Beowulf Review

because I know you have forgotten

everything over these snow days

Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

King Hrothgar
of Denmark enjoys a prosperous and
successful reign. In his great mead-hall
Heorot, his warriors can gather to drink
and listen to stories sung by the bards.

Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

 But the jubilant noise

from Heorot angers
Grendel, a horrible
demon who lives in the
swamplands of
Hrothgars kingdom.
Grendel terrorizes the
Danes every night, killing
efforts to fight back. The
them and defeating
their
Danes
suffer 12 years of

fear, danger and death at

the hands of Grendel.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

 A young Geatish
warrior named
Beowulf hears of
Hrothgars plight.
Inspired by the
challenge,
Beowulf sails to
Denmark with a
small company of
men, determined
to defeat Grendel.

Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

 Beowulf gives King Hrothgar a

boastful description of some of his
past accomplishments. His
confidence cheers the Danish
warriors, and the feast lasts merrily
into the night.
At last, Grendel arrives. Unarmed,
Beowulf fights him, proving
stronger than the demon, who is
terrified. As Grendel struggles to
tears
the monsters
MortallyBeowulf
wounded,
Grendel
escape,
slinks
back into the swamp to die.
arm off.
The severed arm is hung high in
the mead-hall as a trophy of
victory.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

Beowulf, Beowulf, hes our man!

Overjoyed, Hrothgar holds a feast in Beowulfs
honor. The celebration lasts late into the night,
but another threat is approaching.
Grendels mother, who lives in a desolate lake,
comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her sons
death. She murders one of Hrothgars most
trusted advisers. To avenge this death, Beowulf
and both the Geats and the Danes travel to the
murky swamp.

Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

 Beowulf dives into the

water and fights
Grendels mother in
her underwater lair.
He kills her with a
sword forged for a
giant.
He then finds Grendels
corpse, decapitates it,
and brings the head as
a prize to Hrothgar.
The Danish
countryside is now
purged of its
treacherous monsters.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

Anglo-Saxon Values:
Honor, Bravery, Loyalty
The Danes are again overjoyed, and Beowulfs
fame spreads across the kingdom. Beowulf
departs after a sorrowful goodbye to Hrothgar,
who has treated him like a son.
He returns to Geatland, where he and his men
are reunited with their king and queen, to whom
Beowulf recounts his adventures in Denmark.
Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to
his king, who, in turn, rewards him.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

We pick up here:
Fifty years later, when
Beowulf is an old man,
a thief disturbs a mound
where a great dragon guards a horde of
treasure.
Enraged, the dragon emerges and begins
unleashing fiery destruction upon the Geats.
Their king, Beowulf, goes to fight the dragon. With
the aid of his loyal friend Wiglaf, he kills the beast,
but at a heavy cost. The dragon bites Beowulf in
the neck, and its fiery venom kills him.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature

Beowulf,
the epic hero
According to
Beowulfs wishes,
the Geats burn their
departed kings
body on a huge
funeral pyre and
then bury him with
treasure in a mound
overlooking the sea.
Mrs. Moulton * British Literature