2 Plan: The role of the English Literature in the Development of the world Literature

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Beowulf

The most significant of the now known works of Anglo-Saxon poetry, the poem "Beowulf" (Beowulf) has come down to us in the lists of the 10th century, and the appearance of this monument dates back to about the 8th century. The manuscript of the poem is kept in the British Museum. The first English edition of the poem was made in 1833.

“Beowulf”
The beautiful Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf” may be called the foundation-stone of all British poetry. It tells of times long before the Angles and Saxons came to Britain. There is no mention of England in it. The poem was composed around 700 by an unknown author. This was about seventy years after the death of Mohammed and in the same age as the beginning of the great Tang Dynasty in China. Three hundred years later, about the year 1000, the manuscript, which still survives, was written down by an unknown scribe. The poem presents the legendary history of the Anglo-Saxons, and its author might have been descended from the original tribes of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded Britain from the European continent in the fifth century. Those people spoke Germanic language in which the poem is written. “Beowulf” is 3182 lines long, approximately 80 or 90 pages in book length. The narrative itself falls into two halves: the first part takes place in Denmark where, coming to the aid of King Hrothgar, Beowulf fights the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother. The second part is set in Southern Sweden where, after the death of King Hygelac and his son, Heardred, Beowulf has ruled in peace and prosperity far 50 years before being called upon to combat a dragon that is terrorizing the country after having its treasure hoard looted.
“Beowulf” blends a fairy-tale narrative with considerable historical material. (Sweedish and Danish kings really ruled in the VI century).
The manuscript of “Beowulf” is in the British Museum, in London. It is impossible for a non-specialist to read it in the original, so it was translated into modern English language in the 20^th century.


VIDEO
The story of Beowulf:
Once upon a time, many-many centuries ago, there lived a king of Danes named Hrothgar. He had won many battles and gained great wealth. He built a large and beautiful palace (Heorot) and he presented costly gifts to his warriors and gave splendid banques. But the joy of the king didn’t last long. In the dark fens nearby there lived a fierce sea-monster Grendel. He wanted to destroy the palace Heorot as he disliked noise. Grendel looked like a man but was much bigger, and his whole body was covered with long hair, so thick and tough that no weapon could harm him. One night when the warriors in Heorot were asleep, Grendel rushed in, seized thirty men and devoured them. The next night the monster appeared again. The men defended themselves bravely, but their swords could not even hurt the monster. From that time no one dared to come to Heorot.
For twelve years the palace stood deserted. The news of the disaster reached Beowulf, nephew of Hygelac, king of the Jutes. Beowulf was the strongest and the bravest of all the warriors. He was said to have the strength of thirty men. He decided to help Hrothgar. With fourteen chosen companions he set sail for the country of the Danes. Hrothgar gladly welcomed Beowulf and gave a banquet in his honour. Late at night, when the feast was over, all went to sleep except Beowulf. Beowulf knew that no weapon could kill Grendel and decided to fight bare-handed.
Suddenly the man-eater rushed into the hall. He seized and devoured one of the sleeping warriors, and then approached Beowulf. A desperate hand-to-hand fight began. At first Beowulf’s courage fled:
The demon delayed not, but quickly clutched
A sleeping thane in his swift assault,
Gulped the blood, and gobbled the flesh,
Greedily gorged on the lifeless corpse,
The hands and the feet. Then the fiend stepped nearer,
Sprang on the Sea-Geat lying outstretched,
Glasping him close with his monstrous clow.
But Beowulf grappled and gripped him hard,
Struggled up on his elbow; the shepherd of sins
Soon found that never before had he felt
In any man other in all the earth
A mightier hand-grip; his mood was humbled,
His courage fled; but he found no escape!
But soon, remembering the boast he had made at the banquet and his glorious duty, Beowulf regained his courage, sprang to his feet and went on fighting. It was so terrible that the walls of the palace shook. Beowulf managed to tear off Grendel’s arm, and the monster retreated to his den howling and roaring with pain and fury. He was fatally wounded and soon died:
Each loathed the other while life should last!
There Grendel suffered a grievous hurt,
A wound in the shoulder, gaping and wide;
Sinews snapped and bone-joints broke,
And Beowulf gained the glory of battle.
Grendel, fated, fled to the fens,
To his joyless dwelling, sick unto death.
He knew in his heart that his hours were numbered
His days at an end. For all the Danes
There wish was fulfilled in the fall of Grendel.
The stranger from far, the stalwart and strong,
Had purged of evil the hall of Hrothgar,
And cleansed of crime; the heart of the hero
Joyed in the deed his daring had done.
The next night Grendel’s mother, a water-witch, came to Heorot to avenge her son’s death. While Beowulf was asleep she snatched away one of Hrothgar’s favourite warriors. Beowulf decided to kill the water-witch too. He plunged into the water and found the water-witch in her den beside the dead body of her son. A desperate fight began. At first Beowulf was nearly overcome, as his sword had no power against the monster. But fortunately his glance fell upon a huge magic sword hanging on the wall. Beowulf killed the monster with its help. Then he cut off the heads of Grendel and of the water-witch and carried them to the surface. Heorot was freed forever. Hrothgar poured treasures into Beowulf’s hands.
At last the day came for Beowulf to sail home. Everybody regretted his departure. When Beowulf arrived in his own land, he gave all the treasures he had brought to Hygelac and the people. Beowulf was admired and honoured by everybody. After the death of Hygelac, Beowulf became the king of the Jutes.
For fifty years he ruled his country wisely and well until one day a great disaster befell the happy land: every night there appeared a fire-breathing dragon who came and destroyed the villages. Remembering his glorious youth, Beowulf decided to fight and save his people, but of all his earls only Wiglaf, a brave warrior and heir to the kingdom, had the courage to help him. In a fierce battle the dragon was killed, but his flames burnt Beowulf. Beowulf ordered Wiglaf to take as much treasure as he could carry and give it to the Jutes. In his last hour he thought only of his people, for whose happiness he had sacrificed his life. Beowulf’s victory over the monsters symbolized the triumph of a man over the powers of darkness and evil.
In addition to Beowulf, examples of lyrical Anglo-Saxon poetry have been preserved. These are small poems: “The Wife’s Lament* (The Wife’s Lament, approximately the 8th century), The Husband’s Message, The Wanderer, etc. These verses were included in the Exeter Book manuscript. relating to the middle of the XI century; exact dating of the poems is difficult. The poems are interesting and significant by the power transmitted in feelings, richness of emotions and experiences. In these works, vivid pictures of the harsh northern nature, the raging sea, and the dark forest are created. The poem "Laments of Deor" (Deor's Lament, circa the 8th century) tells about the fate of a medieval singer, about the losses and misfortunes that befell him. The bitterness of disappointment, deep melancholy determine its tone.
From the end of the VI century. in connection with the spread of Catholicism in England, Christian-ecclesiastical literature in Latin developed. Its centers are the monasteries of Kent, Wessex and Northumbria, which in the Middle Ages were centers of science and education. The activities of such representatives of Christian religious poetry in the Anglo-Saxon language as Caedmon (Caedmon, 7th century) and Kynewulf (Cynewulf, 8th - early 9th century) were associated with monasteries. Of great importance was the work of the prose writer, scientist and historian Bede, nicknamed the Venerable (Bede Venerabilis, 673 - 735). He owns the creation of the "Ecclesiastical History of the English people" (Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, 731), which includes valuable information from the history of England, legends and traditions of the Anglo-Saxons. He is the author of the first works of a philological nature: "On Spelling" (De orphographia) and "On the Art of Versification" (De arte metrica). Bede has been called "the father of English history". The founder of literary prose in Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex Alfred (Alfred, 848 - 899) is considered the language.
He is known as a translator of Latin works into Anglo-Saxon and as the creator of a number of original works. Works on history and legislation that are not fiction works in the truest sense of the word, influence on the subsequent development of Anglo-Saxon prose.