Hi there, I'm Mr. Buckingham and I'm so glad you decided to join me for today's lesson.

Today we're going to continue reading the epic story of Beowulf and we're going to find out what happens when Beowulf and Grendel finally meet.

This is a really exciting section of the book and I think you're going to really enjoy it.

So let's make a step.

Today's lesson is called Characterization of Beowulf and Grendel, and it comes by unicorn Beowulf reading.

By the end of today's lesson, you will have outlined the key events in the fourth chapter of Beowulf and you'll have found evidence of how the author has characterised individuals in the text.

And for this lesson you will need to have access to the 2013 Oxford Children's Classic edition of "Beowulf", written by Kevin Crossley-Holland and illustrated by Charles Keeping.

If you have that with you, that's begin.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

A prediction is an educated guess based on evidence in the text or prior knowledge.

If you are in role, you're taking on the perspective of a character in a text.

Characterization is the way an author describes and develops the personalities and traits of the characters in the story through their actions, thoughts, dialogue, and interactions with others.

And evidence is information or facts to show something is true.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by exploring and reading chapter four of "Beowulf", and then we'll be exploring characterization in the chapter that we've read.

So as you know, we are reading a translation and adaptation of the old English epic poem, "Beowulf", written by Kevin Crossley-Holland.

And in the last lesson we discussed the following events.

"Beowulf" and the Geat warriors arrived in Denmark and they were welcomed to Heorot by King Hrothgar.

Beowulf explained that he planned to fight Grendel with his bare hands and without weapons.

A Dane called Unferth confronted Beowulf, doubting his ability to defeat Grendel but Beowulf calmly argued back.

And finally, the Danes left Heorot the end of the night, leaving the Geats inside worrying that they might not see the next day.

Now, most of the Geats worry, but not Beowulf.

Beowulf is confident that he's going to be able to defeat Grendel in hand to hand combat.

So why is Beowulf so keen to fight Grendel without weapons? And what does this tell us about Beowulf? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good job.

Here's what Lucas says.

"He wants to fight Grendel as an equal.

He knows Grendel has no weapons and he wants to defeat him.

Maybe he thinks this will make his achievement seem even more impressive and that it will win him more admiration." So what does this tell us about Beowulf? Well, Lucas says, "I think this tells us that Beowulf is incredibly confident, but also that he's not afraid of death.

He seems to believe in fate.

If he's meant to win, he'll win and if he's meant to die, he'll die.

And he's not afraid of either of those outcomes.

(indistinct) for your ideas, too.

Now let's make a prediction.

Remember, a prediction is an educated guest based on what we've already read and our own knowledge that we bring to the situation.

So what's your prediction for will happen next in the story as Beowulf and Grendel finally meet? And what's your reason for making this prediction? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good job.

Here's what Andeep says.

"I think that Grendel will arrive at Heorot in the night while the kids sleeping.

I think that he will manage to kill several of the Geats before Beowulf manages to get to him.

I'm not sure if Beowulf will manage to kill him at the first attempt.

I think this because we know the Geats are very scared they won't make it through the night.

and because Beowulf has been so confident, pride comes before a fall." So, Andeep's got an interesting idea at the end there.

We know that sometimes authors might build up a character, make them seem really confident, and then bring that all crashing down where they're defeated in a difficult situation.

So let's see what happens and see if Andeep's predictions are correct.

So in chapter four, which starts with those illustrations on pages 15 and 16, we see Beowulf and Grendel finally meeting.

So have a look at that illustration on pages 15 and 16.

What impression is given of Grendel in that picture? Pause the video and have a chat with the person next to you or think on your own.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So Jacob says this.

"Grendel looks pretty terrifying.

He's almost human but not quite, which is quite unsettling.

And I notice he has long claws, which might be how he kills his victims. He also has long arms that make him look quite unusual.

He would definitely be a very scary sight on a dark night." And I agree with Jacob.

Well done for your thoughts there, too.

So let's prepare to read the first part of chapter four.

Here's some vocabulary began to encounter.

Shrithed is an old fashioned archaic word, meaning moved or crept.

Tussocks are mounds of grass.

If you're ravenous, you're very hungry.

Now battle-lights is an interesting one here.

In this chapter, it actually refers, not to lights, but to swords.

So imagine swords glittering in the darkness.

They're reflecting some light, but they're also part of a battle.

So they're referred to as battle lights here.

A rind, as you know, is the tough outer skin like of a fruit and sinews join muscles to bones.

If people converge in a place they gather together.

And a throttle means strangle.

A companion is someone who's with you, perhaps a friend or an ally.

And if you avenge someone, you get revenge for their death.

So have a go about reading up to the end of page 18, not the whole chapter, just the end of page 18 here.

These are very dramatic events.

So take your time and let's find out what happens when Beowulf and Grendel finally meet.

Well done.

Great reading.

What a dramatic two pages.

So let's check we've understood what we've read.

Can you put these events in order from one to four? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Great job.

So first of all, we saw Grendel grabbed Leofric, throttled him and gobbled him up from head to toe.

So horrible ending for poor Leofric.

Then we had Beowulf jumping up and he grabbed hold of Grendel's arm.

Then the Geats tried to help Beowulf using their weapons, but it was no good.

But finally Beowulf ripped Grendel's arm right off and the monster left the hall, leaving his arm behind.

So we've got Grendel leaving Heorot with one arm missing.

Now can you answer these questions based on what read in chapter four? And look back at pages 17 to 18 to help you, if you need.

Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

Good job.

So A says, "What were Beowulf and the Geats doing as Leofric died?" Well, Beowulf was watching it happen, but the others were still sleeping at that point.

B says, "As Beowulf and Grendel fought, what happened to the hall?" Well, the tables were knocked over and it was filled with noise.

So it was a very chaotic situation.

C says, "Why couldn't the Geats' weapons hurt Grendel?" Well, he had some kind of magic that protected him so he wasn't able to be killed by their weapons anyway, so it didn't matter that Beowulf didn't have his weapons because they wouldn't have worked anyway.

D says, "What did Beowulf do to snap off Grendel's arm?" Well, he actually pinned it behind his back and then he twisted, didn't he? Remember, he has lots and lots of strength.

So that was sufficient to rip off the arm.

Really well done, (indistinct) this.

Now as Grendel leaves here, he's not dead, is he? But the Geats are confident that he won't come back.

So have a look at page 18.

What evidence is there that the Geats believe that Grendel is no longer a threat? What evidence is there that they believe he's being defeated? Pause the video and see what you can find.

Well done.

Good job.

So you might have spotted that they cheer and they shout and they're crowding around Beowulf and they're hugging.

So this shows their triumphant.

They think Grendel has been defeated.

They also say that Grendel is finished and that he's done.

And they say that death is going to follow Grendel wherever he's staggered off to.

So he is leaving Heorot with one arm missing.

He's staggering out and they're saying, well wherever he is going, death is going to follow him.

And also, we see that the author refers to Grendel's death at the bottom of page 18 as well.

Really well done for finding all the evidence.

Now we know that Grendel is very likely to be dead very soon, but the Geats have also lost one of their companions.

They've lost Leofric.

So I want you imagine now that you're a Geat warrior.

What might you be thinking at this point? And let's see if you can answer in role.

So speaking as one of the Geat warriors, what might you be saying about all these events that have happened in the night? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you or a think in your head.

Well done.

Great job.

Here's what Alex said.

"I can't believe Beowulf managed to hurt that terrible creature.

The vile thing seemed to have some kind of magic about him.

Our blades were useless.

Poor Leofric.

He didn't stand a chance.

At least no more Danes will have to die now and thank heavens Beowulf was there or the rest of us would've been dead too." So I've tried to share that Alex is confused about why their weapons didn't work.

He's upset about what happened to Leofric but he's also glad that Beowulf was there and proud of Beowulf for having defeated the monster.

Really well done for your ideas there.

Now let's prepare to read the rest of chapter four.

Here's some vocabulary we're going to see.

If you hasten, you go faster.

If candle's flicker, we can say they're guttering.

The gable is that triangular part at the end of a roof.

If you marvel at something, you're amazed by it.

And brands are metal pieces used to burn a mark on something.

So cattle or animals might be branded using metal, hot metal to put a particular pattern in them.

If you rekindle embers, you make them burn again.

Incised means cut.

And you might spot a link there to incisors, of type of teeth that we have.

Damascened is a very unusual word, meaning given a wavy pattern.

So metal can be damascened to give it waves across it.

And decreed means ordered.

So a king could decree something.

So let's read the rest of chapter four up to the end of page 22.

Pause the video and have a go.

So we've now seen what happened after Grendel left Heorot.

Which of the following events happened in the section we just read? Pause, video and decide.

Well done.

Great job.

So yes, A did happen.

Grendel's arm was hung up and Hrothgar was told the news.

B didn't happen.

Beowulf is not Hrothgar's son.

C did happen.

Hrothgar rewarded Beowulf richly for his efforts.

And D was not correct.

Beowulf didn't sleep in Heorot with the other Danes and Geats.

He went to sleep in another outbuilding so that he could recover from what he'd just done.

Really well done for spotting this.

Now look carefully at page 22.

Which of the following was Beowulf given as a reward for defeating Grendel? Pause the video and see which ones you can find.

Really well done.

Good job.

So yes, he got a banner.

He got that damascened sword with a wavy pattern.

Didn't get 80 horses, he got a bejewelled saddle, didn't get a gold buckle, but he did get a chain-mail coat and eight horses.

So huge amounts of rewards are heaped onto Beowulf for completing this amazing task.

Really well done for finding all this.

Now at the end of the chapter, the author tells us that one person is going to die in the night.

What's your prediction for what happens next? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Great job.

Here's what Izzy says.

"I think they've all celebrated Grendel's death too soon.

All they know is that he's lost an arm, but they already know that he has some kind of magic power.

So perhaps he's able to regrow it or to heal himself.

I think that Grendel is going to come back and kill someone, Maybe someone important this time, like Hrothgar.

I think this will help Beowulf learn not to be overconfident." So we'll find out next time if Izzy is correct.

So let's do our first task assessment.

We can just show our understanding by acting in role.

I want you to work in a pair acting in role as Hrothgar and Beowulf.

And I want you to role play a conversation between the two characters when Hrothgar arrives at Heorot and sees Grendel's arm pinned on the gable of the hall.

Remember that Hrothgar will want to know what happened.

So imagine he hasn't been told it yet.

Beowulf will want to tell the story honestly, and I want you to try and show the character's emotions and their reactions, remembering that Beowulf has also just lost Leofric.

He's lost a companion.

So let's imagine Hrothgar arriving at Heorot, seeing Beowulf and the arm hanging there on the roof and he's gone to going to want to learn lots about what's happened.

So that's roleplay conversation between the two, showing their emotions and telling the story of what's happened and reacting in role to what each other says.

Pause the video and navigate.

Well done.

Fantastic job.

Here's an example of how the conversation Might go.

"Beowulf, is this really Grendel's arm? Are we really free at last? Surely it's not possible," says Hrothgar speaking.

Then Beowulf might say, "It is indeed, good king.

I fought the beast alone as I promised.

I wish I had removed his head as well." "I can't believe this day has finally come.

We're free.

I promise you I will repay you with more riches than you could ever imagine." "Thank you Hrothgar.

But I'm afraid there is some sadness too.

One of my men, Leofric, was killed by the beast before I could stop it." Now I've only done a short section there.

I'm sure you went on for much longer, but we've tried to show the emotion that Beowulf is feeling.

He's proud of what he's done, but he's also sad about Leofric and we've got real joy from Hrothgar that the terrible situation he's been living in for 12 years is finally over and he's showing that gratitude to Beowulf here as well.

Really well done for your work there.

So we've read chapter four.

Now we're going to explore the characterization of Beowulf and Grendel.

Now we've learned much more about both Beowulf and Grendel in this chapter.

Before this, we'd just heard Grendel described by the Wanderer, but now we've seen him described in the flesh, haven't we? And before this we'd only heard Beowulf say how confident he was, but now we know that he had a good reason to be confident.

So all of this means that our impressions of the characters are now more accurate and more sophisticated.

They're more detailed.

So Sam says this, "Before this chapter, I thought Beowulf might be a bit arrogant, but now we know he really is a hero." So Sam's saying, well, I thought he was a little bit cocky before, maybe he was saying things he couldn't really back up.

But now we know he really does have the ability to do those incredible things he said he could.

So this process, where authors create our impressions of characters, is called characterization.

And it's done in a range of ways.

It's through the things characters say, through the things the character does, through the ways the character's described and details given about the character's life and their past.

And all of these help to build our mental image of each character, which will develop and change as we read more and as the author gives us more details about the things the character says, does, the way they're described and details about their life and their past.

All of these processes build into the characterization of the character.

So the following details in previous chapters helped to shape the characterization of Beowulf.

For things he said, we heard that he was polite but assertive towards Hrothgar.

For things he does, we saw that he volunteered immediately to fight Grendel.

For the way he's described, we saw that he's said to be the strongest person there and for details about his life, we heard that he swam for those five days in that contest with Breca.

So all these details are part of the characterization of Beowulf, the impression that the author's trying to create of him.

These details about his life add to that characterization.

They give us that impression of him.

So based on the characterization that we've seen of Beowulf, what words would you use to describe his personality? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good thinking.

Here's what Izzy says.

"I'd describe him as confident but respectful.

He's certain that he can defeat Grendel, but instead of being unkind towards weaker people, he treats them with respect.

For instance, he just ignores Unferth." Here's what Lori says.

"I think he's brave and determined.

He doesn't seem to fear death at all.

He just wants to do everything he can to help the Danes defeat Grendel." So we see now that based on all the details given about Beowulf or the characterization the author has done, that's the impression that Laura and Izzy have got, that he is brave and determined and respectful and confident.

So in chapter four, the author uses a range of language to characterise Grendel and to help us build a clearer impression of him.

So let's look at the description on the first paragraph of page 17.

It says that Grendel slid and shrithed through the darkness.

He's said to be sinister and he moves over different barriers like streams and tussocks.

He's huge and his long arms are hanging loose.

So here, the author's characterization describing what Grendel does and what he looks like builds our impression that Grendel is slightly inhuman, not quite human, and he's strange and he's powerful.

He's able to go over these obstacles.

His arms are unusually long.

He's moving in quite an unusual manner.

So by giving us all these details, the author has given us the impression that Grendel is inhuman and strange and powerful.

So these details are the characterization and they give us this impression of Grendel.

So now look at the description of Grendel eating Leofric on page 17.

How is Grendel described here and how does this characterization add to our negative impression of Grendel? So what new additional impressions do we get of Grendel based on the characterization given in the details of how he eats Leofric? Pause the video, look at page 17 and have a think.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So first of all, how is Grendel described here? Well, it says that Grendel lurched towards Leofric, throttled him with a ghastly hand and ripped his body up, drinking his blood and devouring him whole.

So loads of details given there about how he moves and what he does.

So there's the characterization.

What impression does it give us? What does it add to our already negative impression of Grendel? Well, all of this description gives us the impression that Grendel is not only terrifying, but also he's fast moving and he's incredibly violent.

So our impression of him is very unpleasant.

He's strengthened and we now have some added disgust about the way that he kills his victims. So we already had a negative impression, but some additional characterization from the author about what he does to Leofric adds to our negative impression and makes us see how violent he is and how unpleasantly he treats his victims. So that adds to our negative impression of him.

Really well done for spotting that.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

We're going to focus on the characterization of Beowulf in chapter four here.

So we already knew that Beowulf was confident and brave, but his characterization in this chapter adds some more layers to our impression of him.

So the author has given us some new information about him, which adds to our impressions of him.

So we could now say based on what we've seen in this chapter, that he's both determined and well respected.

So there's two new aspects there to our impression of Beowulf.

So I'd like to gather evidence of this characterization in chapter four.

How has the author created this impression that Beowulf is determined and well respected? You might wish to choose your own personality traits instead to explore instead of these.

So you might have certain impressions of Beowulf that you'd like to find evidence for instead and that's fine.

So, pause the video and gather evidence to support the impressions we now have of Beowulf based on the characterization given by the author in this chapter.

Pause video and have a go.

Well done.

Great job.

So here's some of the evidence that shows the characterization of Beowulf as being determined.

As Grendel struggles, we see that Beowulf holds on tightly and even as they damage the room around them Beowulf is still clicking on to Grendel's arm.

And even though he's gasping with exhaustion, he continues until he wins.

So lots of characterization done there by the author to give us that impression that he is determined.

Here's some of the evidence that shows the characterization of Beowulf as being well-respected.

So the Geats are desperate to help Beowulf during the fight and they cheer him on saying that no one can withstand him.

Hrothgar calls him the best and rewards him with many gifts, saying that Beowulf is like a son to him.

So some characterization there by the author to add to our impression that Beowulf is well respected.

Really well done for finding the evidence.

Let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We've seen that Grendel comes to Heorot at night and kills Leofric.

Beowulf then jumps on him and, after a long tussle, manages to snap off his arm, killing him.

Beowulf and the Geats are richly rewarded by King Hrothgar, but the chapter ends with the threat of further death.

We've seen that authors characterise individuals in a narrative by telling us about what they do and say and giving other details.

And these characterizations create our impressions of characters.

Beowulf is characterised as brave and confident and determined.

Really well done for your effort in this lesson.

I hope you've enjoyed finding out about the battle between Grendel and Beowulf.

We're going to see what happens next with that cliffhanger ending in the next lesson, and I'd love to see you there.

Goodbye.