Scarica A NARRATIVE POEM AND BEOWULF e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! ( ) e A NARRATIVE POEM A narrative poem is a literary form very popular in medieval times. It tells a story in verse, so it contains narrative elements, but its form is poetic. The narrative elements are: - a narrator, usually in the first person; - a precise setting in time and place; - a precise description of the characters, like their aspects, their psychology or their experiences. The aim was to entertain the readers and also to instruct them, promoting the moral views and the values of the time. The narrative poem is also important because it provides a description of the social structure of the time and its changes. The greatest example of a narrative poem is “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, also known as “father of English poetry. It is told in verse, it contains a variety of narrative elements and it has links with the moral views of the time. Chaucer wanted to give a portrait of English society but using irony, indeed some features of the character are exaggerated, the religious aspects are put in second place and all the characters are stereotype and members of the new middle class. His structure is made by: - a longue general prologue; - 24 tales, usually preceded by a prologue, which introduces the theme of the tale and sometimes followed by an epilogue. Chaucer created a literary language shaped by French and Latin models THE DATE “Beowulf” is the oldest epic poem written in English more than 1200 years ago. It is anonymous and composed in the first half of the 8*" century. It was probably composed as an elegy for a king. Lastly, it was written down only in the 11% century. It deals with the time of the invasion of England by Germanic Tribes. THE SETTINGS The characters were: - Beowulf, his retainer, Wiglaf and the Eorls who are the Geats; - King Hrothgar, who is Dane; - Grendel, the monster and his mother. - A dragon. The first actions take place in Denmark, ruled by the king. Later, Beowulf dives into a misty lake. The last part of the poem takes place in the land of the Geats in Sweden. THE PLOT The poem is divided into three parts. First of all, in Denmark there was a King called Hrothgar that built a great hall where his warriors can gather. But a terrible monster, Grendel, terrorised the Danes every night. Fortunately, Beowulf, a hero that was not afraid to die and had the hability to put his people's welfare before his own, arrived and decided to defeat Grendel. He slept in the hall and when Grendel came, he fights against the monster and killed him. But Grendel's mother, who lived in a desolate lake, wanted to revenge her son but, Beowulf, killed also the mother. Then, he became King of the Geats bringing prosperity to his country. After many years, he had to fight, again, against a fire-breathing dragon. He killed the monster but is mortally wounded. According to Beowulf's wishes, his warriors burn his body on a huge funeral and then bury him in a barrow overlooking the sea. THE THEMES This epic poem describes a warrior society. The values of that were: - the loyalty, between the king and his warriors, indeed, they defend their king in returns of gold, silver or simply food; - the revenge; - physical strength and courage; - the search of glory; the importance of fate. THE LANGUAGE OF EPIC STYLE lt contains only Christian elements because the pagan's one were removed. Beowulf contains the typical elements of the epic style. There is: - alotof repetition; - speeches are often followed by phrases such as “thus he spoke”; - kenning;
