Working parents and the revolution at home was originally written by arlie russell hochschild with anne machung in 1989 and revised in 2012 using more recent data. Beowulf hunts her down and swims to the bottom of a fiery lake to kill her. The seafarer is one of the most famous anglosaxon elegies and is found only in the exeter book. His glory is waning, and other feudal lords are rising up around him. By continuing well assume you board with our cookie policy.
He builds a great meadhall, called heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. So what happens when the boy he meets in the bread and peanut butter aisle. In the previous chapter, grendel accepts his prescribed role in the beowulf epic. Scylds funeral is a memorable early ritual in the work, but focus soon shifts to the reign of his greatgrandson, hrothgar, whose successful rule is symbolized by a. Young heroism compared to older heroism every mythical tale has a hero who faces darkness, the unknown, and the evil. Beowulf swims back to the surface of the lake, where his warriors are overjoyed to see him. Eventually, however, a young geatish warrior named beowulf hears of hrothgars plight. If you are familiar with seamus heaneys translation of beowulf. Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for beowulfs father ecgtheow, accepts beowulfs offer to fight grendel and holds a feast in the heros honor. Beowulf leaves his kingdom to wiglaf, the only knight to come to his aid. Also explains the historical and literary context that influenced beowulf. The translation is powerful, moving, and makes my man beo look somewhat less like an arrogant fool. In the second part of the poem, set many years later, higlac is dead, and. Beowulf sparknotes literature guide and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
King hrothgar, the ruler of the danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named grendel. Hochschild conducted detailed interviews and home observations of 50 working couples raising children under six years of age to see how they balanced. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon. Beowulfs defeat of grendels mother demonstrates remarkable courage and perseverance. The coming of beowulf the horrific stories of grendel reaches the ears of beowulf, the strongest of living men, kin of hygelac, in his home with the geats. Following the death of grendel, grendels mother is understandably griefstricken and set on revenge. The second shift describes the problems created by expectations placed on women who work fulltime but also take on the bulk of the household duties. The seafarer is a 124line poem written in old english that scholars often view as a companion piece to the wanderer. I would recommend this for a refresher if you havent read beowulf for a long time. Very little anglosaxon literature has survived, and beowulf comprises roughly 10% of all surviving anglosaxon literature the. Grendel understands that he alone exists, that everything else in the world is merely what he pushes against or what pushes back against him.
From humble beginnings as a foundling discovered at sea, he rises to great power and is honored and paid tribute by many. Beowulf decides to sail to scyld to help hrothgar, and sets out with fourteen men after viewing the omens. Grendels mother stabs beowulf with a knife, but his mail shirt blocks the blow. The translation is accompanied in this edition by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. Summaries of beowulf lectures introduction to beowulf, september 10, 2014 keywords. The advantage of fighting on familiar terrain within the boundaries of human societyan advantage that beowulf enjoys in his encounter against grendelis now lost. Beowulf is an epic poem written at some point between the eighth century and the eleventh century. In this landmark study, sociologist arlie hochschild takes us into the homes of twocareer parents to observe what really goes on at the end of the work day.
Every night, grendel attacks king hrothgars wealthy meadhall, heorot, killing danish warriors and sometimes even eating them. It is the second year of grendels raids on the danes. Beowulf is cremated on his funeral pyre overlooking the sea, and then he is buried in a barrow containing the dragons treasure. He lives in geatland, a realm not far from denmark, in what is now southern sweden. In particular, i used the section summaries to focus on comparing beowulf s three battles and the treatment of women at the time. Hochschild finds that men share housework equally with their wives in only twenty percent of dualcareer families. A line of the poem actually consists of two halflines with a caesura pause between them. A summary in english prose university of pittsburgh. The change is noticeable in the shape of the text on the page. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
Beowulf had a ship outfitted for the journey, then chose fifteen warriors to accompany him. Seeking to avenge the death of her son and recover his claw, the mother attacks heorot the next night, surprising everyone. Beowulf boyxboy, werewolfbook 1 completed werewolf complete beowulf is a 17yearold who just wants to be a boxer. At this time, beowulf, nephew of the geatish king hygelac, is the greatest hero in the world.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the last battle by c. On the second day the sailors caught sight of gleaming cliffs and broad headlands. Beowulf probably was composed in england sometime in the eighth century ad and written down circa ad by a literate scop bard or perhaps a christian scribe who was possibly educated in a monastery. Beowulf cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test.
Beowulf s defeat of grendels mother demonstrates remarkable courage and perseverance. He is dead by the time the story begins, but he lives on through the noble reputation that he made for himself during his life and in his dutiful sons remembrances. In the morning, beowulf tracks her to a dark, swampy mere where she and her son live in a cave at the bottom of the lake. Inspired by the challenge, beowulf sails to denmark with a small company of men, determined to defeat grendel. Having this in mind, the best summary of beowulfs last words would be b. Beowulf fights and narrowly defeats grendel, aided by god and by his valiant decision to meet grendel in handtohand combat. Which of the following is the best summary of beowulfs. Which of the following events is most important in beowulfs career as leader of the geats. A king of the geats, father of higlac and grandfather of beowulf. He manages to kill the dragon, but the poison from the bite kills beowulf. When beowulf hears tales of the destruction wrought by grendel, he decides to travel to the land of the danes and help hrothgar defeat the demon. The fiend grendel has been defeated, his arm and claw hang in the rafters of heorot as proof and as a trophy, and beowulf is being celebrated as the hero he is. Though he has consistently employed a mix of tones and diction, ranging from contemporary swearwords to mockepic epithets, these pages go even further. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible.
He is dead by the time the story begins, but he lives on through the noble reputation that he made for. Beowulf sees enormous amounts of treasure in grendels mothers lair, but all he takes are the jewelinlaid hilt of the melted sword and grendels severed head. Beowulf modern english translation by anonymous poetry. Beowulf then notices, lying among the armor on the cave floor, an old sword made by giants so large few could use it. All retire to rest, beowulf, as it were, sleeping upon his arms. Navigate here prelude of the founder of the danish house chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter chapter 14 chapter 15 chapter 16 chapter 17 chapter 18 chapter 19 chapter 20 chapter 21 chapter 22 chapter 23 chapter 24 chapter.
Were here to offer a brief overview of the plot of beowulf, along with some interpretations of the poem. I teach beo to my hs juniors and wish i could buy one for all 80 of them. He grabs the sword and strikes grendels mother, slicing through her neck. Scyld scefing is the first of the great kings of the speardanes. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis.
Now the geats know their time is limited as a kingdom because they dont have the powerful beowulf leading them anymore. The poem was created in the oralformulaic tradition or oral poetic method, probably developing over a period of time with roots in folk tales and traditional. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad. King hrothgar of denmark, a descendant of the great king shield sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. Beowulf characters from sparknotes flashcards quizlet. Amazon second chance pass it on, trade it in, give it a second life. The first few pages of chapter 7 mark a radical shift in the style in which grendel narrates his story. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of beowulf and what it means. The early english epic beowulf is filled with a marvelous hero, ghastly villains, far off lands, and deeds of great valor. Fortunately, a young geat warrior named beowulf travels to heorot hall. This book is image rich with artifacts discovered in the lands where the beowulf story derives from. Fatima shaikh june 17, 2009 sociology 111 randles reading response in arlie hochschilds book called the second shift, she talks about women that come back from work and do housework andor childcare in what she terms the second shift.
Driven by the wind, the ship sped across the waves. The second part of beowulf picks up after the first part ends, around line 1008 and extends through to about line 1924 or so. Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now hes an old king and cant seem to protect his people. Old english, translation, kingship most of this class was background to old english and to the poem, but there are a few useful things to remember about old english poetry and about beowulf we talked about what it means to translate a work, in terms of language old. The second shift is a great book about a mundane, but fascinating topic. History beowulf is the earliest major work in english. But, the next night grendels mother comes looking for revenge.
From the old testament, he is the brother of cain, also killed by cain, progenitor of mankind and humanity goodness. At this point, beowulf begins a rollercoaster ride of wild emotional ups and. The book beowulf starts in the land of danes, the king named hrothgar decides to built a great hall of victory. Beowulf s father, hygelacs brotherinlaw, and hrothgars friend. The geats return to heorot hall, taking grendels enormous severed head with them. He doesnt do relationships anymore, and he is homophobic. Grendel comes, the great marchstepper, bearing gods anger.
The first few pages of chapter 7 mark a radical shift in the style in which. Which of the following statements best supports the idea that beowulf was an epic hero. We are members of a great, proud, and dying group of people. Which of the following is the best summary of beowulfs last.
These are someof the reasons why beowulf is a great example of an early english epic. Throughout the book theresa deals with four patients who each have a life threatening disease. Exeter book the seafarer summary and analysis gradesaver. The second shift reading response linkedin slideshare. A story of blood and beer and sweat, which strips away the mask of the heromyth, leaving a raw and tangled tale. Overwhelmingly, she discovers, its the working mother who takes on the second shift. The fiend grendel has been defeated, his arm and claw. Well start with a brief summary of beowulf before proceeding to some textual analysis and critical reading. Nothing seems to matter anymore, and eventually grendel falls asleep. After a huge feast at heorot a monster from the fen attacks the hall leaving it after reading the book beowulf.
The poet also sometimes shifts the point of view in the midst of an action in. Having this in mind, the best summary of beowulf s last words would be b. A verse translation second edition norton critical editions daniel donoghue. Beowulf boyxboy, werewolfbook 1 completed chapter 1. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Summary the shift is based on the real life experience of theresa brown during one of her shifts working as a nurse. In the following example, notice how the words of the first halfline alliterate with each other and the first word of the second halfline. Beowulf is considered to be the oldest surviving example of english literature, having been composed sometime around the 7th century, likely written down in the 11th century. Beowulf is a man caught between sides in this great shift, his simple code transforming and falling apart before his eyes. Thanks to this translation, placed right near the original text, readers can now appreciate the battle of good and evil that unfolds between the wise and heroic beowulf. He built herot, the great hall in denmark and was terrorized by grendels violent massacres upon his people, until beowulfs arrival and murder of grendel. This study guide consists of approximately 28 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of beowulf the warrior. Summaries of beowulf lectures introduction to beowulf.
Beowulfs father, hygelacs brotherinlaw, and hrothgars friend. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. William shakespeare and his works are known all over the world. Hrothgar tells beowulf that he must depend on him a second time to rid heorot of a demon. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in beowulf, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Beowulf no fear literature series by sparknotes, paperback.
The bull continues to attack grendel, but grendel ceases to pay attention. But just when beowulf seems to have narrowly avoided death, he must fight a second demon, grendels mother. A skilled mariner pointed out the landmarks to them. Liuzzas translation of beowulf, first published by broadview in 1999, has been widely praised for its accuracy and beauty. Most people know that the poem documents the struggle of the title. The audience sees how a heros development is influenced with each monster a he faces in the tale. Wulfgar spake, the wendles chieftain, whose might of mind to many was known, his courage and counsel. Mythical son of edgetho, higlacs nephew and followerbound warrior. Lynsey nguyen ruth benander english literature 15 october 2012 beowulf. We are members of a great, proud, and dying group of.
This second encounter prompts a change of scene in the poem, drawing the hero out of the safety of the meadhall and into the dark, alien, suggestive world of his adversaries. I have given this book away twice to students who are especially smitten by beowulf and plan to do so again. The second shift by arlie hochschild, with anne machung a readers guide for the sociology of gender. Historical appendices include related legends, stories, and religious writings from both christian and anglosaxon traditions. Beowulf is an epic because it has action that consists of deeds of great valor, the setting of. In the original beowulf, alliteration is used in almost every line. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Although beowulf is a masterpiece of early english literature, written approximately between 975 and 1025, the unfamiliar dialect makes this epic poem difficult to understand.
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