Characters:
Grendel - the monster that wreaks Havoc on Heorot that Beowulf kills. A descendant of Cain who is cursed to live the life of an outcast and can't speak coherently (But really, he's just misunderstood...). Still lives with his mom.
Beowulf - the epic hero. The greatest warrior who ever lived. Saves Hrothgar and his people. A Geat from across the sea. Has a mysterious past involving his father. Has a pride issue.
Hrothgar - king of the Shieldings. Plagued by Grendel, forever indebted to Beowulf. Descendant of Shield. A good king.
Fitela - BOTH SIGMUND'S SON AND NEPHEW?! EWWWWWWWW!! Goes to defeat the dragon with Sigmund, but doesn't really help.
Sigmund - The hero of the Volsung Saga. Kills a great dragon and gets a ton of money and fame. Parallels to Beowulf. A good warrior.
Wulgar - the herald of Hrothgar. Wise and a good warrior.
Heremod - told about in the same story of Sigmund. Parallels to Beowulf. A bad king who was full of pride and greed. Betrayed and ambushed.
Finn - king of the Frisians. Killed by the Hengest, a Dane, in an ambush.
Hnaef - king of the Danes. Killed by the Frisians.
Hildeburh - wife of Finn and sister of Hnaef, a failed peace-bride.
Hengest - leader of the Danes after Hnaef. Ends up killing Finn even after a peace oath.
Wealtheow - wife of Hrothgar. Lots o' foreshadow, especially towards her sons. Very intelligent even though she is a woman (I say that last bit sarcastically, of course). Gives Beowulf advice.
Unferth - pretty much Hrothgar's court jester. A drunkard who starts fights even though he knows he can't win. A cowardly kin-killer.
Shield Sheafson - the long-dead king of the Danes. A great warrior and king. Ancestor of Hrothgar.
Halfdane - son of Beow, grandson of Shield, father of Hrothgar.
Beow - son of Shield, father of Halfdane.
Kenning - a metaphorical phrase or compound metaphor used instead of the actual name of the thing (line 10 - whale-road, line 142 - hall-watcher, line 160 - death-shadow)
litote - a kind of humorous understatement meant to be ironic (lines 764-765 - "it was the worst trip the terror-monger had take to Heorot", lines 565-566 - "Instead, in the morning, mangled and sleeping the sleep of the sword")
flyting - a game of verbal taunting between warriors (lines 500-606 - the trash talking between Unferth and Beowulf)
appositive - a building-up of phrases that mean the same thing (lines 4-5 - "There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes, wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.")
alliteration - the repitition of consonant sounds (line 3o2 - "broad-beamed, bound by its hawser")
censura - a strong pause within a line
symbol - person, place, thing, or idea that represents a greater idea (mead-hall = power and the people, Grendel's arm = victory)
allusion - a reference to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature, the arts, myths, religion, or popular culture (the story of Sigmund, the saga of Finn, Cain)
epic boast - bragging done by an epic hero (lines 407-455 - Beowulf's introduction to Hrothgar)
epic hero - a hero in an epic; usually has above-average strength, intelligence, or morals, but also had a tragic flaw. Beowulf fits the definition of an epic hero because he's pretty much the strongest, most agile, most clever man ever (or so the book would have you believe). His flaw is that he is proud, just like Odysseus.
Motifs and Themes:
Exile - Exile is seen mainly in Grendel, because he is an outcast from the world. He is divided from other by the curse of Cain. Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, was also an exile.
Kin-killing - Unferth is a kin-killer, as were Cain and Heremod. Kin-killing is seen as the worst possible crime in this society.
Ambush - An ambush is seen in the story of Finn, between the Danes and the Frisians. Heremod is killed in an ambush from Jutland.
Wergild & Wyrd - Wergild means blood money, which in this society, must be payed to the family of someone you kill. Hrothgar talks about the wergild Beowulf's father had to pay for killing Heatholaf in lines 460-463. Wyrd means fate, which is something that this society also lives by. Beowulf talks about wyrd in line 455 - "Fate goes as fate ever must.".
The Role of Kings - The role of kings is a big theme in Beowulf. There are examples of good kings, like Shield Sheafson and Hrothgar, and examples of bad kings, like Heremod. The good kings take care of their people and make the country a better place, whereas bad kings are in it only for their own prideful selves.
The Role of Women - In this society, women are the lesser gender. They are not treated equally to the men, even though they have greater judgement or knowledge, like Wealtheow in lines 1168-1186. One of the biggest roles for a woman is to be a peace-bride between countries. If peace is not kept, than the woman has ultimately failed at life and everything. Hildeburh was a peace-bride, as was Halga, Hrothgar's sister.
The Role of Warriors - Beowulf is a prime example of a good warrior. He is fit and goes bravely into battle prepared. Unferth is an example of a bad warrior, who is cowardly and has no tales to speak of. Beowulf is set in a warrior society, where that is the ultimate role for men.
Paganism vs. Christianity - This theme is most evident when the voice of the monk comes out, like in lines 180-188. God is spoken about often, but so are pagan views, like wyrd.
Digressions:
The story of Sigemund and the Dragon - the Role of Kings, the Role of Warriors, Wyrd, Ambush, Kin-Killing.
The tale of Finn and Hildeburh - the Role of Women, Ambush, the Role of Warriors, the Role of Kings.
The story of Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow - Exile, Wergild, Wyrd, the Role of Warriors.
Beowulf's duel with Breca - the Role of Warriors.
Structure:
2-part - Young Beowulf and old Beowulf.
3-part - 3 monsters.
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