首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Historical Background → The epic poem Beowulf, written in Old English, is the earliest existing Germanic epic and one of fou
Historical Background → The epic poem Beowulf, written in Old English, is the earliest existing Germanic epic and one of fou
admin
2012-01-14
64
问题
Historical Background
→ The epic poem Beowulf, written in Old English, is the earliest existing Germanic epic and one of four surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Although Beowulf was written by an anonymous Englishman in Old English, the tale takes place in that part of Scandinavia from which Germanic tribes emigrated to England. Beowulf comes from Geatland, the southeastern part of what is now Sweden. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, lives near what is now Leire, on Zealand, Denmark’s largest island. The Beowulf epic contains three major tales about Beowulf and several minor tales that reflect a rich Germanic oral tradition of myths, legends, and folklore.
→ The Beowulf warriors have a foot in both the Bronze and Iron Ages. Their mead-halls reflect the wealthy living of the Bronze Age Northmen, and their wooden shields, wood-shafted spears, and bronze-hilted swords are those of the Bronze Age warrior. However, they carry iron-tipped spears, and their best swords have iron or iron-edged blades. Beowulf also orders an iron shield for his fight with a dragon. Iron replaced bronze because it produced a blade with a cutting edge that was stronger and sharper. The Northmen learned how to forge iron in about 500 B.C. Although they had been superior to the European Celts in bronze work, it was the Celts who taught them how to make and design iron work. Iron was accessible everywhere in Scandinavia, usually in the form of "bog-iron" found in the layers of peat in peat bogs.
The Beowulf epic also reveals interesting aspects of the lives of the AngloSaxons who lived in England at the time of the anonymous Beowulf poet. The Germanic tribes, including the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, invaded England from about A.D. 450 to 600. By the time of the Beowulf.poet, AngloSaxon society in England was neither primitive nor uneu tured A
→ Although the Beowulf manuscript was written in about A.D. 1000, it was not discovered until the seventeenth century. B Scholars do not know whether Beowulf is the sole surviving epic from a flourishing Anglo-Saxon literary period that produced other great epics or whether it was unique even in its own time.C Many scholars think that the epic was probably written sometime between the late seventh century and the early ninth century. If they are correct, the original manuscript was probably lost during the ninth-century Viking invasions of Anglia, in which the Danes destroyed the Anglo-Saxon monasteries and their great libraries. However, other scholars think that the poet’s favorable attitude toward the Danes must place the epic’s composition after the Viking invasions and at the start of the eleventh century, when this Beowulf manuscript was written.
→ The identity of the Beowulf poet is also uncertain. D He apparently was a Christian who loved the pagan heroic tradition of his ancestors and blended the values of the pagan hero with the Christian values of his own country and time. Because he wrote in the Anglian dialect, he probably was either a monk in a monastery or a poet in an Anglo-Saxon court located north of the Thames River.
Appeal and Value
Beowulf interests contemporary readers for many reasons. First, it is an outstanding adventure story. Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are marvelous characters, and each fight is unique, action-packed, and exciting. Second, Beowulf is a very appealing hero. He is the perfect warrior, combining extraordinary strength, skill, courage, and loyalty. Like Hercules, he devotes his life to making the world a safer place. He chooses to risk death in order to help other people, and he faces his inevitable death with heroism and dignity. Third, the Beowulf poet is interested in the psychological aspects of human behavior. For example, the Danish hero’s welcoming speech illustrates his jealousy of Beowulf. The behavior of Beowulf’s warriors in the dragon fight reveals their cowardice. Beowulf’s attitudes toward heroism reflect his maturity and experience, while King Hrothgar’s attitudes toward life show the experiences of an aged nobleman.
Finally, the Beowulf poet
exhibits
a mature appreciation of the transitory nature of human life and achievement. In Beowulf, as in the major epics of other cultures, the hero must create a meaningful life in a world that is often dangerous and uncaring. He must accept the inevitability of death. He chooses to
reject
despair; instead, he takes pride in himself and in his accomplishments, and he values human relationships.
The word unique in the passage is closest in meaning to
选项
A、old
B、rare
C、perfect
D、weak
答案
B
解析
In this passage, rare is a synonym for "unique." Context comes from the reference to the "sole surviving epic" in the beginning of the same sentence.
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/wXyO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
ClassifythefollowingcharacteristicsasrelatingtoASocialScienceBMedicalScienceCBothSocialScienceandMedicalScien
【21】WhatisunusualaboutthewayBrailleiswritten?
writtenresponses
A、collatetheanswers.B、ranktheanswers.C、knowalotabouttheanswers.B
Completethesentencesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSforeachanswer.SavingthejuniperplantBackgroundManyofthebus
Completethenotesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSforeachanswer.HowtoChooseFlooringMaterialsSourceSelectionAside
Whichattitudeisassociatedwiththefollowingpeopleduringtheconversation?ChooseSIXanswersfromtheboxandwritetheco
Whichattitudeisassociatedwiththefollowingpeopleduringtheconversation?ChooseSIXanswersfromtheboxandwritetheco
NarratorListentoapartofadiscussioninabiologyclass.WhydoestheprofessorsaythisΩ?
NarratorListentoapartofadiscussioninabiologyclass.Basedontheprofessor’stalk,whatfactorshavecontributed
随机试题
环规主要用来配磨检验棒锥面和研磨棒的锥面。()
A.Facingthecriminal,hebehavedwithgreatcourage.B.Wemanagedtogetridofthoseunwelcomevisitorsbysayingwehadto
重烧伤患者的营养途径有
患儿,1岁。弛张热,发热5天,咳嗽,气喘4天,用青霉素静点4天症状好转不明显,今日突然烦躁,呼吸困难,阵发性咳嗽,查体:体温39℃,呼吸60次/分,心率增快,170次/分,节律整,气管出现右移,胸部X线片示左肺液气胸。该患紧急急救措施应首选
燃气热力管道在进行焊接作业时,必须严格按照()的规定进行。
全部总分类账的月末借方余额合计数应当同月末贷方余额合计数核对相符。( )
不属于资本监管的新三大支柱的选项是()。
按照我国现行税法,一般纳税人在转让房地产时应该缴纳的税种有()。
某化工厂质量部负责质量检验、质量控制和质量管理体系的维护,公司按GB/T1900l建立的质量管理体系运行良好,每次外部审核都顺利通过,顾客对产品质量和服务也很满意,几年来没收到过顾客投诉。但随着化工产品市场竞争的加剧,企业效益有所下降,于是公司今年制定了降
鼓励技术中最常用的方法是()。
最新回复
(
0
)