Beowulf Intro Notes

• It is difficult to know much about how Beowulf was written because it was written in 1000 A.D.
• We don’t know who the author is or the authors exact actual thoughts.
• It is strange and familiar due to connections with ancient classical literature such as Homer.
• There have been many reworks of it over time, so it is not the exact same.
• The Old English used in Beowulf presents a difficult translation to modern English.
• Old English is similar to Latin or Russian where grammar is expressed by inflection.
• Learning to translate the Old English takes a lot of experience and work.
• The story use to be told through oral tradition
• The fact that it was mainly used through oral delivery makes it harder to translate.
• The historical accuracy of Beowulf is unknown.  No one knows if it is true or just a story or mixed.
• Beowulf is an icon of their historical culture.

Textbook Notes (p.31-60)

Tristia-Ovid translated by L. R. Lind

• Ovid has been exiled by the king of Rome so he is forced to live with the Getae people
• He is the only one who speaks Latin
• They are in the middle of war so the region he describes is full of fear and he explains that the farmers are on guard all the time in fear they might get attacked.
• He talks down to the people believe in that the Roman race is far superior

 Far Corners of Earth by Tu Fu translated by David Hinton

• Once again it describes exile
• He describes everything as gloomy and there is much sorrow in him words

About Beowulf

• Beowulf by the Anglo Saxons is a story about a monster slaying hero
• Beowulf aids King Hrothgar by slaying the evil monster Grendel
• it was passed down orally and wasn't written down until the 11th century
• carries many similar elements of Celtic and Scandinavian folklore; thought to have taken place in southern Sweden
• later versions were influenced by Christianity

The Wrath of Grendel

• God drove out the demons to exile 
• They split into a thousand forms of evil
• When darkness dropped Grendel went up to Herot to find the warriors sleeping
• Grendel killed thirty men in their sleep
• Hrothgar, lord of Herot, mourned for the loss of his men
• He feared the demon would come back
• Grendel came back the next night
• Warriors fled because Grendel attacked while they slept
• Grendel took over Herot and ruled over it for years
• He continued to kill
• Didn't dare to touch Hrothgar's throne due to it being protected by God
• The Coming of Beowulf
• Far away Beowulf heard of Grendel's horrors
• Beowulf got a crew together and sailed to Hrothgar
• Hrothgar's men question Beowulf and his men
• Beowulf tells them why he is there and is escorted to Herot to meet the King
• Beowulf ask for permission to kill Grendel

The Battle with Grendel

• Grendel enter Herlot looking for victims to attack
• Beowulf caught Grendel and began to battle him
• Grendel scared only wanted to flee
• Beowulf injured Grendel badly enough that the demon escaped to go die in his hole
• The Monster's Lair
• Grendel's mother attack Hrothgar's closest friend and took his kid
• Hrothgar tells Beowulf about the lair in the swamp

The Battle With Grendel's Mother

• Beowulf  talks about how sad he is about Hrothgar's death
• He swears that he will have vengeance over Hrothgar's death and declares his revenge with Unferth
• Beowulf jumps into the lake where Grendel's mother lives and finds her at the bottom
• She contains him by holding him tight so he could not get out his weapon and carries him to a fighting arena
• A witch-like creature rings an iron bell to signify the start of the fight
• Beowulf's chain mail armor keeps him from being torn apart by Grendel's mother and he tries to cut her with his sword, but the sword will not have any affect on her
• Beowulf becomes enraged and decides to fight with his bare hands and attacks Grendel's mother by throwing her to the ground
• Grendel's mother replies by tackling him to the ground and trying to stab him, but Beowulf's armor saves him
• Beowulf got up and found a sword crafted by giants with magical properties and slew he by cutting off her head
• People were at the surface of the lake seeing bubble and feeling tremors from the fight, worried that Beowulf was being killed
• After killing Grendel's fierce mother, he took the sword and her head to the surface
• The Geats help him out of the lake and back to the royal hall where Beowulf is honored, becomes King, and shows off Grendel's Mother's skull to the Danes 

The Final Battle

• Beowulf has aged to an old man and a dragon threatens the well being of his kingdom
• Beowulf pursues the dragon and goes to strike it with his sword
• As he stabs the dragon, it hits him with a blast of fire and mortally wounds him but a loyal warrior named Wiglaf comes to help him and the two of them fight the dragon and kill it

The Spoils

• as Beowulf dies, he asks Wiglaf to get the treasure the dragon was protecting
• Wiglaf hurries to grab the treasure and sprints back to make sure he can back before Beowulf dies
• He gets back just in time to hear Beowulf's final words which thanked God for his life and wonderful adventures

The Farewell

• The Geats burn Beowulf's body and mourn his death
• They leave all of the treasure and his battle gear with his ashes

1987 AP English Exam Essays

Question 1

I would describe Eliot's view of old leisure as a normal day. My intro would be about how we all get into a routine in our lives and that's is what Eliot describes when he writes about leisure. The body of the essay would talk about what we perceive as leisure and what we perceive as work. I would also talk about how those who love their job never work a day in their life. My thesis would be this: What some people perceive as a stressful job, others could perceive as a leisurely activity. 

Question 2

For this essay I would choose "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck because it is the only book I have read on that list. I would talk about how Steinbeck promotes the immigrations of new people to new areas by showing the struggle they much overcome. Through ethos, he reveals how courageous the "Okies" had to be to travel all the way across the country to look for jobs only to be discriminated everywhere they went. My thesis would be: Through ethos and the revealing of courage, Steinbeck shows how he advocates the immigration of minorities to new areas.