Points for Discussion

1. The problem of dating

What do you know of the Beowulf manuscript? When might the poem have been composed? What conflicting values are reflected in it?

2. How much do we know about the Beowulf poet?

3. The genre of the epic poem

How is Beowulf an epic? (consider the oral formulaic style; the heroic ideal represented; the poem’s universality) What makes it different from other epics? What epic conventions are observed/ not observed? Could we read Beowulf as history? How is it like a fairy-tale?

4. The style and structure of the poem

What is alliterative verse? What kind of imagery prevails in Beowulf? (Bring out the meaning of kenning; formulaic epithets; litotes) How is the text structured? What is the climax of the poem? What functions do digressions perform? (Choose an example and show how it works in the structure of the poem). How did the end of the poem affect you? How would you have ended the poem?

5. The dichotomy of Christian and pre-Christian values in Beowulf

What biblical allusions can we find in Beowulf? How does the poet try to reconcile the pagan values of the heroic age with his own Christian beliefs? Did Beowulf live a good life by Christian standards? Consider the conflict between pride and humility.

6. The major themes and symbols in Beowulf

Consider the overarching themes of the tension between good and evil; hero and villain. What lessons does Beowulf teach?

7. Analyze the central characters in Beowulf

Would you say the characters in the poem are psychologically complex? Do they undergo any development as the poem progresses? Is Beowulf an ideal hero/king? What function does Unferth serve? In what way does Wiglaf resemble the younger Beowulf? What is the role of women in the heroic structure of Beowulf?

Materials for the seminar:

The heroic ideal

In the earliest period Germanic society had been organized by families, forming independent political entities. With the passing of time, the unit of society tended to grow larger as a number of families united under a single superior chieftain or “king”, but the unit grew very large only rarely. The normal order of society was made up of a number of small bands, which, while they did not always live in peace with each other, still shared a sense of community and kinship.

The ideal of kingly behavior was enormously important – it was the power that shaped their history and their literature. It is generally called the heroic ideal. Put most simply, the heroic ideal was excellence. The hero-king strove to do better than anyone else the things that migratory life demanded: to sail a ship through a storm, to swim a river or bay, to tame a horse, to set firm defenses, in times of peace even to plow a field or build a hall, but above all to fight. Skill and courage were the primary qualities of a king who should successfully lead his people in battle and sustain them during peace. Because society was closely knit, all the male members of the tribe tended to imitate the heroic ideal of conduct. In general, of course, it was aristocratic, restricted to the king and his immediate retainers. Royal generosity was one of the most important aspects of heroic behavior, for it symbolized the excellence of the king’s rule.

The heroic ideal won practical success for the king and also enduring fame. Their religion offered no promise of an afterlife, and the fame was the closest substitute for immortality. The immortality the old heroes sought was achieved through poetry. A good poet was a valued member of a primitive court. The poetic form that primitive bards evolved for their heroic narratives is called “epic”; it is characterized by solemn dignity of tone and elevation of style. Their poems were not written down, but recited aloud from memory, and hence most of them have been lost: the chief survivor from Germanic culture is the Old English Beowulf.

(from the Norton Anthology of English Literature)

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