Untitled Prezi

BEOWULF

Mortality

• A smaller theme, yet still very present

• Mortality is definitely stressed throughout the epic; the audience and characters know from the beginning that death is inevitable. Although divine intervention may be a factor aiding Beowulf in many instances, we know he can't escape his mortal boundaries. DEATH IS COMING.

• This influences the actions of the characters and really brings out their true colors.
• Ex. Beowulf: isn't afraid to die as long as he has honor and glory. It also motivates him to fight his hardest and really show the monsters what he's made of.
• On the other hand Unferth, Seal Team 6 (dragon scene), and the thanes of the barn: soil their pantyhose whilst watching from 6 miles away and hiding behind a 8 foot tall boulder (or a cow in the case of the barn thanes; Maybe even a brown cow. HA.).

• When approaching Beowulf as a 2 part epic, we see that it's laid out to show that even though Beowulf was nearly invincible in his youth, his time would eventually come to an end in his old age. As a 3 part poem, we see that there's always a chance he would lose his life in battle, and yet he still fights on.

King vs. Warrior

• The structure of Beowulf can also be viewed in two parts.

An exploration through theme and structure

• The first part being Beowulf as a warrior, where his goal is to prove himself by slaying monsters for glory.

• The second part being Beowulf as a king, where he has the responsibility of protecting his people/kingdom.

• Alternatively it can be viewed as young vs. old.

Religion

• Christians changed Beowulf to reflect their ideals.

• The monks changed the original interpretation by adding in small bits of Christian beliefs and values throughout the text. (Ex. Grendel was "of Cain", meaning he was as close to the spawn of Satan as he could get)

• Because the Anglo-Saxon tale was "Christianized", religious themes and tones are present throughout the poem. However, the ideals of the original text remain present due to audience's knowledge of the tradition; again, the patriarchal society of that time.

Tradition

• The majority of women were not known by their name because Beowulf is set in a Patriarchal Society. Only the queen and Grendel's mother are acknowledged, the rest are known as a (father)'s daughter.

• In Anglo-Saxon culture they value Heroics and Courage in their warriors/kings which leads to the structure being cut into the three parts; for each chapter he has a challenge to face.

GOOD VS. EVIL

• Each chapter is titled the name of the each monster, and the main point of each chapter is to get to that battle between the good Beowulf, and the evil demons that he has to face.

• Alliteration was a key element used to describe individual characters and assign their roles as "good" and "evil". For example, when the text is describing one of the monsters, one of the most common syllables used was the letter "s", because it gave the monster somewhat serpentine qualities.

• "Good"/Heroic Character Descriptions: Courageous, an excellent warrior, masculine, a man of God (when looking at the Christian influences and inserts within the text at least), kingly, etc. Ex. Beowulf, Hrothgar.

• "Evil"/Unworthy Character Descriptions: cowardly (ex. Unferth), "demons"/serpents of hell (Grendel, Grendel's Mother, the Dragon), weak, feminine, etc.

MAIN THEMES

• Good vs. Evil
• Traditions (Patriarchal Society)
• Religion
• King vs. Warrior
• Mortality