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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Beowulf (Prologue- Chapter X Notes)

Prologue

  • The setting of Beowulf is set in Scandinavian lands, somewhere in Denmark in present day geographic location
  • Clan societies
  • Honor, warrior, pride, courage
  • foreshadows the hero's death and casket at sea with all the treasures with him and hence a banner waved in golden stature
Chapter I
  • Scyldings is the chieftain who beared four children, one being Hrothgar in significance.
  • Hrothgar won many battles and yet to make a mighty mead hall, therefore establishing one called Herot
  • Herot: An elegant eating hall for the stereotypical Norman feasts with the big table in the middle
  • Grendel, the monster that lurked around Herot, later terrorizing the inhabitants of the hall
  • A reference to Cain, retaining the ideas of mythical beliefs shared upon the clan for entertainment and signifying that Grendel is Cain, but one who kills more.
Chapter II
  • Grendel took the sleeping kinsmen of thanes, thirty of them to lair and killing them off
  • the clansmen knew that Grendel was lurking and was soon being hunted every night by the terrorist 
  • "tidings true to clans men"
  • The men of Herot tried to escape Grendel's wrath by sleeping elsewhere but still were murdered by the fiend
  • Grendel did this all for 12 years, terrorizing Hrothgar and his men and refused to reach an agreement with the men of Herot
  • "Grendel basically ruled all over Herot and the throne filled with darkness by Grendel's evil ways"
Chapter III
  • The Geats hear of the drastic news of Herot and later sail off to Denmark
  • A Scylding watchmen asks what they were doing and why they were there
  • The Geats say that they will slay Grendel and end his horrors of massacres
Chapter IV
  • The leader of the Geats were escorted to Herot by the watchman after explaining themselves to the guard
  • The guard said that he will protect their boat from other enemies
Chapter V
  • Hrothgar's Herald is Wulfgar
  • Beowulf announces himself as the leader of the Geat party
  • Hrothgar accepts the audience of the Geats
  • Wulfgar says that Beowulf is a strong able warrior
Chapter VI
  • Hrothgar knows Beowulf by a descendant line
  • "Beowulf's strength of thirty men"
  • Beowulf is welcomed to the Danish lands because of these attributes
  • Beowulf says that he will kill Grendel unarmed and unarmored
  • He killed off other mythical creatures before as personal experience  
Chapter VII
  • Hrothgar speaks to the Geat men about a war between their country and the Wylfings
  • He says to Beowulf that Beowulf's father slain the man of the enemy side
  • Hrothgar was young at the time to know every detail of the feud and had to pay in gold for the feud to end
  • Hrothgar explains to the Geats that Grendel and his wicked ways are haunting the men of the hall where they sleep and can't defeat the monster alone.
  • The men feasted at the table to hunt down the beast
Chapter VIII
  • Stories of Beowulf were among the Danes and the Geats
  • Unferth comes up to challenge Beowulf about the stories of staying out in the sea with a friend to fight off other creatures and the natural essence of the sea
  • Unferth worries about Beowulf facing Grendel alone
  • Flashbacks about sea venturing when Beowulf was dragged to the bottom the sea by a creature where Beowulf managed to kill the monster by sword
Chapter IX
  • Beowulf conquers the sea monsters who pounced upon sea men and lay dead on the shores
  • Beowulf was not worried about the contest that happened between his friend and the suspicions of having a conflict within the Danish nations and the Geats.
  • The same goes for Grendel who kills men out of cold blood
  • The night goes on to where Beowulf must not sleep and remain in the hall to wait for his enemy
Chapter X 
  • The king withdraws to his bed while Beowulf awaits
  • Beowulf makes it a challenge to kill the beast with no arms or armor 
  • While everyone was asleep, Beowulf wasn't
  • Grendel lurked while Beowulf waited in vain

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