Blog #48 Beowulf Lesson 2

15 Jan 2020
Victoria Pimenta Reyes

Aim: How does the construction of Grendel as a monster indicate and embody the fears of the Nordic people during the Early Medieval Period?

DO NOW
The Old Gods and The New
Explain how the narrator describes the tactics the Danes used to try and drive Grendel away from their lands. What can we ascertain about civilization, judgment, and righteousness?

The narrator describes the Danes efforts as cowardly, saying "then each warrior tried/ To escape him, searched for rest in different/ Beds, as far from Herot as they could find". This failure for the Danes to rid of Grendel for 12 years sets them up as desperate and in need of a hero like Beowulf. The only safe space in Herot is the throne of Hrothgar, as it is protected by God.

Dark Ages

• Scandinavia was the most resistant to convert to Christianity in Germanic Europe
• Anglo-Saxons were people from Great Britain but were originally Germanic tribes which migrated to the island

Evolution of Language: Compare opening lines of Beowulf in Modern and Old English

English has changed vastly since the writing of Beowulf. This older version uses very different words and different letters 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-_GwoO4xI

Figurative Language

Metonymy- a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated

Ex. "the pen is mightier than the sword" "lend a hand"

Kenning- characteristic rhetorical device of Old English poetry. its typically a compound in which each element identifies an attribute through metaphor, synecdoche, and metonymy

Ex. Sword -> "battle-light" (metaphor- metonymy)

human body ->"bone-house" (synecdoche- metaphor)

•  Found in "The Monster Grendel
• "By hell-forged hands" (64)
• "mankind's enemy" (79)
• All the kennings used to describe Grendel have negative connotations and are related to the monster being damned. This makes sense as Grendel is a descendant of Cain, the first sinner on earth

Caesura- A rhythmical pause in a poetic line or sentence. In modern language, it is usually indicated with punctuation. the purpose the natural occurrence of taking a breath.

Group Work: 

1. Metaphorically, Grendel can be described as a demon sent to damn the Danes 
2. This makes sense as the Germanic people wanted the Danes in Scandinavia to convert, so a story about Danes being terrorized by a demon is not surprising
3. It forces you to look at historical context as well
4. This assertion influences lines 83-86 because it describes how Grendel cannot touch the throne of Hrogthar because it is protected by God. This is just one of many of the biblical allusions found in Beowulf

Whole Group Discussion: Beowulf's poet characterizes Grendel as evil incarnate. What are your thoughts about this characterization?

This characterization makes sense in the historical context of Beowulf. Scandinavia's resistance to Christianity resulted in a narrative where they need to be saved from a demon, Grendel, by God, or someone godly, like Beowulf.

Reflection:

During this lesson, we learned more about the historical context of Beowulf, as well as the unique aspects of the piece of literature. As we continued to read Beowulf, Old English influences began to make appearances as kennings, metonymy, and other figurative languages. We also used figurative language to begin characterizing the antagonist, Grendel. This lesson is important because it's a foundation for the developments that lie ahead in the story.