Today we discussed the background of Beowulf and the development of oral tradition. Due to it being morning, three people got ghosted during the Do Now, but the gist of it was the similar geographic and cultural aspects. Both the Norse and Northumbrian revered their warriors, with Paulina bringing up the Viking funerals. In addition, in the PDF, it mentioned that Beowulf was a dragon-slayer, similar to how the Norse also slayed beasts (Thor and Jormungandr).
Next, we discussed the common grammar of the epic poem. Stock epithets are descriptive phrases, such as wine-dark for the sea, quick-witted for Nafi and beast-faced for my dog. Kennings are used in place for a person's name and is usually figurative language compounded, such as pencil pushers, VSCO girls, or Karens. An interesting observation is that in the modern world, we seem to have a lot more one word kennings, such as Karen, Zoomer/Boomer, and Kyle.
We listened to the story of Cain and Abel, then discussed the meaning of it. I noticed that the animal Abel sacrificed was a lamb, perhaps relating to the connection between the sacrificial lamb and Jesus. Since Abel gave God the best of his flock, God praised him and Cain got jealous. Personally, I'm unsure of how he got the stellar idea of murdering his brother, but he did. God, as punishment, marked him so everyone would know his crimes. Somehow, Cain leaves, finds a wife, and has children with her, causing his descendants to be full of sin like him. Grendel, Beowulf's enemy, has the mark of Cain.
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