A History of English Literature

much investigation we can say of the tribes and localities which appear in
it only that they are those of the region of Scandinavia and Northern
Germany. As to date, poems about a historical Beowulf, a follower of
Hygelac, could not have existed before his lifetime in the sixth century,
but there is no telling how far back the possibly mythical elements may go.
The final working over of the poem into its present shape, as has been
said, probably took place in England in the seventh or eighth century; in
earlier form, perhaps in the original brief ballads, it may have been
brought to the country either by the Anglo-Saxons or by stray 'Danes.' It
is fundamentally a heathen work, and certain Christian ideas which have
been inserted here and there, such as the mention of Cain as the ancestor
of Grendel, and the disparagement of heathen gods, merely show that one of
the later poets who had it in hand was a Christian.
The genealogical introduction of something over fifty lines (down to the
first mention of Hrothgar) has nothing to do with the poem proper; the
Beowulf there mentioned is another person than the hero of the poem. In the
epic itself we can easily recognize as originally separate stories: 1.
Beowulf's fight with Grendel. 2. His fight with Grendel's mother. 3. His
fight with the fire-drake. And of course, 4, the various stories referred
to or incidentally related in brief.
Subjects for discussion: 1. Narrative qualities, such as Movement,
Proportion, Variety, Suspense. Do the style (terse and suggestive rather
than explicit) and the tendency to digressions seriously interfere with
narrative progress and with the reader's (or listener's) understanding? 2.
Dramatic vividness of scenes and incidents. 3. Descriptive qualities. 4. Do
you recognize any specifically epic characteristics? 5. Characterization,
both in general and of individuals. 6. How much of the finer elements of
feeling does the poet show? What things in Nature does he appreciate? His
sense of pathos and humor? 7. Personal and social ideals and customs. 8.
The style; its main traits; the effect of the figures of speech; are the
things used for comparisons in metaphors and similes drawn altogether from
the outer world, or partly from the world of thought? 9. The main merits
and defects of the poem and its absolute poetic value?
Written discussions may well begin with a very brief outline of the story
(not over a single page).
3. Above, chapter II. One day.
4. 'SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT' (in translation). One day.
Preliminary, pages 57-58 above. The romance combines two stories which
belong to the great body of wide-spread popular narrative and at first had
no connection with each other: 1. The beheading story. 2. The temptation.
They may have been united either by the present author or by some
predecessor of his. Subjects for discussion: 1. Narrative qualities--Unity,
Movement, Proportion, Variety, Suspense. Is the repetition of the hunts and
of Gawain's experience in the castle skilful or the reverse, in plan and in
execution? 2. Dramatic power--how vivid are the scenes and experiences? How
fully do we sympathize with the characters? 3. Power of characterization
and of psychological analysis? Are the characters types or individuals? 4.
Power of description of scenes, persons, and Nature? 5. Character of the
author? Sense of humor? How much fineness of feeling? 6. Theme of the
story? 7. Do we get an impression of actual life, or of pure romance? Note
specific details of feudal life. 8. Traits of style, such as alliteration
and figures of speech, so far as they can be judged from the translation.
5. THE PERIOD OF CHAUCER. Above, pages 59-73. One day.