Beowulf Notes : Part 2
About this set
Created by:
silent-beauty on October 2, 2010
Subjects:
freshman language arts (gifted)
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
17 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 An Overview : Beowulf | *Generally conisdered the earliest major work of English poetry *Composed in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) *Beowulf is a fictional character- Characters such as kings Hrothgar, Hgelac, and Onela are historical |
| The Story | *Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and fights three battles in epic 1.He fights and kills monster Grendel 2.He fights and kills Grendel's mother 3.He fights and kills a dragon, then dies from his own wounds *Beowulf divided into 2 sections Section 1.Tells of Beowulf's adventures as a young warrior who fights Grendel and Grendel's mother Section 2. Tells of Beowulf's days as ruler of the Geats - he dies a hero's death, battling a `dragon to protect his kingdom |
| Setting | *Beowulf's kingdom would've been in what is now southern sweden - Herot is in present-day Denmark |
| The Manuscript | *Beowulf exists in a single Anglo-Saxon manuscript, now owned by British Library in London * The manuscript originally created by two scribes and is believed to date back to about1000 CE |
| Significance | *Beowulf is the longest of many surviving poems written in Old English *It's over 3000 lines long and written in a style called alliterative verse |
| Modern Editions | *It was first translated for Old English to Latin in 1815 *Was published in full modern English in 1837 *The process of translation is always a subjective and not an objective |
| Language | * Written in Old English (Anglo Saxon) * The Anglo-Saxon language did not include J,Q, or Z *It had four letters |
| Language : Thorn | *Borrowed from Runic alphabet *Represents the 'th' sound |
| Language : Eth | *Also used to represent the 'th' sound |
| Language : Ash | * Represents the vowel sound in the modern english word 'cat' * Still used in some words today |
| Language : Wyn/Wynn | *Represents the 'w' sound *Borrowed from Runic alphabet |
| Poetic Formulas | *They are stock phrases *Believed to be ready - made phrases that fulfill metrical need of a line or half-line *Believed to have been standard tool of an oral poet *Extensive use of formulas gives a poem a lofty and highly traditional character |
| Poetic Versification | * The typical Old English line has two half-lines separated by a strong pause(caesura) * The third stress of a line always alliterates with either first and/or second stress * The fourth stress never alliterates |
| Translations : Grummere,1919 | *Uses alliterative verse *Other poetic features and literal meaning of words are less true to the original because of the focus on alliteration |
| Translations : Donaldson, 1966 | *Focuses on a literal word-for-word translation *It's not a hundred percent accurate, but considered the best word-for-word translation *The poetic feature of the text are not true to original because it focuses on literal meaning |
| Translations : Lehmann, 1988 | *Imitates the original verse form of the poem more so than any other translation *Maintains structure of half-lines separated by a caesura *Alliteration follows the pattern of stresses in original |
| Translations : Heaney, 2000 | *Includes alliteration and poetic attention to phrasing *Doesn't follow half-line structure of original *Focuses on translation that can be spoken (lyrical phrasing over literal acuracy) |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.