beowulf review. beowulf is a champion who fights 3 monsters beowulf goes to denmark and fights...
TRANSCRIPT
BEOWULF REVIEW
BEOWULF IS A CHAMPION WHO FIGHTS 3 MONSTERS
• Beowulf goes to Denmark and fights Grendel
• Beowulf fights Grendel’s mom
• Back home as king of the Geats, Beowulf fights a Dragon
GRENDEL
• Is a monster descended from Cain (of Cain and Abel fame)
• Has been attacking Herot, a mead-hall where the Danes live, each night for 12 years
• The Danes have trouble fighting him because he attack when it’s dark
• He fights without weapons or armor, but is protected from swords because of a spell he has placed on them
• Lives in a lake in a swamp, and the songs and joy of the nearby Danes fuels his rage. The angrier he gets, the stronger he gets.
• Beowulf, unarmed, wrestles with Grendel in Herot, and rips Grendel’s shoulder off.
• Grendel goes back to his swamp to die.
GRENDEL’S MOM
• Seeking revenge for her son’s death, she attacks Herot and kidnaps the best friend of Hrothgar, the Danish King.
• Beowulf tracks her back to her underwater lair.
• Beowulf wears his chain-mail armor and brings his sword, Hrunting, for this encounter.
• His sword is useless, but his chain-mail saves his life.
• He finds a giant’s sword and uses it to cut off Grendel’s Mom’s head.
• He finds Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it, and takes Grendel’s head back to Herot as a gift.
DRAGON!
• After he fights in Denmark, Beowulf sails home to Geatland, where he serves loyally under his king Higlac and Higlac’s son.
• Beowulf ascends to the throne and rules the Geats in peace and prosperity for 50 years.
• Then someone steals a cup from a dragon.
• Dragon’s mad.
• Beowulf faces the dragon alone, but his shield melts and his sword breaks, and the dragon cuts his neck. Dang.
• Wiglaf, a young warrior, shows bravery in the face of death and kills dragon with Beowulf.
BEOWULF DIES!
• Says that Wiglaf should succeed him as king, since Wigs was the only guy brave enough to stand beside Beowulf and fight the dragon.
• Wants a tower erected in his honor.
KENNINGS!
• Two or more words which, when put together, serve as a symbol or metaphor for another word.
• Similar to epithets, they give a description of noun they replace
• They were used for variety, entertainment, and to keep the beat and rhythm.
• Sometimes they are obvious, some are more obscure
EXAMPLES OF KENNINGS
• Candle of heaven – Sun
• Peace-weaver – women
• Light of battle – sword
• Ring-marked blade - sword
ALLITERATION
• The repetition of initial consonant sounds.
• Also used for entertainment, variety and to keep the beat and rhythm
Example from Beowulf:
Many a mead-hall Scyld, son of Sceaf,
Snatched from the forces of savage foes,
From a friendless foundling, feeble and wretched,
He grew to a terror as time brought change.
THEME VS. MAIN IDEA
• Theme is a universal truth, or a lesson that can extends beyond the story. Lesson Learned
• Main idea is what the story or selection is about. Plot
EXAMPLE OF THEME VS. MAIN IDEA
In the Little Engine that Could:
The main idea is that a train is having difficulties getting over a mountain. This isn’t very applicable to everyday life.
The theme is that if you fail, you should keep trying until you succeed.
This can be applied to MANY facets of life.