MB UNIUD

I'm going to analyze Beowulf, a long epic poem of Anglo Saxon culture.

The first part of the poem is composed of 16 lines.

In the first stanza the narrator tells us about the hero. He uses adjectives and superlatives to underline his behaviour:he was generous, corageus, expert about sea carefull and intelligent. He also uses comparations to reinforce his reputation.

The reader immediately understands that beowulf is a leader and he is respected by all people.

The speaking voice puts the hero in forefront while the ordinary people remain in background. Infact he gives a descriptions of Beowulf's behaviours and characterisations:

• Hygelac's thane (an important royal vassal of the Swrdish King)
• There was no one else like him alive (the speaking voice tells us what people think of him)
• He was the mightiest man on earth (he attributes to the hero a sorte of god nature)
• High born, powerfull
• Dear as he was to them (the narrator attributes good qualities to the leader, infact generosity is an important aspect of an hero)

In the text we can fin a lot of informations about the society of the past:

They were warriors and seamens. Infact to go to war they use sails, so it is an important aspect of the life of a hero. We also know that there were kings to govern the lands, infct in the story we read about a thane, Beowulf, tha is a vassal of his king, so there were a hierachical structure. We also recognise that thane isn't a noun of the current English, it is a noun of Old English, the language of that time.

In the text there is an adjective that suggest us the importance of the old people, it is "elder". In the past the old people had an importan position in the society because they had gained a lot of experience and theyr opinios were considerated important. The religion was also a fondamental aspect: they were pagan and they belive in a high sense of doom.

In the poem there are also informations about the values: courage, loyality, generosity. Infact Beowulf is called to help another king to defeat his land from a monster in human shape. The hero immediately accours to help him, so he shows generosity to help another king, loyality and courage to fight with a monster.

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