Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University. / The objective of the dissertation is to study Beowulf in the light of those narratives, customs, and beliefs of Norse Age Scandinavia and the Baltic region which occur in stories related to Beowulf. Though Beowulf is the oldest surviving member of this group of stories, the fact does not diminish its grandeur; the poem has greatness as an expression in heroic poetry of popular beliefs and customs. The dissertation undertakes a review of Finno-Ugric agricultural customs and beliefs in order to enlarge the recognized parallels of Sampsa and Peko with Scyld Scefing. By studying Finno-Ugric customs within the full agricultural cycle from spring to winter, one realizes that many more of the Finno-Ugric beliefs and customs are applicable to Beowulf. In particular the violence and blood in the Peko ceremony and the attack of monsters at Yule provide analogues to Beowulf and related stories. [TRUNCATED]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This study deals with the treatment of the senses in the telling of the story of Beowulf. The purpose is to lay the groundwork for modern readers who wish to appreciate the poem's aesthetic qualities but cannot fully relate to the poet's method of description. It is necessary to have an overall view of the manner of description used to convey sensuous experiences. The poet employs one or more concrete details to delineate the most important characteristics of his subject, thereby penetrating its essential nature. The audience imaginatively completes the rest of the picture once it has been given the most pertinent and revealing clues, similar in manner to the impressionistic outline drawings of the period. Even speeches are grounded by some tangible reference to the speaker or his situation. To enrich a passage the poet piles up several synecdochical images in variations to achieve the same effect as that produced by a diamond slowly revolved so that the light illuminates various sparkling facets from different viewpoints. Included in the variations are always a few concrete details to permit tangible apprehension of the subject. The details function thematically as well as stylistically. A visual parallel to this method, showing a similarity in the mode of perception, is that of the interlace designs in which various strands are highlighted and then submerged, enabling comparison and contrast by the juxtaposition of various elements. It is a way of presenting multiple coordinate happenings instantly. The sort of concrete details given parallel the visual arts in the featuring of head and hands. Another thematic parallel is evident in the snake motif. Visually and symbolically, the poet brings together tangible images in the contrasting movements of light-dark and vertical-horizontal. The method of description in any era depends on the way in which the people are accustomed to perceiving the world around them. In Beowulf the most significant sense is the visual9 as indicated by the numerous words of sight. Everything seen is meant to be appreciated for its own visual properties and for its importance to the people concerned. Visual attention is paid to places, characters, and treasures, underlining the important thematic concerns. The only references to color in the stark bright and dark world of the poem are provided by hints of yellow and numerous references to blood. Unlike the rest of Old English poetry in which words of brightness are twice as numerous as words of darkness, they are almost equal in Beowulf* adding to the tragic gloom. Not only climate, but also geographical features determine the sensuous responses elicited. The poet also presents settings for all the events, although they are often merely suggested, as they are in the Bayeux Tapestry, by the briefest of indications. The descriptions of the three major settings, which are all designated as "halls," are examined. There is an emphasis on the human capacity for perceiving the essence of the sensible world, which is the sphere for life's actions. The limiting factor in man's perception of the world is the curtailment of time. Acute awareness of man's transitory stay sharpens the consciousness of sensuous things and places in the poem. A study of time serves to clarify the methods by which the poet presents the succession of events and also to show how the persons in the epic react to time passage. Time is measured by reference to regularly recurrent events. Successive stages are presented in a manner similar to that of the Bayeux Tapestry. Sequential actions are often slowed down, interrupted, and speeded up again. Occurring in a kind of absolute time, descriptions of treasures serve to give the impression of much time having passed when the narrative is resumed at a late stage. The allusions and digressions often serve to present the major stages in the existence of a subject simultaneously so that its total significance can be seen. Time rhythms are counterpointed by alternations of long durations with short ones, and by the awareness of the limited finite durations with the infinite duration of eternity. Death, as the characters are poignantly aware, ends sensuous perception of the world. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Today scholarly criticism of the OE poem Andreas still addresses issues raised almost a century ago. At that time, scholars first noticed that Andreas resembled the epic Beowulf not only in narrative structure, but also in verbal expression. The apparent borrowings together with Andreas overall martial tone seemed often inapposite in their context in this saint's life, suggesting to these critics that the author of Andreas was a less than competent poet. While some scholars still judge both the Beowulf presence and the martial diction in Andreas to be signs of the poet's deficiencies, other scholars argue that, as hagiography, Andreas is not subject to the constraints of mimesis, and that the martial diction and Beowulf borrowings usually have a non-literal significance. They believe that because Andreas is therefore an allegorical narrative, the charge of mimetic incoherence is itself inappropriate. A close reading of Andreas supports this contention. The poet's martial language is an apt expression of the Christian metaphor of martiality found in Eph. 6. 10-17, and implies a consistent distinction between the soldier of Christ and the soldier of Satan. In addition, purposeful allusion to Beowulf (through intentional narrative parallels as well as through verbal duplications and echoes) enriches the portrait of the two opposing comitatus and suggests that the soldier of Christ is a more worthy ideal than his secular counterpart. These observations strongly suggest that the author of Andreas was an able poet, skilfully using the resources of Anglo-Saxon literary tradition to express his Christian theme. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Inaug.-dis.--Greifswald.

Very little of the huge corpus of Beowulf criticism has been directed at discovering the function and meaning of myth in the poem. Scholars have noted many mythological elements, but there has never been a satisfactory explanation of the poet's use of this material. A close analysis of Beowulf reveals that myth does, in fact, inform its structure, plot, characters and even imagery. More significant than the poet's use of myth, however, is the way he interlaces the historical and Christian elements with the mythological story to reflect his understanding of the cyclic nature of human existence. The examination in Chapter II of the religious component in eighth-century Anglo-Saxon culture demonstrates that the traditional Germanic religion or mythology was still very much alive. Thus the Beowulf poet was certainly aware of pre-Christian beliefs. Furthermore, he seems to have perceived basic similarities between the old and new religions, and this understanding is reflected in the poem. Chapter III discusses the way in which the characterization of the monsters is enriched by their mythological connotations. Chapter IV demonstrates that the poet also imbued the hero Beowulf with mythological significance. The discussion in Chapter V of themes and type-scenes reveals the origins of these formulaic elements in Indo-European myth, particularly in the myth of the dying god. Chapter VI argues that both historical and mythological layers of meaning reflect traditional man's view of history as cyclic, a temporal period with a beginning and an end. At the juncture between end and beginning is conflict, which is necessary for regeneration. The interlacing of Christian, historical and mythic elements suggests the impossibility of extricating the individual and collective historical manifestations from the cosmic imperative of this cycle. The Beowulf poet perhaps saw in the ancient myths which permeated his cultural traditions the basis of meaning of human existence.

This essay argues that the Anglo-Saxon poet of Beowulf presents the reader with a series of paradoxes and attempts to find a balance within these paradoxes. At the forefront is the paradox of past and present, explored through the influence of the past on the characters in the poem as well as the poet. Additionally, the poem offers the paradox of light and dark, which ultimately suggests light and dark as symbols of Christianity and paganism. Finally, the land and the sea offer the third primary paradox, indicating the relationship that the characters and poet had with land and sea, while also reflecting the other paradoxes in the poem. The result is the desire to find balance within the paradoxes through the recognition of ongoing tension.

No description available.