Characters in the book beowulf

King hrothgar and his wife wealhtheow are characters in beowulf. In his final moments, beowulf gives wiglaf his battle armor. New york times bestseller and winner of the costa book award composed toward the end of the first millennium, beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of beowulf, a scandinavian hero who saves the danes from the seemingly invincible monster grendel and, later, from grendels mother. Hrothgars elder son, hrethric stands to inherit the danish throne, but hrethrics older cousin hrothulf will prevent him from doing so. The hero of beowulf, beowulf is a geatish warrior loyal to his king, hygelac. King hrothgar is the second major character, living in peace after uniting the tribes which were at war with. Beowulf was known by your strength and skill, and he.

Beowulfs father was the warrior ecgtheow, and his mother is a sister of hygelac. Beowulf is a hero and encounters many triumphs with different types of people on his journey in this epic poem. As a young man beowulf fought in many battles and as a result showed his great character to others. The hero of all heroes, beowulf, strong and courageous, is the prince of geats. Beowulf study guide contains literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, char. Beowulfs boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Sometimes i also think of him on the cover of john gardners book. There is no evidence of a historical beowulf, but some characters, sites, and events in the poem can be historically verified. The character of grendel in beowulf from litcharts the. Beowulf study guide contains literature essays, a complete etext, quiz. According to legend, beowulf came to the aid of the danish king hrothgar, whose hall was raided each night by the hideous maneating monster grendell. Beowulf thus depicts a germanic warrior society, in which the relationship between the lord of the region and those who served under him was of paramount importance. The main characters in beowulf are beowulf, hrothgar, grendel, grendels mother, wiglaf, wealhtheow, and unferth. Great examples and literary analysis of the use of characters in beowulf.

In the time i was given i lived in my own land, ruling my people well, never turning to treachery, or swearing to oaths contrary to right. Not even the sharpest of swords could have cut it grendels hand through, broken it off the monsters arm and ended its life, as beowulf had done armed. It has also been the source for retellings in text john gardner s grendel 1971, for example, which takes the point of view of the monsterand as movies. He has very strong wrists which come in handy later in the book. He is killed and devoured by grendel, right before beowulf fights and defeats the. Beowulf the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a. This is beowulfs kinsman through ecgtheows family, the. Beowulf is one of the most famous poems in old english. Course heros video study guide provides an indepth summary and analysis for the epic poem beowulf. Beowulf 2007 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Beowulf is a geatish hero who becomes king after defeating. He terrorizes heorot, hrothgars meadhall and kills the danes.

Beowulf had many characteristics which helped him to succeed in battle. The geat whom grendel grabs and eats in heorot before beowulf fights. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Beowulf slew grendel and grendels vengeful mother, and ruled as king of the geats for fifty years. Download the free study guide and infographic for beowul. Grendel is a maneating demon never a good sign that lives in the land of the speardanes and. It is preserved in a single manuscript that dates to circa and is known as the beowulf manuscript cotton ms vitellius a xv. Beowulf grendel king hrothgar wiglaf unferth aeschere beow breca ecgtheow grendels. Beowulf, prince of the geats, has many fine qualities. Beowulf is 3182 lines, each line with four accents, divided into two parts.

Upon learning of grendels defeat, unferth is impressed by beowulf and. He signifies the true heroic character because he is willing to risk his life for his ideals. Despite the similarity in names, beow isnt actually related to beowulf as far as we know breca. When beowulf hears of the creature grendel he immediately goes to try and defeat it. Shield sheafson, beow, halfdane, wealhtheow, unferth, hrethric, hrothmund, hrothulf, aeschere, hygelac, hygd, wiglaf, ecgtheow, king hrethel, breca, sigemund, king. Mythical son of edgetho, higlacs nephew and followerbound warrior. Jul 06, 2009 beowulf is an archetypal hero, with all the admirable traits and tragic human failings associated with that type character so any contemporary hero will fit the bill, just pick your genre from harry potter to the xmen, to. This is beowulfs kinsman through ecgtheows family, the waegmundings. Beowulf has often been translated into modern english.

Characters in beowulf with examples and analysis literary devices. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome. Heres where youll find analysis about the poem as a whole. Im sorry, i wasnt sure if you mean contemporary to us or contemporary to him. He is an ancient germanic hero whose story is recounted after the fight with grendel.

An ogre or demon, grendel is a descendant of the biblical murderer cain. He is hero of the geats who defeats grendel and his ogress mother. Ecgtheow, beowulf s father, once found himself in a bloodfeud with the tribe called the wulfings. Role of women in beowulf study guides and book summaries. Download the free study guide and infographic for beowulf here. Breca beowulf s childhood friend who competed with him in a swimming match. While the epic poem features a significant amount of female characters such as grendels mother and wealtheow, it is obvious that the men and their affairs are the focus of the story. Beowulf characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. In terms of the relationship between characters in beowulf to god, one might recall. Beowulf is clearly the most important character of the book. The son of weohstan the scylfing, and a relative of beowulf, as well as his most loyal warrior. In grendel, he is a lonely creature who seeks an understanding of the seemingly meaningless world around him. Youll get full access to our interactive quizzes and transcripts and can find.

About beowulf beowulf summary character list lines 1193 lines 194709 lines 710915 lines 9161250 lines 12511649 lines 16501887 lines 18882199 lines 22002537 lines 25382819 lines 28203182 related links citations. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, and wiglaf. Gardners dragon benefits from at least a thousand years of mythological development, so if. Hygelac king of the geats and uncle to beowulf, his death in battle c. Its creation dates to between the 8th and the 11th centuries, the only surviving manuscript dating to circa 1010. He is a warrior who aids beowulf against the battle with the dragon. The son of weohstan the scylfing, and a relative of beowulf. Beowulf was powerful warrior, he traveled around scandinavia and other norse territories on various quests and adventures in the 6th century ad.

King hrothgar of denmark has a very prosperous kingdom. The geat whom grendel grabs and eats in heorot before beowulf fights the beast. Immediately download the beowulf summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching beowulf. Despite his noble lineage read full character analysis the king of the danes, the son of healfdene, the brother of heorogar and halga, and the brotherinlaw of onela the swede. Unlike many of the characters in gardners novel, unferth comes to us from the old english poem. The most important characters in beowulf are the titular hero, king hrothgar, wiglaf, and the three monsters beowulf faces, grendel, grendels mother, and the dragon beowulf is significant. Beowulf dives down to find her and kills her with a magical sword. The beowulf quotes below are all either spoken by grendel or refer to grendel. Although wiglaf is a minor character as compared to various other characters. Beowulf is an epic poem written back in the anglosaxon time period.

Mar 05, 2019 this resource includes character description from the book. Some of the characters are based on members of danish and swedish royalty. Whole class powerpoint, support sheets to write character descriptions, support sheets to write battle scene. This study guide and infographic for unknowns beowulf offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. A thane of hrothgars, he taunts beowulf in the hall about his. The poem also begins in medias res or simply, in the middle of things, which is a characteristic of the epics of antiquity. Cliffsnotes on beowulf covers the longest and oldest surviving anglosaxon poem, an epic tale of warriors and battles, monsters and magic, treasures, feasts, and heroic action. Wiglaf is a trusted companion and a cousin of beowulf. Cain biblical character described as an ancestor of grendel who is infamous. Character list danes scyldings scyld scefing a mythical figure, scyld was the founder of the tribe of the scyldings long before beowulf s story begins. Scyld was the founder of the tribe of the scyldings long before beowulfs story begins. Beowulf enters into the story after the action has started. Mar 26, 2018 learn about the characters in the epic poem beowulf with course heros video study guide.

Aeschere, hygelac, hygd, wiglaf, ecgtheow, king hrethel, breca, sigemund, king. Grendels mother is a second antagonist in the epic story. Character list cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. In this i take comfort and joy when now i am stricken with deathdealing wounds. Beowulf lessons character descriptions teaching resources. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

He cuts the head from grendels corpse and returns to heorot. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. Sometimes i also think of him on the cover of john gardners book called. Beowulf was distinguished among his people, the geats, for his bravery. Find the quotes you need to support your essay, or refresh your memory of the poem by reading these key quotes. Beowulf is considered an epic poem in that the mai n character is a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts. Beowulf is a geatish hero who becomes king after defeating grendel in. It is about three thousand lines long and the story revolves around three battles. May 20, 2018 course heros video study guide provides an in depth summary and analysis for the epic poem beowulf. Beowulfs feats of heroism and tales of his adventures prove him to be a true warrior rather than one who boasts. Hrothgar the aging king of the danes welcomes beowulfs assistance in facing the menace of grendel. Hygd hygelacs queen is a perfect hostess in the style of wealhtheow and exemplifies propriety in royalty. Beowulf the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a firebreathing dragon. Unferth alludes to the story of their contest, and beowulf then relates it in detail.

From the old testament, he is the brother of cain, also killed by cain, progenitor of mankind and humanity goodness. As the title character of the old english epic beowulf, hes a classic epic hero. Hrothgar makes a farewell speech about the character of the true. As a young man, beowulf was known as the strongest man alive. Its beowulf, a medieval geatish warrior willing to take on any c. It melts down to the hilt after beowulf uses it to decapitate grendels corpse. In the poem, beowulf, a warrior from geats comes to the. It has reached national epic status in england although its setting is scandinavia, not the british isles. He is known as one of the first great kings of the danes. Beowulf beowulf is the main hero of the poem, whose exploits in warfare and against evil forces, rise to kingship, and then decline due to old age and death form the subject of the poem.

Hrothgar represents the wise old warriorking that beowulf will one day become. Learn about the characters in the epic poem beowulf with course heros video study guide. A great, bearlike monster, grendel is the first of three monsters defeated by the geatish hero beowulf in the sixthcentury poem beowulf. In seamus haneys translation of beowulf this is used in the form of character types. The king of the danes in the story of the fight at finnsburg. For an old blind guy who sits around the meadhall playing on a harp all night, the shaper sure. Beowulf an early danish king and the son of scyld, but not the same character as the hero of the poem. Wealhtheow hrothgars queen welcomes beowulf and is the embodiment of.

Ecgtheow is dead by the time the story begins, but he lives on through the. Beowulf was a hero that killed the monster known as grendel and grendels mother. The creators of sparknotes beowulf characters from litcharts. Beowulf offers to support the youngsters prospect of becoming king by hosting him in geatland and giving him guidance. His ship funeral early in the poem is a significant ritual. Beowulf is an epic poem originally told in the old english between the 8th and 11th centuries.