Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to lesson four of epic poetry with me, Miss Kuhivchak.

Today's lesson, we're looking at Beowulf's arrival.

Last lesson, we looked a bit at the history of the poem Beowulf and how it came to exist.

Today, we're going to focus on the character of Beowulf, and think about how he conforms to the idea of being an epic hero.

I hope you're ready to learn, and I hope you enjoy.

Now, as usual, for this lesson, you will need three things.

You'll need something to write with, something to write on, and your brain to be switched on.

The lesson will still work if you don't have a pen and paper, but it's a good idea to get one if you can.

So if you don't have one, pause the video now and go and get one.

I'm going to take you through today's agenda.

We are going to remind ourselves of what makes the qualities of an epic hero.

We're then going to look at where Beowulf's character actually comes from.

Then we're going to examine some extracts, say, some short pieces of poetry that show us how Beowulf is presented.

Then you're going to do some work to summarise your thoughts on what kind of a hero Beowulf is.

At the end, as usual, there'll be a quiz for you to review and test your learning.

Our first task is think back to the previous lesson where we thought about what makes an epic hero.

Try to remember some of the qualities that an epic hero needed to have.

You can jot those thoughts down in some quick bullet points, or do a small mind map, or just have a think and remember back to the lesson.

Pause the video if you need to.

Hopefully, you remembered some of what we did last lesson.

You might have remembered that one of the qualities of an epic hero was strength.

You'll see an image of a sword on the side, as this is usually strength in battle.

Not always physical strength, but mental strength as well.

You'll also see an image of a prize, a cup.

That's because epic heroes often are on a quest for glory.

They want some kind of reputation to be remembered forever.

Another quality of an epic hero, which we didn't touch on last lesson, which is new, is the idea that epic heroes often need respect from others.

They need to be strong leaders.

This means they need to be good friends with other warriors or to have followers who are loyal to them.

Of course, epic heroes usually have some kind of flaw.

Some kind of imperfection in their personality.

You might remember we talked about the fact that they might have a temper or they might really like to boast and be quite proud characters.

Finally, an epic hero needs to be noble.

That means they need to possibly come from a royal family or have some kind of background that makes them important.

Along with that, they need to follow a strict code of honour, usually, one that the society they lives in think is important.

Remember, we would need a character like Beowulf to have physical and mental strength.

He would need to show leadership with his men.

He will have some kind of flaw, like a temper or boastfulness.

He will need to be noble, and finally, he will have a desire for reputation and for glory.

Let's think about where Beowulf's character actually comes from.

On the screen, you'll see a small map of Europe.

Beowulf's character is a Scandinavian character.

You will see a green circle up here.

Now, that green circle shows us where Beowulf is from.

We think that he originated from somewhere in Sweden.

He comes from a tribe called the Geats, and he travels over the ocean to Hrothgar's kingdom.

That's why you'll see that symbol of a boat.

Now, of course, the reason he travels to the kingdom is because he wants to gain the glory and reputation that will come from killing Grendel the monster.

This again shows us how keen Beowulf is to win a reputation and that makes him heroic.

He also takes with him loyal followers.

This shows that he has qualities of leadership.

His men are keen to come with him because they trust that he's a good leader.

Finally, the outcome of this is he will become famous not only among his own tribe, but among others.

That's what the character of Beowulf really desires.

We're going to look at the first extract from Beowulf.

We are going to think about how this extract, say, this short piece of poetry, shows that Beowulf is an epic hero.

This is the very first description we have of the character in the whole poem.

What I find interesting about this, is that we are not actually given Beowulf's name.

The poet hints at who he is, but doesn't tell us outright.

We are simply told about his reputation that he already has.

So not only are we given a character who's a little bit mysterious, we know that he must already be someone of significance.

Now, underneath, you'll see a vocabulary list that explains some of the vocabulary you will see in this extract.

I'm going to read you the extract first, and then I will explain what it means.

The poet tells us about the time that Beowulf hears of Grendel's attacks.

So a faraway land, he hears about these attacks and he thinks that maybe he will start to travel to this other place.

So, we are told, "This was heard of at his home by one of Hygelac's followers, a good man among the Geats, Grendel's raidings.

He was for main strength of all men foremost that trod the earth at that time of day.

Build and blood matched." Now, I'm going to explain what this means.

Firstly, we're told that he hears the story of Grendel's raidings.

That he, the good man, he was among the Geats.

We work out that that must be Beowulf.

We are told that he has main strength of all men foremost, that trod the earth at that time of day.

By foremost, that means the first or top.

The most well-known for his strength.

And finally, we're told that build and blood matched, which means his physical strength matches his noble background.

Now, I'd like you to pause here and think about, how are we shown already that Beowulf is an epic hero? You might want to think about some of the keywords here that show that he's heroic or some of the key ideas.

Pause the video, and just write down the key ideas here that show that Beowulf is epic.

Now, there might have been a few different things that you picked up, and there are some icons on the screen to help you.

First, we're told by the poet that Beowulf is a good man.

We already are told the positive aspects of his character as soon as we meet him.

Secondly, we're told he is, of all men, foremost.

That means he's the best man around at that time.

That's a really strong statement when you think there must be other warriors available.

But the poet is really clear that he is the strongest and best candidate for this job.

Finally, we're told that he has build and blood that matches, which means that Beowulf is not just physically strong, but he comes from a noble family.

Therefore, he's clearly somebody who has the potential to be an epic hero.

Well done if you picked up any of those ideas from this extract.

You may well have found some others.

If you did, fantastic.

We're now going to look at a second extract.

Now this one is interesting because this is Beowulf himself speaking.

This is him speaking to Hrothgar's when he arrives and he explains not only who he is and why he's there, but he explains some of his past exploits, some of his past deeds.

He explains that in the past, he had already achieved greatness, and therefore, he will definitely be successful in the future.

Now, of course, that does sound a little bit boastful.

Hmm.

I'm going to read the extract and explain some of the vocabulary in it as well.

We've got the word bane, which means enemy, as well as troll, which means monster.

I'm going to read it to you, and I want you to listen how Beowulf describes his previous encounters with monsters.

He says that his men have seen his reputation already, and they can prove to the king that he is the one for the job.

He tells Hrothgar, "These men knew well the weight of my hands.

Had they not see me come home from fights, where I had bound five giants, their blood was upon me, cleaned out a nest of them? Had I not crushed on the wave sea serpents by night in narrow struggle, broken the beasts? The bane of the Geats, they had asked for their trouble.

And shall I not try a single match with this monster Grendel, a trial against this troll?" Now, think about the tone that Beowulf uses, as well as the descriptions he has of these battles that he's already thought.

Pause the video and think again, how does this show that Beowulf has the potential to be an epic hero? You might want to pick out some keywords, do some bullet points, or a little mind map.

It's up to you.

There might have been a few things that you picked out.

The first thing that's interesting here, is Beowulf says that his men knew well his past deeds.

Beowulf boasts that he is heroic because he already has a heroic reputation.

He says that his men can prove it because they've already seen it.

Therefore, Beowulf suggests because he's already done something heroic, he won't have a problem doing it again.

He is boasting, very confidently, that he's going to be successful.

Secondly, he takes the time to explain that he bound five giants.

One isn't enough for Beowulf.

He managed five.

All on his own.

Again, he's clearly boasting about his heroic achievements.

Finally, when he describes fighting monsters, he says he's broken the beasts.

Again, he's boasting about winning valiantly through using his strength, which we know is another epic hero quality.

We have one final extract to look at.

This extract is from part of the most exciting section of the epic.

This is the description of when Beowulf finally encounters Grendel.

When he encounters Grendel, one important thing is that he chooses not to use weapons, but he fights the monster with his bare hands.

There is the description of Beowulf fighting him, and Beowulf is so strong that he actually tears Grendel's arm from its socket.

Listen to this description, and think about how again it shows that Beowulf is an epic hero.

There's some vocabulary on the side to help you.

He's described as his kinsman, which means the son of Hygelac.

A breach is a break.

Flesh-frame is a phrase describing Grendel's body.

Lot means fate, and flagging means growing tired.

Listen to how Beowulf defeats Grendel and makes him sound even more heroic.

"Hygelac's great-hearted kinsman had him by the hand and hateful to each was the breath of the other.

A breach in the giant's flesh-frame showed then, shoulder muscles sprang apart.

There was a snapping of tendons, bone-locks burst.

To Beowulf, the glory of this fight was granted.

Grendel's lot to flee the slopes fen-ward with flagging heart to a den where he knew there could be no relief, no refuge for a life at its very last stage whose surrender-day had dawned.

The Danish hopes in this fatal fight had found their answer." Now, have a think about how this section of the poem makes Beowulf sound heroic.

You might want to pull out some keywords or some key ideas, make some notes on your piece of paper, and then we'll talk about how it shows again that Beowulf is clearly an epic hero.

Pause the video.

Now, there might have been a few different things that you pulled out here.

You might have noticed that initially, we have this description of Beowulf as great-hearted.

An epithet that makes Beowulf seem strong and noble.

We know he's related to the King Hygelac, which again gives us that nobility of background, which we know is important for an epic hero.

We then have the description of the battle, where Beowulf tears Grendel's shoulder with his bare hands.

We're told that his shoulder muscles sprang apart.

That demonstrates that Beowulf is unusually strong.

He didn't even need a weapon to kill Grendel.

All he needed to do was grab him by the shoulder.

Finally, we have the description of Beowulf as winning glory.

He's clearly the winner in this battle, and that is the objective of any epic hero.

To win a reputation far and wide.

The poet is really clear that Beowulf is the victor and Grendel slinks off to his den to die miserably, and quietly, and alone.

We've looked at three different sections of the poem, and we've talked about how he's shown to be an epic hero in a few different ways.

At this point, I think it's a good idea if you sum up in three to five sentences, how Beowulf is presented as an epic hero in the poem overall.

If you're not sure how to start, don't worry.

I'm going to give you a hand.

On the screen, you'll see a few sentences that you can finish off to help you put your ideas together.

The first sentence is, the first way that Beowulf is presented as an epic hero is-- We also see him presented as an epic hero when-- As well as this, he is presented as flawed because-- And to sum up, Beowulf is presented as an epic hero overall because-- Think about the different sections we've read together, pause the video, and finish those off.

Now, let's look at what you could have said, and what kinds of ideas you could have put together.

These are my examples, but you might have some different answers written down, and that's absolutely fine.

I've put the first way that Beowulf is presented as an epic hero, is that he's a noble warrior with a royal background.

We also see him presented as an epic hero when he defeats Grendel using only his bare hands.

As well as this, he's presented as flawed because he boasts about his past deeds and his future achievements.

And to sum up, Beowulf is presented as an epic hero overall, because he's a powerful warrior.

He wins his reputation in battle.

Now, don't worry, if you didn't get everything that's written on here.

These were just my ideas and you might have had some different ones.

The important thing is you understand how Beowulf is definitely an epic hero because of the way he behaves.

Next time, we're going to look, instead of Beowulf, at Grendel.

We're going to think how Grendel is presented within the poem.

You'll also have a slightly different activity to really think about the description of him, and how you might, in fact, create a monster of your own.

To recap everything that we've done today, we've gone back over what makes an epic hero, and we talked about where Beowulf's character actually comes from.

We then looked at three different extracts, which showed us how Beowulf was presented.

As usual, there is a quiz at the end of this lesson.

I hope you'll use it to review your learning and see how much brilliant work you've done today.

Thank you for listening.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy the rest of your learning for today.