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Beowulf (Medieval): Poems
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Beowulf (Medieval) also shows up in the Retriever categories:
Beowulf (Parallel Computing) , and more.
Beowulf (Parallel Computing) , and more.
For Beowulf is the work of a Christian poet. In the nineteenth century, when every country in Europe was searching for or even creating its glorious pagan past, it used to be fashionable to deplore the Christian elements in the poem and to blame them on a "monkish interpolator." Noble and rugged paganism unweakened by Christian "sentiment" had to be discovered in the old documents, even at the cost of violence to the poetry.
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In the hands of Sturla Gunnarsson, Beowulf and Grendel is a masterful film that fleshes out the decidedly one-sided epic poem, bringing Grendel to life with a humanity and warmth that adds layers of meaning to the old tale. By Kim Voynar.
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The epic poem Beowulf reflects many of the ideas and values of the Anglo-Saxon society. The epic is largely based on a warrior type of society, where the society is led by a strong leader, and life revolved around the communal or the mead-hall. Many universal themes are ... prevalent throughout Beowulf, and one such theme is that of good prevailing over evil. This is a theme which is reiterated throughout the epic, and is also in itself, a key to understanding the values of Anglo-Saxon society.
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![[graphic: Beowulf tearing off Grendel's arm]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/b/e/o/beowulf-medieval/i/043.jpg)
Beowulf is both the first English literary masterpiece and one of the earliest European epics written in the vernacular, or native language, instead of literary Latin. The [S]tory survives in one fragile manuscript copied by two scribes near the end of the 10th or the first quarter of the 11th century. Until quite recently, most scholars thought that this surprisingly complex and poignant poem was written in the 8th century or earlier, but Kevin Kiernan stirred up controversy in 1981 by asserting that the work was composed in the 11th century, and that the manuscript itself may have even been the author's working copy.
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This version of Beowulf is organized in 17 parts. Within some of the sections, there are digressions and tales which do not, strictly speaking, belong to the central plot. These sections, (called "lays"), have been enhanced by an echo effect to help the listener detect them. Preceding the poem is an introduction by Henry Bradley.
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While Beowulf was older than 90 when he fought the dragon in the epic poem, life in the 6th century was short and turbulent. Because of the infant death rate and early mortality rate, life expectancy was in the low to mid 30s.
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