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Language
Literature
Heroic Code
The Church
Beowulf
Many of the people and places in Beowulf are real. For example,
The Geats, Danes, and Swedes of the time are historically noted in
ancient chronicles.
Key Terms
alliteration irony
elegy epic
scop kenning
Beowulf
Epic
Even though the hero dies at the end, the poem cannot be
considered a tragedy in the same sense as Hamlet or Oedipus the
King.
The main character, Beowulf, does not have a tragic flaw that
finally dooms him to death or failure.
Alliterative Verse
What are his values (so far) or what values does he represent?
loyalty, etc.
generosity
importance of vengeance
Its hero represents the values of the heroic code even though the
poet represents these values as limited and, at the end of the story,
doomed as is the main character.
but these values were later replaced by Christian values that taught
peace, humility, and the vanity of owning earthly goods.
Fate
The importance of fate is everywhere in the poem:
Avoid pride
Choose eternity
This episode calls attention to three characteristics of the poem:
Other Narratives
To point out irony (i.e. how tragic irony turns into Christian
optimism?)
The Danes backslide in their faith: when Grendel strikes they pray
to pagan gods (175ff)
Elegy