From Tristia Ovid
Far Corners of Earth by Tu Fu translated by David Hinton Describes a shift from the Chiang-han mountains where clouds begin to hover over to "a new waste of highway." Gradual decline in mood.
Beowulf -portrays the Anglo-Saxon culture of eighth century Britain -Beowulf: sword-wielding slayer of monsters, upholder of the right, warrior-chieftain-finally written down in eleventh century -main themes: bravery, loyalty, heroism -The Electronic Beowulf Project revived the burnt original manuscripts of Beowulf.
Epic: a long narrative poem, sometimes developed orally, that celebrates the deeds of a legendary or heroic figure -hero battles for the order of his world -story told in serious matter with sophisticated language Legendary hero: a larger than life character whose accomplishments are celebrated in traditional tales
Important words/vocab (pg. 37) Kenning Caesura Reparation Solace Purge Writhing Massive Loathsome
-the warrior (seafarer) leader claims he is the son of Ecgtheow who's widely known and honored by many
-the warrior got wind of the "monster" that tortures and haunts the Danes and demands that he and his men attempt to defeat this "scathing", "dark ill-doer" monster
-agreeing with the plan, his men marched to the village/palace in which Hrothgar loved
-some men were assigned to gaurd the boat and escort the others to the palace, protecting the boat from their foes; "gaurd it kept o'er the man of war..."
-the men can see the shimmery, glistening, gold palace from afar
-the men who were assigned to gaurd the boat and also escort the other men then return to the boat where they spend their time being on the look out
Chapter 5:
-the men, while marching, observe the shiny, well-decorated streets and atmosphere of Heorot
-the men were approached by a proud, curious warrior who stopped the men and asked what their purpose of arrival was
-Beowulf, the leader of the men, and Wulfgar(the warrior described above) discuss the matters. Wulfgar directs the leader and his men to the throne of Hrothgar
-Wulfgar asks Hrothgar to speak to the men
and exclaims that Beowulf appears to be a strong, firm leader; "In weeds of the warrior worthy they, methinks, of our liking, their leader most surely, a hero that hither his henchmen has led."
-
Higlac was the king of the Geats and Beowulf's feudal lord and uncle as well as
a very strong man
- Higlac heard that Grendel violently forced and demanded a boat
to be fitted out for him to go see Higlac
- Beowulf chose the mightiest, bravest, and best men of the
Geats he could find to accompany him on his journey to Hrothgar (14 men total)
- He knew the sea would lead them straight to that distant,
Danish shore
- They sailed their boat and arrived fully dressed in mail with
the best armor and uninvited
- Hrothgar's lieutenant met them on the shore, demanding to know
who they were and why they came unannounced
- He asked Beowulf to immediately explicate their reason for
their visit before they take action against them
- Beowulf explained who they were and that they were there to
hunt Grendel and protect the people and their King from the monster
- The mounted officer believed their words and that he and his
men would guard their ship and protect it, saying that any warriors who battle
Grendel successfully should go home bearing their love
- Once Beowulf and his men arrived at Herot, they were called in
to see the King
- Beowulf arose and went to meet Hrothgar with some of his men,
ordering a few to remain behind with their weapons
Vocab
- reparation: (n.) something making up for wrong or injury
- solace: (n.) comfort; relief
- mail: (n.) flexible body armor made of metal (in this context)
-Beowulf and his men arrive at Herot and are called to see the
King
-Beowulf ordered some of his men to stay with their weapons,
while he took others and himself "into Hrothgar's Presence"
-Beowulf describes himself to the kind to make him seem more
favorable, by saying things like "They have seen my strength for
themselves, Have watched me ride form the darkest of war, Dripping with my
enemies' blood."
-Beowulf over does it on the compliments to the king then asks
for the kings permission to "purge all evil from this hall"
(including Grendal, who Beowulf is willing to go into great battle against)
Beowulf is willing to die for his cause and exaggeratedly says so.
The Battle with Grendel
-Grendal came from the marsh and journeyed to Herot and was met
harshly with Herot being so firmly defended.
-Grendal stormed through the doors quickly, saw the young and
sleepy soldiers lining the halls, grabbed one and killed him, snapping shit and
drinking the blood.
-Grendal clutched Beowulf but was suprised by his strength and
attack. Grendal's first reaction was to run but Beowulf didn't let him
go.
-Beowulf and Grendal battled violently. Herot shook and
trembled, it was built to only come down in fire but the battle was a much
great force.
·
He was the strongest man, Beowulf was going to
kill the "monster"
·
Beowulf's men woke up to Beowulf fighting
Grendel and were ready to fight, if needed; they were courageous, but Grendel
was pretty indestructible against them and he could easily beat them all
·
But, he(Grendel) was now declining, dying, and
had been defeated
·
His shoulder bone broke, a sign of the battle
being over
·
Beowulf won "glory, Grendel escaped"
to his den though, to die a slow and miserable death
·
Beowulf was very prod, the Danes were happy
and his accomplishments were listed; he ended Hrothgar's people's problems
·
Beowulf hung Grendel's "arm, claw,
shoulder and all" on the rafters; it was basically a trophy of the victory
and proof of the win
Pg. 49 The Monsters' Lair (there was a celebration of Beowulf's
victory, but Grendel's mother kills Hrothgar's best friend and takes Grendel's
claw, Beowulf hears from the king about the underwater lair)
·
The king is talking the whole time
·
peasants in fields saw female and male
creatures and told the king's wise men
·
Grendel they named the man one, no one knows
if there were any before them or any other creatures like them
·
The creatures lived in a secret wolf den with
rocks and a waterfall to an underground lake (my visual interpretation of the
text) It's very dark, roots hanging from the top, no one knows how deep
·
The king wants Beowulf to kill the mother,
Beowulf is his only help and hope of "being saved", he will reward
him with gold and treasure for winning
Pg. 50 The Battle with Grendel's Mother (Beowulf decides to kill
her and goes to the lake)
·
(Beowulf is speaking to the men) To Hrothgar,
if he(Beowulf) should die during battle, he wants Hrothgar to be "Father
and protector" of his comrades. He wants Higlac to have the things
Hrothgar gave him. To Unferth, who questioned his bravery before the Grendel
battle, he leaves his "famous old sword" <symbolic value
·
He jumped into the lake without others
responding
·
Sank for "hours" before reaching the
bottom
·
Grendel's mother saw him, her
"welcome" was trying to kill him, but his armor was too strong to
penetrate
·
She carried him to her home, he couldn't get
out his weapon
·
the fight brought other monsters swimming to
see...
-She brought him into
her home which nothing could attack them in
-He attacked her but
realized he couldn't hurt her
-They continue to fight,
and she draws a blade on him, her only son, but she hit his armor and he was
unharmed
-He then struck her
across the neck and rejoiced at her death
-He then picked up his
sword and went to find Grendel but found him dead
-Beowulf then left
taking nothing but Grendels head and the jeweled sword
-The Geats rejoiced when
Beowulf returned
-They then gifted the Danes
with Grendel's head
·
Beowulf honored by Hrothgar
·
He becomes king
·
rules Greatland for 50 years
·
Dragon comes into kingdom when Beowulf is an
old man
·
he decided to slay the beast
·
before battle, tells his men about the royal
house
·
wanted to fight without any armor, then
realizes the dragon breathes fire
·
believes he's the only man who can do
it.
·
wants to claim dragon's riches
·
dragon attacked with breathe first
·
his armor held up, then started to melt
·
first time in life, he fought with fate
against him
·
his sword broke in two, but got a stab into
the dragon
·
Beowulf fell back, dragon attacked, breathed
fire at him, he suffered
·
once king, now a beaten warrior
·
all other men fleed without helping him
·
only man that stayed was Wiglaf, Wexstan's son
·
Wiglaf's mind was made up, he raised his
shield and drew his sword
·
Onela got armor from the king.
·
Wexstan kept the shining gifts for his son but
was killed.
·
His heir, Wiglaf, inherited the treasures. He
went into war with Beowulf and was strong and courageous.
·
Wiglaf brought the soldiers together, telling
them Beowulf had given them the swords, it is time to defend with them. It is
better for them to suffer than to cause agony to the king. He yelled
encouragement and went into the dragons deadly flames.
·
Wiglaf and Beowulf kill the dragon. The
Beowulf is wounded and is dying. He asks Wiglaf to retrieve the treasure the
dragon was protecting.
The Spoils
·
Wiglaf goes into the cave. Finds lots of gold
and sparkling things. He grabs as much as he can and takes it to the dying
king.
·
Beowulf says he gave his life for this
treasure, use it to help and lead his people.
·
He said he wanted to be burned high at the
waters edge so sailors could see this tower and call it Beowulf's tower. He
gave all he had to Wiglaf and said their family had been swept away as warriors
and now he was following them. Then he died.
·
Wiglaf is mad at those who deserted Beowulf
·
The Geats burn his body.
The Farewell
·
The Geats built the tall and strong tower
Beowulf requested, his ashes sealed inside. All the treasure was left at his
grave deep in the ground. Twelve men road around the tower telling of their
stories and sadness and of his greatness. They said there was not other king
worthy of such praise.
Prologue
·
-A King named Scyld the Scefing was a wealthy
man who was looked up upon by the people of his town.
·
-Nobody challenged him, he was better than
everyone else
·
-Had a son and named him Beowulf.
·
-Son was looked up to and was generous to all
the people of the town.
·
-Ship created to hold dead body, very wealthy
items,
·
-Description of armor and expensive weapons.
·
-Ship sent to sea, talk about a flood
·
-People mourn for the death of the child.
Chapter 1
·
-A new person came to the thrown named
Healfdean.
·
-Was a strong leader
·
-Had four children Heorogar, Hrothgar,
Halga, one not living
·
-Heorogar
was known for his bravery on the battle field.
·
-A
hall was built in his honor
·
-Something
of evil comes from "moore land" to hurt the happiness
·
-
Cain awakens evil creature to ruin the fun.
Vocab
·
-march-rieve- A
disturber of the border, one who sallies from his haunt in the fen and roams
over the country nearby. This probably pagan nuisance is now furnished with
biblical credentials as a fiend or devil in good standing, so that all
Christian Englishmen might read about him. "Grendel" may mean one who
grinds and crushes.
·
Ettins-Giants
Chapter 2
·
Went to house and found group of people
mourning the death of a person
·
The next morning Grendel found out his servant
of 12 years was murdered
·
That night Grendel looked for the person who
killed his servant and was determined to get his revenge
·
The murder wasn't hard to find and Grendel
found who he thought killed his servant
·
There was another person continuing to murder
people ruthlessly
·
People said he still lurked the
"moorlands" but nobody said where this place was because they were so
afraid
·
People prayed that they wouldn't be killed by
this person but also prayed he would be forgiven by god
Chapter 3
·
Grendel seen as a hero and people thought his
valor should be recognized by the king
·
Grendel chosen to lead a group of 14 men
(called the Geats) to sea
·
He and his men found the place they were
sailing to - Danes
·
Get off boat armed with weapons and
shields
·
Met by a warden ("scylding
clansman") on horseback that was armed
·
Warden explains that his job is to protect the
people of Danes from sailors who land there
·
He also explains he had never seen people come
there and be so obvious that they were warriors
·
Warden tells them that he is praying for them
on their voyage
Chapter 4:
Characters:
The Geats- Beowolf’s
clan, Beowolf born around 495
The Dantes- residents
of Denmark, Scylding is Anglo Saxon lineage
The Swedes- lived in
Sweden north of Geats
Finnsburh- The Fight
at Finnsburh overlaps with Beowolf estimated time period and so studied
together, example of Germanic heroic lay describing warriors experiences in war
Grendel- monster
Beowolf killed and symbolic of when bad Cain killed good Abel (revenge),
Beowolf is cause of trouble because rebel, Grendel’s mother is constant
vengeful and represents cycle of war even when enemy seems to be defeated
I don't know if needed
(above) but it was on the website and the characters are kinda confusing to
know who are people talking but I think with rest of notes it will hopefully
make sense! Thanks again for all your participation!!!
Chapter Six (VI)
· Hrothgar is talking of Beowolf and only legends have been told
(like rumors in today’s world) of how strong and great Beowolf is
· They thank god (grateful) for having him send Beowolf to relive
them of Grendel and his destruction
· Grateful for someone/thing that they haven’t even met yet, they
just know rumors and stories about.
· Like society today when we want to ay someone for their service
but really we should just be grateful for their service and sacrifice to be
there rather than having to pay them to make ourselves feel better about
“hassling them”
· heros don’t get hassled, they just go out and do because that’s
their “job”
· People get mad about Beowolf not taking the money and gold but
why should he? He did a good deed and shouldn’t it just be left to that?
· Beowolf gets message that Hrothgar will accept him and his kin
in his own kingdom for Beowolf’s bravery
· Beolwolf replies by giving story of his own battles and how he
came to be known as a strong man. He fought animals and his foes, many at a
time, for his people (the Geats) and to avenge them (symbol of hero)
· Beowolf knows his duty, in specific to defeating Grendel, and
knows that he must use only himself and no other armor
· knowledgeable of situation and knows what needs to be done.
Doesn’t put brawn over brains
· “So, from thee, thou sovran of the Shining-Danes,
Scyldings'-bulwark, a boon I seek, and, Friend-of-the-folk, refuse it not, O
Warriors'-shield, now I've wandered far, that I alone with my liegemen here,
this hardy band, may Heorot purge!” - I am not sure what he means by I have
wandered too far?
· He knows he might die in battle and respects the “rules” of
battle and lets his family know that if he is to die in battle, they shouldn’t
worry about burying him properly.
· Practical but still with hope that he will win the battle with
faith
Chapter Seven (VII)
· Hrothgar retells story of brother’s, Heorogar, death.
· Killed by war between Wylfings and Scyldings over money and gold
· Shows destruction of materialistic world and consequences of it
· “Then was this mead-house at morning tide dyed with gore, when
the daylight broke, all the boards of the benches blood-besprinkled, gory the
hall: I had heroes the less,” - descriptive language of how warriors died
trying to defeat Grendel. Revenge Hrothgar wants. Passionate
· Sit to eat after this gruesome story, shows culture and how they
take death as a apart of life but then want revenge for wrongful deaths as do
we in today’s world
Chapter 8 (VIII)
· Always refer to seafarers to tell a rumor or story, Why?
· Enferth (son of Ecglaf) questioned Beowolf’s ability to actually
fight Grendel and told of story where Beowolf and “rival” Breca swam the seas
together and then Breca got out of the sees unharmed but he worries that
Beowolf is not strong like Breca.
· Questioning of strength is key in hero battle/adventure because
it makes the hero think about his/her strength and if they really can achieve
their goal
· Also gives background to Beowolf and adventures
· Questions that Beowolf will do anything without really thinking
about it or consequences
· Beowolf reinforces that he is ready and states that he was a
child and didn’t know better but he did bring swords for protection
· He stayed by Breca until the very end until it was impossible to
stay together because of the seas tearing them apart
· Beowolf defeated the beast of the sea and that shows give
evidence behind why he is worthy of fighting Grendel
· He supports this accusation on inadequacy and backs up his point
with evidence as seen in today’s culture with giving effective opinions and if
you want people to believe you then you give them reasons to
· He proves himself time and time again which is what a hero has
to do because the people are putting their faith into him and they want
credibility
Beowulf Notes:
Chapter 9:
·
Beowulf
encounters evil sea monsters that make him feel threatened. So he kills them
with his sword. He kills nine of them and they will never bother the sailors
again. This is when he was separated from Breca. Reminds me of Moby Dick in a
sense.
·
He
fought a difficult battle and the tides ended up taking him to the land of the
Fins.
·
Breca
was on of Beowulf’s closest kin, but he left Beowulf in the sea where he had to
fight giants on his own, but Beowulf doesn’t wish war with him. Beowulf
believes that his bad will come to him.
·
Grendel
is the son of Ecglaf. Grendel was very jealous of Hrothgar so he brought him
humiliation. Now Grendel would “rot in hell”. (Dante’s Inferno)
·
Beowulf
fears no feud with the Danish; he will fight, murder and eat with them and the
next day finds out the strength of the Geats.
·
Beowulf
will fight with them and Hrothgar, jewel-giver, is pleased with his will to
fight. The queen snickers at this but still continues to wear her gold and
carried the cup of the hall.
·
The
queen walked around the hall, first giving the king a drink (Hrothgar), and then
giving the rest a drink. She was so happy that Beowulf had committed to fight
with the Geats and if he didn’t help win the battle he would die in the
process.
·
The
queen thanked the lord for her Savior, Beowulf.
·
The
son of Healfdene wants to get to bed, but speaks with Beowulf before he goes.
They speak of the hopeful glory for the battle the next morning. Beowulf will
remain in the hall bequeathing, or giving the power over to him. Healfdene’s
son would obtain the power over the hall, which was called Heorot Hall, for the
night. ( A will? In case he died in battle the next day, Healfdene would
inherit the power?)
Chapter 10
·
Hrothgar
and Wealhtheow, the queen, go to bed, but have a guard watch their room in
order to prevent the monster from getting to them. The monster being Grendel.
(Frankenstein was a monster to everyone)
·
Beowulf
retires for the night and has a guard watch his armor, but he challenges the
monster to a battle without armor or weapons. He says the gods will decide who
is right.
·
Everyone
laid down to rest not fearing of dying or not returning home the next day.
Although many people had not made it back, they had no worries.
·
Metaphor
of one man being different than the rest to god ruling over man-kind. Was
Beowulf starting to earn the reputation of a god?
·
Beowulf
was the only man to lie awake looking at the wandering shadow in the hall.
Beowulf could only think of the upcoming battle and would not sleep.
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