Beowulf is the longest epic poem in Old English, written between the 8th Beowulf and the early 11th century. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet. It is centred around the heroic deeds of a great warrior, who kills monsters and fights all kinds of different enemies, including a dragon.
 The story highlights the values traditionally associated with the epic genre: courage in battle, loyalty to one’s chief and people, strength, generosity and endurance. The poem is set in Scandinavia.
 This adaptation is written in modern narrative form and contains dossiers about epic poetry, the language used, and the historical and cultural context.
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Key to Summing-up Activities.
 
 Beowulf è il più lungo poema in Old English. Narra le eroiche imprese di un grande e valoroso guerriero che uccide mostri e combatte contro nemici di ogni genere, tra cui un terribile drago. La storia esalta tutti i valori tradizionalmente associati all’epica: coraggio, lealtà, generosità e resilienza. Una stimolante lettura che offre anche approfondimenti sulla poesia epica, la lingua usata, e riferimenti al periodo storico e culturale.

Beowulf: Presentation

Chapter 1 – Grendel the Monster

Extension: Epic poetry

Chapter 2 – Grendel’s Death

Extension: The Anglo-Saxons

Chapter 3 – The End of the Monster

Extension: The language of Beowulf

Chapter 4 – The King and the Dragon

Extension: Graves and treasure

Chapter 5 – Beowulf’s Barrow

Extension: Beowulf ’s influence

Summing-up activities

Glossary

E X T E N S I O N BEOWULF S INFLUENCE S. Heaney s verse translation of Beowulf. J.R.R. Tolkien s The Hobbit. Beowulf, the oldest poem in English literature, was written about 1,200 years ago, but it is still popular with the public because it has always been a source of interest and inspiration for writers, filmmakers and even creators of video games. There are many translations of Beowulf into Modern English, both in prose and in verse. The most famous poetic version is probably the one published in 1999 by the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. He imitated the style of AngloSaxon verse and used alliteration instead of rhyme. But already in 1926, the famous English writer J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973)   who was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University   had written a prose translation of Beowulf. However, it was only published in 2014. Tolkien openly admitted that he had taken inspiration from the poem for the creation of his best-known books The Hobbit (first published in 1937) and The Lord of the Rings (first published in 1954). So, for example, Smaug, the evil dragon that Bilbo Baggins defeats in The Hobbit, is clearly modelled on the dragon that Beowulf kills, and by whom he is killed at the end of the poem. Also the courage and loyalty, the generosity and endurance1 of the good characters in The Lord of the Rings remind us of the noble qualities of Beowulf. 1. endurance: the ability to tolerate a difficult or unpleasant situation. 82 

In more modern times, writers Steven Barnes, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven have used the poem as a starting point to write two science fiction novels set2 in Heorot, the mead-hall of King Hrothgar. They are called The Legacy of Heorot (1987) and Beowulf  s Children (1995). In 1971 the American author John Gardner wrote Grendel, a novel in which the monster himself tells the story from his point of view. There have also been comics3, such as Beowulf: Dragon Slayer (published from 1975 to 1976), which mixed the myth of Beowulf with science fiction and legends of different origins. Various films have taken inspiration from the poem. The story, however, has generally been modified in order to adapt it to the taste of a modern public. A first example is Beowulf, a film made in 1999   starring Christopher Lambert   which is set in a post-apocalyptic future and is a mix between science fiction and fantasy. Then, there is Beowuf and Grendel, released in 2005, in which the monster Grendel becomes a poor gigantic man, persecuted by a cruel Hrothgar. In 2007, Robert Zemeckis directed Beowulf, a computer animated film in 3D. In this adaptation, Grendel s monstrous mother becomes a beautiful witch4 who has a son with Beowulf   the dragon that will kill him in the end. This film also inspired the creation of a computer game, Beowulf: The Game, which is a hack and slash5 video game for various platforms. In 2017, even a new card game, Beowulf Legends - Terror in Heorot, appeared. It is another demonstration of how vital and much loved the Geat hero still is. 2. set (set-set-set): it means that the action has taken place in a particular place or time. 3. comics: magazines or books in which a story is told through pictures with very little written text. 4. witch: a woman who has evil magical powers and practises black magic. 5. hack and slash: a type of computer or table game based on combat, especially with swords or other cutting weapons, as opposed to firearms. 83 

"Beowulf," il più lungo poema in Old English, narra le eroiche imprese di un guerriero. Con approfondimenti su epica, lingua, valori tradizionali

Beowulf Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

Beowulf

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