He notes that the monster does not fear the scyldings because they have not tried to defend themselves. He says that he has heard about the monster wreaking havoc on the danes and has come to help hrothgar. A high school senior instigates a social pecking order revolution after finding out that she has been labeled the duff designated ugly fat friend by her prettier, more popular counterparts. Beowulf is without doubt the most ancient surviving epic poem of the so called anglosaxon epic tradition. Like his ancestors, hrothgar has kept the kingdom prosperous through winning battles and honoring his. Dating back to between the 8th and 11th centuries and set in scandinavia, the poem likely was used to teach lessons. Especially when highschool manslut wesley rush tells her shes the duff, her friends designated ugly fat friend, and tries to cozy up to her in order to get into her friends pants.
For long thereafter in the walled towns was beowulf, the loved folkking of the scyldings, known to fame among the peoples his father had gone elsewhere, the prince from his own, till in time was born to him the great healfdene, who, whilst he lived, ruled the scyldings in kindness, the ancient one, fierce in battle. Browse all book notes historical context main characters points to ponder did you know plot summary section 1 section 2 section 3 section 4. Frankenstein sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series book 27 sparknotes. Beowulf sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature. Tolkien said that the dragon in beowulf is one of only two true dragons in all of literature the.
The complete book, free the tale of beowulf sometime king of the folk of the weder geats translated by william morris and a. I have never heard of the term the duff the designated ugly fat friend before i bought this book. Beowulf strikes the dragon in the head with his great sword naegling, but the sword snaps and breaks. And beowulf answered, standing tall in front of his earls. Beowulf lines 1193 summary and analysis gradesaver. Feb 28, 2009 in the poem, beowulf, a hero of the geats, battles three antagonists. List of books and articles about beowulf online research. With wiglafs help beowulf kills the dragon, but not before he himself is terribly wounded. Beowulf points out that unferth, along with the rest of his clan, have been unable to deal with grendel. Bianca is a content high school senior whose world is shattered when she learns the student body knows her as the duff designated ugly fat friend to. She very quickly realizes she hates this place and on top of that a very rude guy tells her she is the duff designated ugly fat friend.
Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. It was first written in the anglosaxon era, but was probably part of an oral tradition. Beowulf insinuates that unferth is a cowardly braggart. I can see by your height and breadth and strength that you are a leader of these fine men who stand behind you. It isnt a bad book by any means, but its not a book that would be quite memorable to me either unless someone brings it up or if i experience a situation that is similar to biancas. Beowulf is an epic poem, a type of poem that includes a long narrative structure and heroic story elements. The first part of the epic poem beowulf, which works out to be the first 1007 lines, deals mainly with the battle between beowulf and the monster grendel.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in beowulf, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Sparknotes literature guides make studying smarter, better, and faster. Beowulf must fight grendel barehanded, and the other warriors are unable to come to beowulfs aid. As i was paying for the book at the counter, the owner of the bookstore said we used. The duff, by kody keplinger, is a novel of transformation and offers the reader a myopic view of life as a teenaged outsider. The danes are again overjoyed, and beowulfs fame spreads across the kingdom. Accompanied by his kinsman wiglaf, ten warriors, and the thief, beowulf sets out to confront the dragon. The watchman guides beowulf and his men from the coast to the meadhall, heorot, where he takes his leave. Ad by two scribes and preserved in the british library in the collection of sir robert cotton. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of beowulf and what it means. His novels the hobbit and the lord of the rings trilogy are steeped in the mythology and culture in which beowulf is set. A film based on the novel, also entitled the duff, was released in 2015. I have tried to lend to others the conviction i have long.
Gleefully imagining the destruction that he will wreak, grendel bursts into heorot. During the interval between books one and two, frances goes back to england, and brett goes to san sebastian to have an affair with cohn. The book revolves around duff bianca, however has a lot of other entwining characters. Warriors are willing to go to extreme lengths to find opportunities for displaying their physical might, from pointless swimming competitions to ridding another country of. Beowulf chapters 116 section summaries flashcards quizlet. It deals with events of the early 6th century and is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750. Since its rediscovery in the early nineteenth century, it has become a recognised classic, translated scores if not hundreds of. Beowulf is an epic because it has action that consists of deeds of great valor, the setting of beowulf is in vast scope covering great lands and far off places, and the hero of the story, beowulf, is of imposing stature of international and international importance. Estimates for the date range from ad 608 right through to ad, and there is no consensus. The geats return to heorot hall, taking grendels enormous severed head with them. There is considerable scholarly discussion concerning the concept of christianity in beowulf. At least one scholar believes the manuscript is the authors original, but most scholars believe it is the last in a succession of copies. Beowulf defeats him, but not before striking a mortal blow to him.
Tolkien read 25 november 1936 in 1864 the reverend oswald cockayne wrote of the reverend doctor joseph bosworth, rawlinsonian professor of anglosaxon. Old english, the english of beowulf, is almost a foreign tongue. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. Its nothing like shakespeare, nor even chaucer, who wrote in a late middle english that sounds strange enough to modern ears. He then walked to the creatures head and strangled her.
Beowulf by burton translator raffel and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Navigate here prelude of the founder of the danish house chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter chapter 14 chapter 15 chapter 16 chapter 17 chapter 18 chapter 19 chapter 20 chapter 21 chapter 22 chapter 23 chapter 24 chapter. The epic makes no mention of jesus, and references to one omnipotent god are more old than new testament. Jul 09, 2015 this isnt the message youd expect as the book seems to be more about labels, but while reading this is the message that really struck me. But when beowulf and the dragon fight, all of beowulfs men flee except wiglaf. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad. Cliffsnotes on beowulf covers the longest and oldest surviving anglosaxon poem, an epic tale of warriors and battles, monsters and magic, treasures, feasts, and heroic action. He returns to geatland, where he and his men are reunited with their king and queen, hygelac and hygd, to whom beowulf recounts his adventures in denmark. Beowulf belongs metrically, stylistically, and thematically to a heroic tradition grounded in germanic religion and mythology. Oct 06, 2009 well beowulf being the lead character would obviously need to be intruiging to make it a good story. Many incidents, such as beowulfs tearing off the monsters arm and his descent into the mere, are familiar motifs from folklore.
Beowulf sparknotes literature guide making the reading experience fun. Macbeth sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series book 43 sparknotes. Beowulf is in the hall of herot with his friends celebrating when all of a sudden unferth arrives out of nowhere, angry at beowulf. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. All contain heroic boasting, verbal taunting, and a hero with a troubled youth. The classic story of beowulf, hero and dragonslayer, appears here in a new translation accompanied by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. Beowulf shares characteristics with many old english epic poems. Scyld scefing is the first of the great kings of the speardanes. Farfetched treasures were piled on him, and precious gear.
The modern english version we read today is a translation from. I am beowulf, and i come from my uncle, hygelac, the geatish king, and i am a friend to the danes. Beowulf is arguably the most important extant poetic work of anglosaxon literature. Lines 10631250 cliffsnotes study guides book summaries.
She wants to leave quickly and takes her friends with her. People seemed to buy into the concept of the duff way more than they did in the book. As he matures, he hears of a neighbouring kings problems, and ventures on the sea to help out. Beowulf, nephew to the king of the geats, sails across the seas to try to defeat the beast. Tolkien tolkiens translation of the 1,000yearold poem that inspired many aspects of the lord of the rings. Seventeenyearold bianca piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesnt. The dragon lands a bite on beowulf s neck, and blood begins to flow.
The book opens with the main character, bianca, at the local club, the nest, with her two gorgeous friends. Although we can view these three encounters as expressions of the heroic code, there is perhaps a clearer. Grendels strength begins to fail him and his groans fill the hall. The watchman gives his consent and tells beowulf that he believes his story. What is the moral lesson taught in the story of beowulf. As the celebration continues within heorot, hrothgars scop honors beowulf with a story of another danish victory, the finnsburh episode. New york times best seller and whitebread book of the year, nobel laureate seamus heaneys new translation of beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. The speardanes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
Tolkien was a professor of anglosaxon at oxford university, and an authority on beowulf. Beowulf also gives queen hygd a necklace and three horses. I thought maybe it was just a term used in the states. From humble beginnings as a foundling discovered at sea, he rises to great power and is honored and paid tribute by many. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to geatland. The poem has only one manuscript source, written about 1010. Beowulf may have been written at any time between circa 675 a. Beowulf was probably composed as an elegy for a death of a king in 7th century. In particular, i used the section summaries to focus on comparing beowulf s three battles and the treatment of women at the time. Downing cherry cokes and watching her two best friends hoof it out on the dance floor of the local teen club doesnt make 17yearold bianca piper feel good about herself. I would recommend this for a refresher if you havent read beowulf for a long time. She pulled beowulf down deeper into the pool, and finally, he came to a cave that has air. These are someof the reasons why beowulf is a great example of an early english epic. The novel begins as the protagonist, bianca piper, goes with her best friends, jessica and casey, to the local teen nightclub.
Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. When a paper is due, and dreaded exams loom, heres the litcrit help students need to succeed. Beowulf cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. Churchs translation, and his draftsmanship is exemplary.
The duff by kody keplinger october 29, 2010 december 2, 2010 meg bianca piper has always basked in her camaraderie with casey and jessica, her gorgeous and blonde friends at hamilton high. Everyone has felt like the duff before, but we all have things about us that make us amazing. Beowulf leaves his kingdom to wiglaf, the only knight to come to his aid. Beowulf, plot beowulf was written in old english and its the oldest epic poem in the english language. I feel sorry for anyone who reads this book and feels like they are a duff. The world of beowulf is harsh, and joy is never permanent.
Grendel, grendels mother, and, fifty years later at the end of his life, a dragon. Wiglaf rushes to beowulf s aid, stabbing the dragon in the belly, and the dragon scorches wiglafs hand. This 40page guide for beowulf by anonymous includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. It is not known who wrote it, and there is no agreement as to when it was written. Beowulf s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Beowulf explains that he is the son of ecgtheow and owes his loyalty to hygelac. Very little anglosaxon literature has survived, and beowulf comprises roughly 10% of all surviving anglosaxon literature the.
Course heros video study guide provides an indepth summary and analysis for the epic poem beowulf. He is the only thane of beowulfs that stays with him during the battle with. They have suffered at the hands of an evil monster, grendel, who has pillaged their kingdom for more than 12 years and killed many men. Beowulf decides to sail to scyld to help hrothgar, and sets out with fourteen men after viewing the omens. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of. Beowulf swims back to the surface of the lake, where his warriors are overjoyed to see him. Beowulf wields hrunting, the sword lent to him by unferth, and lashes at grendels mothers head, but even the. Grendel, who has been attacking the mead hall in denmark called heorot and its inhabitants. Beowulf and other old english poems hieatt, constance on. You arent, because thats horrible, and nobody, let.
Beowulf is a grim and gruesome story, and artist gareth hinds has produced a graphic novel to match. Beowulf is a young man, who, in his youth, was an unsettled, unmotivated prince of the danish geats. He says that beowulf had once done a swimming contest with a friend brecca, and that while brecca and him both nearly drowned, brecca at. Set in the sixth century in the southwestern part of the contemporary sweden, the poem begins with a genealogy of the royal dynasty of the scyldings, or danes. Beowulf summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Beowulf quotes explanation and analysis they stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships, the great ringgiver. Beowulf is introduced and comes to the land of danes to meet hrothgar for the first time and slay grendel. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of beowulf. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. Overall, the duff is a good book, but not a book that really deserves the huge hype it gets in my opinion. Beowulf tears grendels arm off at the shoulder and hangs it from the rafters. Beowulf study guide from litcharts the creators of.
I used it to augment what i summarized for the class discussions, which several students told me help them. Beowulf sees enormous amounts of treasure in grendels mothers lair, but all he takes are the jewelinlaid hilt of the melted sword and grendels severed head. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. Commonly referred to as an old english epic poem, it consists of more than 3,000 lines, all of which use alliteration. Beowulf survives in one manuscript, which is known as british library cotton vitelhus a. The coming of beowulf the horrific stories of grendel reaches the ears of beowulf, the strongest of living men, kin of hygelac, in his home with the geats. In what ways does beowulf possess wisdom and knowledge. Beowulf, knowing his death is near, decides to fight the dragon.
Strength is a constant obsession of the world of warriors and demons in beowulf. He was trapped, but beowulf wrapped his finger around grendels mother, making her sleep. Poppy hachette book group 237 park avenue new york, ny 10017 visit our website at. About beowulf beowulf summary character list lines 1193 lines 194709 lines 710915 lines 9161250 lines 12511649 lines 16501887 lines 18882199 lines 22002537 lines 25382819 lines 28203182 related links citations. Beowulf is cremated on his funeral pyre overlooking the sea, and then he is buried in a barrow containing the dragons treasure. When beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. Although originally untitled, it was later named after the scandinavian hero beowulf. Beowulf the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a firebreathing dragon. Beowulf went down, and down, and finally, he fell into grendels mothers tentacles. Heaneys performance reminds us that beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read. Beowulf won this sword in a fight between the geats and the frisians.
Beowulf sparknotes literature guide book by anonymous. Apr 07, 2015 the characters arent nearly as dickish in the book. Keplinger was 17 when she wrote the novel, which was released on june 7, 2011. He is so fascinating because he is this hero that everyone idolises but then he still gives into his lust when he meets grendals mother, he then even further spoils his name telling the king he killed the evil hag even though the king knows that beowulf is lying. Beowulf questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on beowulf. Beowulf is a major example of heroic poetry, a form used during the anglosaxon period of english literary history, approximately the fifth through the eleventh centuries. Beowulf, a poem written sometime between the eighth and tenth centuries ad, is the first surviving epic in what would become the english language. Beowulf, heroic poem, the highest achievement of old english literature and the earliest european vernacular epic. Designated ugly fat friend is a romantic young adult book about feisty bianca, who ends up falling in love with wesley, a boy she hates but cant help hooking up with. The gifts include a boarframed standard, a helmet, a mailshirt, a sword, and four horses. History beowulf is the earliest major work in english. High school student bianca piper, along with her friends casey blithe and jessica gaither, frequent a teen lounge. For those unfamiliar with beowulf, it is a late first millennium anglosaxon epic about the hero beowulf s fights with three monsters.
I was as surprised as most people are when i first heard the ancient language known as old english. Buy a cheap copy of beowulf sparknotes literature guide book by anonymous. With loyalty and heroism in mind, beowulf comes to the rescue of the danes and king hrothgar. He tears the door from its hinges with his bare hands and. Beowulf formally presents all the treasures that hrothgar gave to him to king hygelac, explaining that these treasures belonged to hrothgars brother heorogar. The poem explores his heroism in two separate phasesyouth and ageand through three separate and increasingly difficult conflictswith grendel, grendels mother, and the dragon. The hardy scylding, battlethane best,9 on his balefire lay. It is also part of the broader tradition of heroic poetry. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to hrothgar, who has treated him like a son.