place for feasting and drinking mead, an alcoholic beverage made of water and fermented honey. Mead was
a popular drink in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries during the Middle Ages because grapes, a crop that
thrives in warmer southern climates, were not readily available to make wine.) Later, Beowulf dives into a lake and
fights the monster's mother. The scene of action then shifts 50 years later to the land of the Geats in Sweden, where
an elderly Beowulf confronts a dragon terrorizing his own land.

Main Characters
Beowulf: Illustrious warrior from the land of the Geats in Sweden. When a monster terrorizes a Danish kingdom,
Beowulf sails across the sea to come to the aid of the beleaguered Danes. Beowulf possesses enormous strength and
courageously confronts the monster in hand-to-claw combat. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, Beowulf
may mean bee-hunter (Beo for bee and wulf forhunter). A bear, of course, hunts bees and,
therefore, Beowulf translates loosely as bear.
Hrothgar: King of a Danish realm terrorized by a monster. He presides at Heorot, a great mead hall. Heorot
Wealhtheow: Hrothgar's wife and queen.
Grendel: Monster that terrorizes Heorot.
Grendel's Mother: Monster that retaliates after Beowulf defeats Grendel.
Dragon: Monster that goes on a rampage in the land of the Geats.
Wiglaf: Warrior who helps Beowulf fight the dragon.
Hygelac: King of the Geats in Sweden. He is Beowulf's uncle.
Hygd: Hygelac's wife and queen.
Heardred: Son of Hygelac.
Ecgtheow: Beowulf's father.
Unferth: Danish warrior who envies Beowulf.
Breca: Childhood friend of Beowulf.
Aeschere: Counselor to Hrothgar.
Freawaru: daughter of Hrothgar and Wealhtheow
Scyld Scefing: Onetime King of Denmark and great-grandfather of Hrothgar. He is mentioned in the epic but does not
take part in the action.

The Beowulf Manuscript: a Timeline

Time

What Happens

..

..

Between 700 and 900 A.D............................................................ Anonymous Author Composes Beowulf

Between 500 and 700 A.D............................................................ The Fictional Events in Beowulf Take Place
About 1000 A.D........................................................................... Scribes Write Down the Anonymous Author's Story
Englishman Laurence Nowell Acquires Scribes'
1563...........................................................................................
Manuscript,
Probably From a Catholic Monastery Demolished by
Henry VIII
Sir Robert Cotton Acquires the Manuscript for His
Between 1585 and 1631...............................................................
Library
Cotton's Grandson Donates Library to British
1700...........................................................................................
Government
Library Moved to Essex House, Then Ashburnham
After 1700...................................................................................
House, in
London area
Ashburnham House Burns. Manuscript Saved After
1731...........................................................................................
Water
Damages It and Fire Chars the Edges
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1753...........................................................................................
1753-Present...............................................................................

British Museum Established; Manuscript Becomes Part

of Its
Collection
Manuscript Preserved, Translated, Published

Language
Beowulf was written Old English in the West Saxon dialect of 1000 A.D. Old English was used in England
between 600 and 1100 A.D. Beowulf is believed to be the first important literary work of medieval Europe to be written
in the language of the common man rather than in the lofty elegance of Latin.

Verse Format
Beowulf is written in unrhyming verse, without stanzas, with a caesura (pause) in the middle of each line. The
lines contain caesuras to represent the pauses that speakers normally use in everyday speech. Thus, each line is
divided into two parts. Each part is called a hemistich (HEM e stick), which is half a line of verse. A complete line is
called a stich. Each hemistich contains two stressed (accented) syllables and a varying number of unstressed
(unaccented) syllables.
Following are the opening three lines of Beowulf in Old English, with the space in the middle representing the
caesura.

Old English With a Space for the

Caesura
Hwt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum,
eodcyninga, rym gefrunon,
hu a elingas ellen fremedon.

Translation
Lo. we have heard of the glory in days of old
of the Spear-Danes, of the kings of the people,
how the athelings did deeds of valor.
Quoted in Baugh, Albert C. and George Wm.
McClelland.
English Literature. New York: Appleton, 1954, Page 19.

Structure
In structure, Beowulf is divided chronologically into two main sections: one that focuses on Beowulf as a young
man and one that focuses on him as an old man. In terms of action, it is divided into three main sections: one that
introduces the characters and describes Beowulf's conquest of Grendel, one that describes Beowulf's defeat of
Grendel's mother, and one that describes Beowulf's defeat of the dragon with the help of Wiglaf.

Source
The author of Beowulf based his tale in part on pagan myths, fables, Scandinavian history, and biblical and
Christian history. Thus,Beowulfis a mixture of fiction and fact.

Point of View
The poet tells the tale in omniscient third-person point of view from a Christian perspective. Though describing
events taking place in a pagan culture, the poet credits the Christian God and the Christian ethic for the triumph of
good over evil.

Themes

1.

Goodness conquers evil. Beowulf, of course represents goodness; the three monsters that he slays represent
evil.

2.

Actions (Beowulf's) speak louder than words (Unferth's).

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3.

Judge the greatness of a human being by the greatness of his deeds and his noble ancestry.

4.

Help thy neighbor. (Beowulf risks his life to help a neighbor, King Hrothgar, in trouble.)

5.

Forces of darknessirrational, menacingare always at work in society.

6.

Life is a continuing struggle. After Beowulf defeats Grendel, Grendel's mother seeks revenge. Beowulf kills her.
Eventually, in old age, he faces still another challenge, this time from a dragon. He kills the dragon, too, but
suffers a mortal wound. After he dies, new troubles loom on the horizon in the form of wars with neighboring
tribes.

The Hero and the Villains

Poem's Hero: Beowulf, a mighty warrior from the land of the Geats in Sweden. He is noble, courageous, bold, and
stronger by far than any other living mortal.
Poem's Villains: (1) Grendel, a foul marsh-dweller born of the hatred of the biblical Cain. (In Genesis, Cain, the first
son of Adam and Eve, kills his brother, Abel, the second son, after God accepts Abel's sacrifice but not Cain's.) Grendel
is a nightmarish creaturehalf-beast, half-manthat strikes at the darkest hour. (2) Grendel's mother, a loathsome fiend
protected by sea monsters; (3) a fire-breathing dragon that can destroy an entire town with a mere exhale.

Imagery
The imagery in Beowulf consists mostly of alliteration and metaphor. Many apparent hyperboles describing the
feats of Beowulf are not true hyperboles, since what appear to be exaggerationssuch as a passage saying Beowulf
swam from Sweden to Finland or a passage saying Beowulf had the strength of thirtywere intended to be taken
literally. Kenningscompound expressions, often hyphenated, representing a single nounoccur often in Beowulf.
Examples of kennings are the following: whale-road for sea, sea-wood for ship, shield-bearer for warrior, battlespoil for treasure, ring-nets for chain mail, sword-draught for a sword swallowing the blood of an enemy, and twilightspoiler for dragon. A kenning is a form of metaphor and are similar to the Homeric epithet.

Climax
The climax occurs when Beowulf defeats Grendel's mother.

Plot Summary
By Michael J. Cummings.. 2003
.

Long ago, in the gray mists of the Danish marshes, a monster born of the hatred of Cain rises up to terrorize
Heorot, the great mead hall of King Hrothgar. Until the beast's appearance, Hrothgar's kingdomand the kingdoms of
his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, the long-remembered and much-loved Scyld Scefinghad prospered
without fear of the vile shadow creatures in the forests, lakes, fens and caves. But one day, the sounds of good cheer
and merriment at Heorot enrage the Cain-born monster Grendel. So he crosses over from his netherworld into the
realm of men to kill and destroy. He preys on Heorot after nightfall, consuming up to thirty warriors in a single raid.

For twelve years, Grendel's raids continue, robbing Hrothgar of men-at-arms and plunging the court into a
deep abyss of qualm and trepidation. To the east, in the land of the Geats in southern Sweden, a mighty warrior named
Beowulfnephew of the King of the Geats, Hygelachears from seafarers of the plight of Heorot and sails across the
dark seas with fourteen lusty men to come to Hrothgar's aid. When Hrothgar's coastal sentinels take him for a spy,
Beowulf persuades them that he is no enemy of the Danes. After he presents himself at Heorot, he tells tales of his
exploits: how he battled trolls, killed sea beasts, and painted himself red with the blood of his enemies. Hrothgar, a
friend of Beowulf's father in earlier times, greets Beowulf warmly and welcomes his help.

But Unferth, an envious Heorot warrior full of drink, scoffs at Beowulf's exploits, claiming Beowulf lost a
swimming match at sea lasting seven days. Noble Beowulf then defends his honor with his own account of the match.
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One day he and his childhood friend, Breca, decided to test their swimming prowess, one against the other, in a sea
match, each carrying a sword for protection against the ocean beasts. On and on they swam for five days until the roil
and pitch of the water separated them and foul beasts churned up from the depths. One by one, Beowulf slaughtered
the beasts, nine in all, until calm returned and Beowulf washed up on the shore of Finland.

Beowulf next lays a heavy charge against Unferth: Rather than satisfying his blood lust on the field of battle
fighting enemies, he resorts to fighting and killing his own kin, a crime for which he will burn in hell. So speaks
Beowulf. And, Beowulf asks, if Unferth is so great a warrior, why has he not ended Grendel's raids?

After Hrothgar's wife, Queen Wealhtheow, welcomes Beowulf, he vows to fight Grendel that very night without
weapons. The Danes bed down. Beowulf and the Geats await the arrival of Grendel in the mead hall. They know he will
come; it is only a matter of time. By and by, the hell-beast opens the door in the darkest hour of the nightthirsting for
blood, his eyes aflameand attacks and kills a Geat, consuming limbs and lumps of flesh. Turning then to Beowulf,
Grendel wields an open claw against the hero. But Beowulf, thirty times stronger of arm than any other mortal, locks
into Grendel with a hand grip so powerful that the monster cannot shake it. As the great hall trembles at the fury of the
battle, Beowulf's men strike at the beast. But their swords do no not penetrate, for no weapon forged in fire can harm
Grendel. No matter. In the end mighty Beowulf wrenches off Grendel's arm, and the beast flees, mortally wounded.

The following day, Heorot rejoices and Hrothgar heaps praise on Beowulf. Unferth the taunter has naught to
say when the Danish thanes see the arm of Grendel, its claws harder than the hardest iron. The hall is then repaired, a
feast is given, songs are sung, tales are told, and gifts are presented.

But the rejoicing is shortlived. For, when night falls, Grendel's motherfull wrathdescends upon the hall, kills
Hrothgar's counselor, Aeschere, and drags him into the bogs. Beowulf and Hrothgar follow with warriors, but Beowulf
chooses to battle the monster alone under water. Sea hellions come to her aid and tear and rip at the Geat. When he
strikes her with his sword, it does not pierce. She strikes back with a dagger. By the grace of God, Beowulf's chainmail
deflects it. He then espies a great sword in her armory, a weapon brandished long ago by giants who walked the earth.
In spite of its impossible weight, Beowulf wields it against the hell-beast's neck and kills it. When he sees the corpse of
Grendel nearby, Beowulf beheads it and returns to Heorot with his trophy.

After more rejoicing, Beowulf receives a bounty of gifts and returns home to the land of the Geats. There, he
presents his gifts to King Hygelac and tells him of his great adventures. Hygelac, in turn, rewards Beowulf with a vast
estate. Years pass. After Hygelac and his son, Heardred, die in battle, Beowulf becomes king and reigns for 50 years.

Then great terror spreads across the realm of the Geats after a dragon abandons its lair to wreak death and
destruction by breathing fire. The dragon is furious because an intruder had entered its lair and took a gem-studded
goblet from a hoard of treasure the fire-breather had been guarding since ages past.

Beowulf, now a very old man, ventures forth with eleven warriors to send the monster to hell. But after
Beowulf engages the dragon in battle, all his cohorts retreat save for onebrave Wiglafwho goes to his master's aid. In
a storm of smoke and fire, Beowulf slays the dragon with the help of Wiglaf. But, alas, Beowulf suffers a poisonous
wound. Realizing he will soon die, he bids Wiglaf to bring forth a sampling of the dragon's treasure hoard that he may
look upon it, and Wiglaf does his bidding. Beowulf gives thanks to God for the treasure that will sustain his people in
times to come, then dies after instructing Wiglaf to have a barrow (a mound of earth or stones) constructed to mark
the burial site of his remains from the funeral pyre. Wiglaf banishes the ten deserters and arranges for the king's
funeral even as new troubles loom on the horizonwars with neighboring tribes, including the Franks and the Frisians.

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