HI READERS ! WELCOME TO THE NEW SECTION OF MY BLOG , ‘HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE’. TODAY WE SHALL KNOW THE PECULIAR CHARACTERISTICS OF ANGLO-SAXON EPIC ‘ BEOWULF’.
- BEOWULF IS THE OLDEST EPIC IN GERMANIC LITERATURE.
- IT IS THE WORK OF TEUTONIC TRIBE OR ANGLO-SAXON TRIBE.
- IT CONSISTS OF 3,182 ALLITERATIVE LINES.
- ITS POET IS ANONYMOUS. HE IS REFERRED TO AS THE ‘ BEOWULF POET’ BY LITERARY SCHOLARS.
- LANGUAGE—- WEST SAXON DIALECT OF OLD ENGLISH
- GENRE—– EPIC HEROIC
- STORY SETTING—– SCANDINAVIA (6th CENTURY , A SUB REGION IN NORTHERN EUROPE)
- THE POEM IS REMARKABLE FOR ITS BLENDING OF PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS.
- THERE WAS ABSENCE OF LOVE – SCENES , GENTLER SPIRIT AND THE ELEMENTS OF HOPE, FAITH AND OPTIMISM WHICH IS A SPECIAL FEATURE OF CHRISTIANITY.
- THE ICY AND STORMY SEA , THE FOGS, HAIL AND RAIN . MARSHY LANDS ND STORMY SEAS ARE FOUND IN PAGAN POETRY AND BEOWULF CONTAINS ALL THESE CHARACTERISTICS.
- THE POEM SHOWS THE PRESENCE OF CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS IN THE REFERENCES TO THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE GOD OF THE CHURCH RELIGION . THERE IS A MORAL TONE THROUGHOUT THE POEM ALONG WITH THE SPIRIT OF NOBILITY AND PURITY.
- SADNESS, MELANCHOLY AND A SENSE OF NOTHINGNESS ARE PRESENT THROUGHOUT THE POEM.
- THIS POEM LEAVES SOMEWHAT AN IMPRESSION OF UNIVERSAL MELANCHOLY. IT MAKES LIFE SEEM SAD AND THE EFFORTS VAIN.
THE SUMMARY OF EPIC -POEM BEOWULF—
THE SETTING OF THE STORY IS SCANDINAVIA IN 6TH CENTURY .
A HERO OF GEATS (A NORTH GERMANIC TRIBE)WHOSE NAME IS BEOWULF, COMES TO HELP HROTHGAR, THE KING OF DANES.
The King , his wife Wealtheow, and his warriors spend their time singing and celebrating in the feating hall. THE KING’S FEASTING HALL , HEOROT , HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK BY A MONSTER CALLED GRENDEL. THE MONSTER CALLED GRENDEL IS PAINED TO HEAR THE SONGS OF JOY. THIS EVIL MONSTER HAS BEEN RAVAGING THE HALL DURING NIGHT FOR 12 YEARS AND CARRIES OFF HROTHGAR’S WARRIORS AND DEVOURS THEM.
BEOWULF EMERGES VICTORIOUS AS HE RIPS GRENDEL’S CLAW FROM ITS SHOULDER SOCKET. THE MORTALLY WOUNDED BEAST FLEES. THERE IS A FESTIVITY IN PALACE . BUT AT NIGHT TIME , GRENDEL’S MOTHER ATTACKS IN THE HALL . SHE RETRIEVES HER SON’S CLAW AND ABDUCTS ONE OF THE SCYLDINGS WHILE EVERYONE ELSE IS SLEEPING INCLUDING BEOWULF.
THE NEXT MORNING, IN ORDER TO SEARCH FOR THE MOTHER OGRE, A JOURNEY IS SET OUT BY HROTHGAR ,BEOWULF, A RETINUE OF SCYLDINGS AND GEATS. THEY FIND THE TRACKS OF MOTHER OGRE INTO A DARK FORBIDDING SWAMP. BEOWULF DIVES INTO THE UNDERGROUND CAVE TO SEARCH FOR HER AND AFTER A LONG FIGHT KILLS HER WITH A GIANT MAGICAL SWORD.
AFTER A CELEBRATION AT THE PALACE, BEOWULF AND HIS MEN RETUEN BACK TO GEATSLAND WHERE THEY SERVE THEIR KING .AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS KING AND THE KING’S SON IN A FEUD. BEOWULF BECOMES THE KING OF GEATS.
FIFTY YEARS LATER BEOWULF HAD TO FIGHT A FIERY DRAGON WHO IS ENRAGED BECAUSE HIS VALUABLE TREASURE AND CUP HAS BEEN STOLEN. BEOWULF DEFEATS THE DRAGON BUT IS MORTALLY WOUNDED IN THE BATTLE WHICH LEADS TO THE DEATH OF THIS COURAGEOUS HERO. BEFORE DYING, HE LEAVES HIS KINGDOM TO WIGLAF.
Beowulf is considered an epic poem in which the main character is a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength against supernatural demons and beasts.
