Beowulf

The most interesting part for me is the presence of Beowulf, when he says "I am Beowulf" in order to demostrate his power and confidence towards the people.

Settings
The time is the dark ages, between 500 and 700 A.D. The action takes place first in a Danish kingdom ruled by Hrothgar. Then in a great mead hall of the king, Beowulf confronts a monster that has been terrorizing the king and his men. Finally in the land of the Geats in Sweden, Beowulf confronts a dragon terrorizing his own land.

Main characters
Beowulf - The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler.
King Hrothgar - The king of the Danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from that exhibited by the youthful warrior Beowulf. He is a father figure to Beowulf and a model for the kind of king that Beowulf becomes.
Grendel - A demon descended from Cain, Grendel preys on Hrothgar’s warriors in the king’s mead-hall, Heorot. Because his ruthless and miserable existence is part of the retribution exacted by God for Cain’s murder of Abel, Grendel fits solidly within the ethos of vengeance that governs the world of the poem.
Grendel’s mother - An unnamed swamp-hag, Grendel’s mother seems to possess fewer human qualities than Grendel, although her terrorization of Heorot is explained by her desire for vengeance—a human motivation.
The dragon - An ancient, powerful serpent, the dragon guards a horde of treasure in a hidden mound. Beowulf’s fight with the dragon constitutes the third and final part of the epic.

Other Danes
Shield Sheafson - The legendary Danish king from whom Hrothgar is descended, Shield Sheafson is the mythical founder who inaugurates a long line of Danish rulers and embodies the Danish tribe’s highest values of heroism and leadership. The poem opens with a brief account of his rise from orphan to warrior-king, concluding.
Halfdane - The father of Hrothgar, Heorogar, Halga, and an unnamed daughter who married a king of the Swedes, Halfdane succeeded Beow as ruler of the Danes.
Wealhtheow - Hrothgar’s wife, the gracious queen of the Danes.
Unferth - A Danish warrior who is jealous of Beowulf, Unferth is unable or unwilling to fight Grendel, thus proving himself inferior to Beowulf.
Hrethric - Hrothgar’s elder son, Hrethric stands to inherit the Danish throne, but Hrethric’s older cousin Hrothulf will prevent him from doing so. Beowulf offers to support the youngster’s prospect of becoming king by hosting him in Geatland and giving him guidance.
Hrothulf - Hrothgars nephew, Hrothulf betrays and usurps his cousin, Hrethic, the rightful heir to the Danish throne. Hrothulf’s treachery contrasts with Beowulf’s loyalty to Hygelac in helping his son to the throne.
Aeschere - Hrothgar’s trusted adviser.

Other Geats
Hygelac - Beowulf’s uncle, king of the Geats, and husband of Hygd. Hygelac heartily welcomes Beowulf back from Denmark.
Hygd - Hygelac’s wife, the young, beautiful, and intelligent queen of the Geats. Hygd is contrasted with Queen Modthryth.
Wiglaf - A young kinsman and retainer of Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the dragon while all of the other warriors run away. Wiglaf adheres to the heroic code better than Beowulf’s other retainers, thereby proving himself a suitable successor to Beowulf.
Ecgtheow - Beowulf’s father, Hygelac’s brother-in-law, and Hrothgar’s friend. Ecgtheow is dead by the time the story begins, but he lives on through the noble reputation that he made for himself during his life and in his dutiful son’s remembrances.
King Hrethel - The Geatish king who took Beowulf in as a ward after the death of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father.
Breca - Beowulf’s childhood friend, whom he defeated in a swimming match. Unferth alludes to the story of their contest, and Beowulf then relates it in detail.

Type of work
Beowulf is an epic, a long poem telling a story about a hero and his exploits. Beowulf consists of 3 182 lines written in old English (native language of the author`s time and place.
Date and place of story
Beowulf was probably composed between 700 A.D and 900 A.D. The place was Northumbria, an important kingdom.
Transmission of the story
Beowulf was first transmitted orally for one to three centuries. Although its author did not write it down, two English scribes did so in about 1000 A.D. their manuscript, considered one of the great heirlooms of the world literature, is now preserved in the British Library in London.
Structure
Beowulf is divided chronologically into two main sections, one focuses on Beowulf as a young man and one that focuses him as an old man.
Point of view
The poet tells the tale in omniscient third person point of view from a Christian perspective.
The Hero and the Villains
Poem`s Hero: Beowulf, a mighty warrior from the land of Geats in Sweden. He is noble, courageous, bold, and stronger by far than any other living mortal.
Poem`s Villains: Grendel, a foul marsh-dweller born of the hatred of the Biblical Cain. Grendel`s mother, a loathsome fiend protected by sea monsters. A fire-breathing dragon that can destroy an entire town with a mere exhale.

Mythological Criticism

Beowulf story has communal beliefs like fate towards Beowulf when he says that he is going to kill the monster Grendel. Also they have beliefs in religion; they have a God called Odin.
They belief in the power of nature, but in the case of Beowulf anything can stop him in order to get what he wants. As example, when Beowulf is on the sea with a strong winds and strong storm, and his men are afraid about what is going to happen, but Beowulf tells them, that nothing is going to happen and if they want to still alive, they must rowing.

Images
Death: there are many dead, many blood is shed.
Birth: birth of a new creature in order to destroy the kingdom. (dragon)
Life cycle: everything happens in the same way like Hrothgar, when he was young. With the different that Beowulf killed his curse and Hrothgar`s.
Eternity: Grendel`s mother

Colors
Red: Blood, sacrifice, violence
In this tale there were a lot of bloodshed, and many men were sacrificed by the monsters, also violence by these monsters.
Green: hope, fertility, death, decay
Hope that the kingdom got when Beowulf came to the town in order to kill the monster. When Beowulf killed Grendel, Grendel`s mother went to the town and killed Beowulf`s men. (The beginning of his curse)

Numbers
Four: life cycle, four seasons, four elements; female.
It was the same life cycle like Hrothgar. Four seasons; winter, summer, fall, spring. There are four elements; earth, water, fire and air. And always men are persuaded by female since early times.

Motifs
Immortality: Grendel`s mother was the same monster with the pass of the time, she does not get old.
Wise old man (woman): there were two persons who helped Beowulf when he was desperate.Wiglaf and Wealhtheow.

Woman:
Protection: Grendel`s mother wants to protect her son. When he died, she took revenge.
Witch: Grendel`s mother, because they cannot kill her, and always she gets what she wants.

Hero archetypes:
Sacrificial scapegoat: the hero in this case Beowulf died in order to save his people.
Victim: when Beowulf is dying, he feels destroyed and like a victim about his act in the past.