To his audience, however, the list of heroes, villains, and battles were familiar. Some of the devices employed by the Beowulf poet, such as frequent digressions, may seem tedious to the modern reader. It does not open with an invocation to a Muse, and it does not start in medias res ("in the middle of things"), although time is out of joint in the poem, especially in its last third. We might call Beowulf a folk epic, although some scholars prefer an emphasis on its mythological background.īeowulf, however, differs from the classic epics of ancient Greece, the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were composed some 1,500 years before and set the standard for the epic tradition. Furthermore, Beowulf does employ digressions, long speeches, journeys and quests, various trials or tests of the hero, and even divine intervention, as do classic epics. Under this definition, Beowulf is a primary epic, the best evidence being that it first existed in the oral tradition. They are written from their inception and designed to appear as whole stories. The first, the primary epic, evolves from the mores, legends, or folk tales of a people and is initially developed in an oral tradition of storytelling.
Increasingly, scholars distinguish between two types of epic.
#An invocation of a muse code#
The code of the comitatus is at the heart of the Beowulf epic. Courage, loyalty, and reputation were other virtues for these warriors, and we can look for them as themes in the poem. His generosity often was considered a virtue and a mark of character. For his part, the leader rewarded his thanes with treasure, protection, and land. If the leader should fall, his thanes must avenge his life. Thanes swore devotion to their leader and vowed to fight boldly, to the death if necessary, for him. He represents the values of the heroic age, specifically the Germanic code of comitatus - the honor system that existed in Scandinavian countries in the fifth and sixth centuries between a king, or feudal lord, and his warriors (thanes). The hero, Beowulf, is the title character. Epics typically emphasize heroic action as well as the struggle between the hero's own ethos and his human failings or mortality.Īll of these characteristics apply to Beowulf. The word "epic" itself comes from the Greek epos, originally meaning "word" but later "oration" or "song." Like all art, an epic may grow out of a limited context but achieves greatness in relation to its universality. The epic celebrates virtues of national, military, religious, cultural, political, or historical significance. An epic is a long narrative poem, composed in an elevated style, dealing with the trials and achievements of a great hero or heroes. Scholars debate almost everything about Beowulf, including the question of whether it should be considered an epic at all. Here, the extra spacing has been eliminated from brief quotes for the sake of simplicity.
In the Anglo-Saxon, each line is separated into two parts by a caesura (indicated by spacing). Lines quoted are simply indicated in parentheses. Chickering, Jr.'s dual-language (facing-page) translation, Beowulf (New York: Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1977), introduction and commentary by the translator. Performances like this are presented in Beowulf by Hrothgar's court scop, honoring Beowulf. The poet's skill was judged by how well he could weave the stories into an effective, entertaining presentation. The scop's audience was probably familiar with the story and the various allusions in the poem.
The scop would sing or chant the poem, rather than recite it, usually to the accompaniment of a harp. The poem would have been performed for audiences at court or on the road as the scop (preferred pronunciation, "shop") found audiences to support him. The poem was created in the oral-formulaic tradition (or oral poetic method), probably developing over a period of time with roots in folk tales and traditional stories until a single, very talented poet put it in something very near its current form. Beowulf probably was composed in England sometime in the eighth century ad and written down circa1000 ad by a literate scop (bard) or perhaps a Christian scribe who was possibly educated in a monastery.
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