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By Anonymous v The longest complete epic poem in Anglo- Saxon (over 3,000 lines) v Anonymous writer v Dating back to the 5th-6th centuries (land of origin of the Anglo-Saxon populations) v Probably written down by monks in Northumbria between the 8th and 11th centuries q Layout: the regular presence of caesura in each line (= evident division of the line into 2 parts) q Sound devices: massive presence of alliterations e.g. Grendel gongan godes yrre baer (Grendel walking, God’s wrath he bore) q Figures of speech: kenning (= compound words indicating someone or something) e.g. the ring-giver (the king); the sin-scather (Grendel); the protector of earls (=Beowulf) q Beowulf, a Geat warrior, accepts to help Hrothgar, King of Denmark, to free his kingdom from the attacks of Grendel. q Beowulf manages to kill the monster and also his mother when she comes to take revenge on her son’s death. q As a result of these deeds, Beowulf is celebrated as a hero in Denmark and Geatland, where he becomes king on Hygelac’s death q After 50 years of wise rule, he decides to face a dragon that is ravaging his kingdom. He kills it but dies himself q The poem ends with Beowulf’s funeral and with the Geats’ mourning and fear for the future (Swedish imminent attack) q Denmark: - Heorot (Hrothgar’s hall) - Grendel’s cave + lake q Geatland: - Hygelac’s court - the dragon’s den under the hill - the kingdom’s villages q Human: - Beowulf (the heroic warrior) - Hrothgar (King of the Danes) - Hygelac (King of the Geats) - Wiglaf (Beowulf’s friend) q Non-human: - Grendel (half-human/half-ogre) - Grendel’s mother - the fire-dragon - the sea-creatures in the lake q The main values of the Anglo-Saxon military aristocratic society: - courage and strength - loyalty to the King - fighting for honour and glory - the urge of revenge - frequence of banquets, feasting - rewarding warriors’ deeds with gold and riches - the necessity to narrate the stories of heroes’ deeds to preserve the community’s history and identity q The combination of supernatural and Christian elements.

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Beowulf and Grendel (2005)
Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce 2020 Nikola Krčová Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Nikola Krčová The Depiction of Beowulf in Film and Television Series Adaptations Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr., Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2020 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature I would like to thank my family for supporting me and sharing their opinions with me. I would also like to thank my supervisor prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A., for her guidance. Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................... 1 The Original Story of Beowulf............................................................................................. 4 Beowulf and Grendel (2005)............................................................................................... 13 Beowulf (2007).................................................................................................................... 19 Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016)......................................................................... 25 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 31 Bibliography.......................................................................................................................
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