英美文学课件Part 2Old English Poetry and Beowulf教学教材.ppt

1. Old English Poetry The earliest forms of English literature, which are still preserved as the relics of the Anglo-Saxons, are originating from collective efforts of the people. oral collaboration These poems are partly historical stories and partly legendary stories passed around orally from generation to generation by unknown scops and gleeman. The Song of Beowulf is the most representative among these poems. True/fictional;i. Beowulf: the poem and the story ii. Significance of “Beowulf” iii. Poetic/artistic Form and Features/style of “Beowulf” iv. What is an epic? definition Extended narrative poems, 3000 lines Magnificent narration ;The Poem: Beowulf is the greatest Old English poem. It belongs to the 7th century. The poem consists of 3182 lines and is the lst English epic. The name of its author is unknown. It was originally in an oral form, sung by the minstrels at the end of the 6th century. It had been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years before it was written down in the 10th century or at the end of the ninth century. The manuscript was discovered in 1705. ;The main stories are based on the folk legends of the primitive northern tribes. Through the description of the fights with the monsters, we see it is essentially concerned with the heroic ideal of kings and kingship in Northern Europe: courage and strength, wisdom. Beowulf is shown not only as a grand hero, but also as a savior of the people. Half man, half god ;Its characters:? ???????Beowulf: nephew of Hygelac  Hygelac: king of Yeats (叶亚特）in Jutland ??????????Hrothgar: king of the Danes ? ???????Grendel: a monster image of evil 2. Its plot: simple Beowulf’s fight with the monster Grendel in Hrothgar’s hall (Heorot) 2) Beowulf’s slaying of Grendel’s mother in her lair 3) Beowulf’s return to his uncle, and his succession to the throne. ????? 4) Beowulf’s victory, fifty years later, over the fire dragon ? fatally/deadly/mortally mounded ;e. This poem is