Beowulf - Text Interactions
pg. 57-89
"Meanwhile, a thane of the king's household, a carrier of tales, a traditional singer deeply schooled in the lore of the past, linked a new theme to a strict metre. The man started to recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf's triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines, entwining his words." - back to the oral tradition of the time, interesting description, has a hint of glory to the position
Connection between past and present with the story - heros exist in all times and get glorified through oral tradition
Religion! "Let the Almighty Father..." and "the Heavenly Shepherd"
Bestowing lavish gifts, anything Beowulf could want will now be his for his heroic deed
Beowulf reveals that the fight didn't go the way he planned, so has the ability to admit not living up to his own expectations, a rare trait
Repair of hall signifies the importance on looks of the King's items, also symbolized through the gold presented to Beowulf
Again, the bestowing of a drink by the Queen - has more of an element of recognition?
pg. 89-123
Mention of "Grendel's bloodied hand" being the warrior's trophy, signifies the importance of mementos in fights/travels
pg. 125-149
"He said he had found it a friend in battle and a powerful help; he put no blame on the blades cutting edge."
Considerate and humble, important qualities of a 'hero.'
Either lucky or rational planning when Grendel's mother snatches Hrothgar's "highest-placed adviser, his dearest companion." Targeted?
Grendel and his mother are described as "fatherless creatures." Hence tighter bond, need for revenge.
"For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death."
Defining the life and death beliefs of the time, "glory" being a common theme for both times of life.
Most important parts of Beowulf's (or anyones?) war-gear was the armor itself, "mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail" in this case, and the weapon, "a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting."
Battle (again) does not go smoothly - "But he soon found his battle-torch extinguished: the shining blade refused to bit." Adds an element of realism, as fights rarely are won without a problem.
Description of a weapon "only Beowulf could wield in battle," the heroic item that puts the battle back on track. Also, how lucky is that there just HAPPENS to be a useful weapon around? Taking back what was said about realistic fights.
Sharp contrast between Beowulf and Heremond - puts into perspective how heroic actions affect one.
"If ever I hear from across the ocean that people on your borders are threatening battle as attackers have done from time to time, I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back to help your cause."
Theme of repayment for deeds done - something that we usually try to do in the modern-day too.
"...kissed Beowulf and embraced his neck, then broke down in sudden tears"
Finally some emotion - everything before was formal. Interesting to see such raw interaction between two players of power.
"Then suddenly the vehement mother avenged her son and wreaked destruction."
Short recount of the battle, also justifies Grendel's mother's actions as an act of revenge.
"Thus Beowulf bore himself with valour; he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honour and took no advantage."
Again, more of a characterization of a hero. This supports the details of Beowulf v Heremond and his interactions with Hrothgar.
Maria Dahvana Headley on Beowulf: A New Translation.
"I’ve gotten to kick down some of the doors of accessibility, in terms of accessibility for women, for scholars who are more diverse than just the old, straight canonical dudes." - sounds appealing; if the text reflects more modern themes it's really more accessible and eye-catching
Definitely prefer this portrayal of Grendel's mother, since it does seem a little unfair in the original text that she can't enact revenge when her literal son was just killed. Everyone has anger issues, don't they?
"Wave-vat" - ocean
pg. 151-171
Peasants running away from masters, something that is prevalent in history after the Anglo-Saxon period too. But for a peasant stealing gold from a dragon, hence plunging the entire kingdom into chaos... that's quite lucky for the servant's item obtainment and unlucky for everyone else.
In Search of Beowulf Documentary
World caught between two words - pagan and christian - which elements are warring between the two?
Landscape marred by monsters - monsters existed? Definitely supports the vivid accounts in the book itself
Anglo-Saxons are a minority, came to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire, made little difference to the overall DNA
Manuscript was burned although repieced together, even has pictures - pictures? Very advanced, must have been immersive by those day's standards
Hall is the center of social and moral order
Poem reenacment starts with shield sheathing, a "magic boy" - there seems to be a LOT of mystical beliefs
Grendel attacking mead hall is attacking society itself - didn't come to that conclusion myself, quite interesting
Telling of mead hall scene was very short! Quite dramatic though, so it highlights the action and importance
Sutton Hoo is mentioned again - highlights how critical it is for an understanding of the time
Poets used to be the source of entertainment - can't really see that in the modern day.
Source of magic from the magical sword - more of the pagan perspective? Magic and Christianity don't seem to mesh together
Forging > special blades > smith almost like a magician - again with the magical aspect, and it seems to center around magical weapons or weapon-making, two important things for warriors
Decoration on helmets shows status and wealth - nice indicator to know who you're fighting, if put into the day.
Although Grendel's mother is a 'monster', mother's source of kinship > sympathy from the reader.
People: pagan while poet: Christian
Issues between two religions is the heart of the poem, doesn't look like it on the surface
Preaching cross - surprising tidbit of information.
everything before pg. 57
Extensive description of familial and house ties - seems that title is everything to people in the day, next to good fighting skills.
Even in death must these noble people be decorated in their wealth. Will this theme come back later?
Grendel being described as a monster, but doesn't he have enough backup for his feelings of rage? Technically not his fault he's been alone and shunned.
12 winters?? This grand hall is built and then one monster comes along - what happened to all of your riches? Realistically wasn't it high time to hire someone within a year instead of waiting?
"Men climbed eagerly on the gangplank." So expeditions such as this were anticipated, probably dreaming of bounty they would aquire.
"word-hoard" - nice synonym for a mouth, even though it took a minute to figure out
Guard feeling threatened so he decides to add some good words - smart, even in the modern day we like showering praise to lessen punishment
Again with the importance of lineage and being part of a nation that is well-known. Wonder what would have happened if it were someone lesser-known?
Envy - such a common emotion to feel. Don't blame Unferth, truly, since it's always hard to try and match yourself up with a newcomer who's praised immediately
Between both his boastings and true recounting of his tales, Beowulf does make himself out to be a formidable opponent, simply through description
Realistic fight - almost unexpected after all of the larger-than-life descriptions before. Beowulf struggling? Guess he does have some human flaws, something a hero should have
"his awesone grasp." - interesting that there's that element of a token, but the word awesome almost looks foreign in this context of olden times.
"Guardian of the mound," "the hoard-watcher" - Needs some more variety since it's a dragon, not some soldier who lives his life guarding something
"After many trials, he was destined to face the end of his days in this mortal world" - after all of his fights, it almost seems disappointing to come back to reality where Beowulf can actually meet his match
Truly, it seems fitting that Beowulf got to be king, since his heroic actions before actually made it feel strange the he WASN'T already king
Again with the boasts - circling back to that original idea
Everything after pg. 171
"The hoard-guard" - again with hoard and guard. There were so may amazing descriptions, and now we're at this...
How do you kill a dragon with a KNIFE if a SWORD didn't work???? Again, taking back what I said about realism
Gotta love the way everyone was terrfied except this one random person named Wiglaf
You really want to die looking at treasure? Can't blame you, but if they follow the tradition from the beginning of the book, you're going to be BURIED with treasure?
Tragic future without Beowulf does sound impactful, especially after the rein we were introduced to
Wasn't really expecting a funeral pyre, but it's for the best. Interesting insight into the culture
Benjamin Bagby's Performance
4:55 - Very melodic, almost lulling. With the context in modern English captions, seems to match well. Strangely sounds like being in a church, also felt like listening to Latin or Italian for a moment
6:05 - Facial expressions compared to the text add depth, make it seem like something you'd see live. It looked like he was brainstorming his next words for a minute - surely the old bards did that too?
10:30 - Really speeds up with the vivid description given in the text. Interesting element
11:00 - Builds up tension with that pause. Immersive... also captivating your attention
11:35 - Even more dramatic. Personally, I like this fast scene of terror. His voice goes up in a few moments, reminds me of a sharp note on a violin for added tension
27:00 - His entire demeanor changes, and since it's a more quote-driven portion, the emphasis on change of perspective is nice
38:00 - This part definitely feels more like boasting, between the melody and the facial expressions
53:00 - Again, starts feeling like a sermon of some sort. Then again, this part is a more religious area, since theres mention of God...
57:24 - Held 'note' sounds respecting in context, since it's Wealhtheow's turn to step forward, the only female with power introduced
59:00 - Cup passing moment seems to have some tension added to it, between the reenactment and, again, expressions
59:12 - Since this is Beowulf's part, it seems fitting for the slight shift into a more prideful way of acting
After class on 10/7: Love this version. Although it sounds informal, it still has a little bit of captivation and keeps detail as a major point. But the best part... "Bro!"