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The Character of Beowulf

The Character of Beowulf. He fights for personal honor, but is committed to service to his own people and humanity. A superhuman who remains recognizable Contrast old and young Beowulf Beowulf as savior. Themes. Good vs. Evil Fate The Importance of Establishing Identity

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The Character of Beowulf

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  1. The Character of Beowulf • He fights for personal honor, but is committed to service to his own people and humanity. • A superhuman who remains recognizable • Contrast old and young Beowulf • Beowulf as savior

  2. Themes • Good vs. Evil • Fate • The Importance of Establishing Identity • Tension between Heroic Code and Christianity • Significance of artifacts • The past

  3. Important Elements of the Poem • Elegaic tone • Heroic poem • Contrasts • Christian and pagan • Youth and old age • Rise and fall of nations • Joy and sorrow • Fate and God’s will Violence Irony

  4. Sutton Hoo • Burial site discovered in 1939 • Important links to Anglo-Saxon world and Beowulf • Remains of a boat were discovered and large burial chamber containing numerous artifacts • Artifacts suggest a distinctly Christian element intermingled with pagan ritual. • Episodes in Beowulf now have tangible archaeological violence to add creditability to the blend of customs in the text.

  5. Sutton Hook Images

  6. Suggested Further Reading • Beowulf, A Verse Translatioin. Trans. Seamus Heaney. Ed. Daniel Donaghue. Norton Critical Edition. 2002. • Norton bibliography on Beowulf , p. 2902. • Websites on Beowulf, Old English poetry, and Sutton Hoo.

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