TODAY IN CLASS
Beowulf Rap Videos--
1st period had to finish up
2nd/5th/ got to see one or two extra
Discussion of comitatus (yesterday's hand-out)--application to Beowulf
The most essential finding was that comitatus diminished as the epic went on
TOMORROW
The second Beowulf quiz--will emphasize the poem from where the last quiz left off (partway through the battle with Grendel's mother) to the end of the work. However, expect a few questions over material that applies to the work as a whole that might have been covered before, or even a few questions from the first part of the work. Still--the main focus is on the last half.
Some basic places to review (see early October posts for links to the textbook . . .I'll try to re-link them here later on):
Background on Beowulf—p.
36-37
Epic—p. 37 plus additional
features such as the ritual boast, arming scene, catalogue (of warriors, foods
at a feast, etc.), extended formal speeches, use of epic similes
epic from A Handbook to Literature:
A long
narrative poem in elevated style presenting characters of high position in
adventures forming an organic whole through their
relation to a central heroic figure
and through
their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.
Common
characteristics:
o
the hero is a
figure of imposing stature, of national or international importance, and of
great historical or legendary significance
o
the setting is
vast, covering great nations, the world, or the universe
o
the action
consists of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman courage
o
supernatural
forces—gods, angels, and demons—interest themselves in the action and intervene
from time to time
o
a style of
sustained elevation and grand simplicity
o
the epic poet
recounts the deeds of the heroes with a measure of objectivity
(There
follows a list of common conventions, but many apply more to “art” epics
composed by a single known poet, not to “folk epics” of uncertain
authorship. I summarized the essential
ones above.)
I don't plan to ask you specific questions about the additional epic features--we didn't stress these this year--BUT it's still "good to know" if you're one of those people who like to see how works fit into larger chunks of literature.
Additional terms (we've had these all along, with the exception of this week's new term comitatus)
ubi sunt
formula: a convention often used in
poetry rhetorically asking “where are” (ubi
sunt) particular things which, to the poet, represent an ideal—especially
of times past (sort of the lost “golden age”).
The idea is often connected with observations about the transitory
nature of human life, and the fact that things change (mutability).
scop: bard/poet/storyteller, who often recited
poetry to the accompaniment of a stringed
instrument
wergild
: literally man-price, a form of
victim’s compensation
comitatus: the idea that everyone protects the king at
all costs even if it means a warrior giving
up his own
life. If a king is killed, the warriors must avenge the death of the king or
they
can no longer serve as warriors for
the next king.
wyrd: the concept of fate or destiny—but read more
about it here:
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