История литературы / 7. Beowulf

Beowulf is considered to be the greatest anglo-saxon epic that is presented in a single manuscript which escaped destruction by fire in 1731. But obviously the creation of the story belongs to very remotw times (8-9^th cent). The poem is in 2 parts and was most probably written by a Christian poet, but the 1^st part betrays a very strong pagan touch. In the 1^st part the youthful character Beowulf kills 2 hateful man-devouring monsters – Grendel and his mother, whose home is on the bottom of a lonely lake. In the 2^nd part the same hero who is now an aged king kills the dragon of the sea but he himself is wounded to death. There is a little doubt that the story in its earliest form belongs to the very remote pagan times and it possibly symbolizes the endless conflict between men and cruel ser. The 2^nd part is very much Biblical and Beowulf is made as Christ-like as possible. But this idea of making the hero Christ-like is vivid practically in all works of medieval period. The whole epic also represents all the typical features of the Anglo-Saxon poetry. It is full of symbols and it presents a mixture of pagan rituals and Christian ideals + short abrupt lines, alliteration, inversion. The rhythm is insured by the repetition of the conjunction “and” and by mentioning one feature of the king in every line (quotations!!!) The 2^nd parts of the epic are not told in isolation. The poet has painted a vast canvas. He glorified not only the hero, but his own culture. He gives a very detailed spiritual picture of the Germanic heroic age. It is very much probable that the author of Beowulf even knew about the existence of ancient Rome and Greek literature, because some plot lines remind of Virgil`s Eneide. The author of B. pictures a society pagan in its roots but strongly colored by Christian ideas. In the epic he presents all the features typical of the Anglo-Saxon poetry and gives very peculiar way of creating images. He resorts to kenning very often (=compound noun containing a metaphor: a wave-breaker, a wave-goer, a salt-stream walker=a ship, Beowulf – a bear, a whale road, playground of winds= sea, a piece-weaver, dwelling ornament-women, house of bone, house of flesh=a person, human body). More striking is the originality of Beowulf in structure. The 2 main parts balance each other perfectly. The author is able to give an idea about youth and age. A lot of scholars try to prove that these 2 parts are contrasted, but the main strategy of the poet was their unity. They are united by the heroic deeds of the people. In the center of the epic there is a strong personality who is eager to win and to prove his strength, but he is at the same time ready to sacrifice. Beowulf is a tragic character. He makes mistakes at his early age, we sea a touch of pride in him. But though he made mistakes, in his last minutes he thought about his people and in the end he gained wisdom but at the price of his own life. One more thing that is contrasted in the epic is the opposition between paganism and Christianity. B, seems ti believe in God. They often mention the Creator, glorify him, thank him and pray. But at the same time B. is gull of feasts of worriors and pompous funerals which are purely pagan. Beowulf can be properly called an “epic” poem in the sense that it celebrates the achievements of a hero in narrative verse. It’s constructed around three encounters with the other world. Around these stories others are interwoven, which serve to broaden the context to a larger civilization and tradition. The two basic principles of the poem structure are: 1.Repetition 2. Gradation(the first battle was the easiest for Beowulf). The peculiarity of the structure of the poem is the retrospective character of many episodes related to Beowulf. Some episodes are not connected with the main character, they convey the information about the life of the German tribes (details from the history of the royal family of Geats (Sweden), the Danes, the Swedes, the continental Angles).The device of parallelism is widely used. It’s typical of epic works. The multiple repetition of the motives lays stress on definite episodes of the plot and deepens their implicit meaning.Digressions are of two types: Connected with Nature(Nature itself, Fantastic creatures) Connected with Man(With the main character With tribes’ history). Symbols. Hrothgar’s great mead-hall, Heorot (“Hall of the Hart”), functions as both setting and symbol in the epic. It is much more than a place to drink. Symbolically, Heorot represents the achievements of the Scyldings and their level of civilization. The hall is a home for the warriors who sleep there and functions as a seat of government. It is a place of light, warmth, and joy, contrasting with Grendel’s swamp as well as the dark and cold of winters in Scandinavia. The cave also represents their heritage. As descendants of Cain, they are associated with sorcery, black magic, demons, ancient runes, and hell itself. When Grendel’s mother is able to fight Beowulf in the cave, she has a distinct advantage. Саммари: В Дании правил Хротгар, построил Хеорот, чтобы пировать, шум от пирушек разбудил Гренделя, он пришел и всех сожрал. И жрал так всех каждую ночь, пока до них не доперло, что это Грендель всех кушает. Весть об этом дошла до Гаутов, Беовульф решил помочь, взял 14 друганов и поплыл в Данию. Все жрут и радуются, а один завидует Беовульфу. Этот Унферт напоминает ему о том какую бредятину в молодости они с Брекой придумали, когда они дофига долго в море плавали и Брека победил. Но Беовульф говорит, что это было не соревнование, они просто защищали всех от морских чудищ. Все пошли спать, в полночь пришел Грендель, одного сожрал, но потом Б оторвал ему лапку(. И он свалил. На утро все ликуют, но ночью приходит мама Гренделя и утаскивает любимчика короля. Беовульф идет к озеру спасать его, но там уже лежит его башка. Тогда он берет мечь и ныряет в озеро, кишащее чудовищами. Убивает мать Гренделя, его мечь тает после битвы. Стопицот лет прошло, король умер, Беовульф стал королем, все хорошо, но тут дракон объявился. Раньше он охранял клад, но потом какой-то чувак притырил у него кубок , и теперь он всех жрет и все сжигает. Беовульф берет с собой того чувака и они идут в пещеру. Все испугались дракона и свалили, с Б остался только его друган Виглаф. Они убивают дракона, но тот смертельно ранит Б. Перед смертью Б просит похоронить его на берегу моря, насыпать над ним высокий курган, чтобы моряки, проплывая по морю видели его и говорили – тут лежит тот самый крутой Б.