Some of the characters are based on members of danish and swedish royalty. For alarmingly large chunks of an average day, i am a moron. Fever pitch 1992, an autobiographical book by british author nick hornby, explores hornbys life through his love for football soccer in america and with the. In beowulf s old age, a thief finds a passageway into an old barrow. What monsters does beowulf encounter and defeat in the. Based on nick hornbys best selling autobiographical novel, fever pitch. In the printed book, line numbering was determined by the physical length of a line. The book is a personal memoir, a tribute to arsenal, and a mirror for sports fans everywhere. What monsters does beowulf encounter and defeat in the epic. Which of the following events is most important in beowulfs career as leader of the geats. See a complete list of the characters in beowulf and indepth analyses of beowulf, grendel, hrothgar, unferth, wiglaf, grendels mother, and the dragon.
Nov 12, 2012 fever pitch by nick hornby published by penguin as a penguin modern classic 2012. Beowulf modern english translation by anonymous poetry. Beowulf is an old english epic poem written anonymously around 975 ad. The beowulf poet the more original the poem is, the better. Beowulf old english version by anonymous poetry foundation. Beowulf is 3182 lines, each line with four accents, divided into two parts. Beowulf shares characteristics with many old english epic poems. Translated from the heynesocin text by lesslie hall. A romantic comedy about a man, a woman and a football team. The epic of beowulf, the most precious relic of old english, and, indeed, of all early germanic literature, has come down to us in a single ms. In soccermad england, fever pitch published in the uk in 1992 was a careermaker. Beowulf is the iconic work of literature in old english. Even when hes supposed to be hung over and beaten down and unshaven, he just comes across like a. Created in the oralpoetic mode and probably composed as a whole sometime in the.
His father takes nick to his first arsenal game as a way to bond after leaving nicks mother for another woman. Fever pitch by nick hornby or what it means to be a fan. It deals with events of the early 6th century and is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750. Buy a cheap copy of fever pitch book by nick hornby. Beowulf is an old english poem about a geatish hero who comes to denmark to kill a monster beowulf comes to the aid of hrothgar, king of the danes, to fight the monster grendel. I first discovered fever pitch when i first discovered nick hornby years back we read one of his novels for book club. Its a friday night at the new theatre in oxford, and an appreciative round of applause ends fever pitch the play, a 90 minute soliloquy performed admirably by james kermack. The movie shows only half a year of the book, with nick hornby as a teacher in cambridge. Where a stanza ended on a multiple of 10, the first line of the following stanza was.
Fever pitch is hornbys tribute to a lifelong, obsession soccer. When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Beowulf, knowing his death is near, decides to fight the dragon. If there is a sparknotes, shmoop, or cliff notes guide, we will have it listed here. Organize your thoughts in 6 simple steps narrow your focus. When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information. Geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a firebreathing dragon.
Last week when i was thinking of which book to read next, fever pitch leapt at me. Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem in the english language and the earliest piece of vernacular european literature. In the states, nick hornby is best know as the author of high fidelity and about a boy, two wickedly funny novels about being thirtysomething and going nowhere. Fever pitch is selfconfessed football soccer tragic nick hornbys semi autobiography and memoir of his life built around supporting arsenal fc. Beowulf is a sweeping epic poem, written down in england in the late 900s ce. King hrothgar, the ruler of the danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named grendel. The thief steals a cup, but the dragon discovers the theft and burns the land, including beowulfs meadhall.
Grendelthis is the monster attacking hrothgars mead hall heorot. Read the original text of beowulf along with a sidebyside translation in plain english. I used to believe, although i dont now, that growing and growing up are analogous, that both are inevitable and uncontrollable processes. Fever pitch is a nonfiction memoir by nick hornby, an english writer, that details his obsession with the arsenal football team. Fever pitch is his tribute to a lifelong obsession. Every night, grendel attacks king hrothgars wealthy meadhall, heorot, killing danish warriors and sometimes even eating them. All contain heroic boasting, verbal taunting, and a hero with a troubled youth. Part autobiography, part comedy, part incisive analysis of insanity, hornbys awardwinning memoir captures the fever pitch of fandom its agony and ecstasy, its community, its defining role in thousands of young mens coming of age stories, fever pitch is one for the home team. Inside, a dragon guards a treasure trove left there long ago by the last survivor of an extinct people.
He is dead by the time the story begins, but he lives on through the noble reputation that he made for himself during his life and in his dutiful sons remembrances. Complete text of narrative of the life of frederick. Mar, 2012 i got significantly more enjoyment out of fever pitch than, say, brooks secondtolast film wrong is right, which is an ambitious but hopelessly convoluted satire of rightwing politics, wimpy leftwing presidents, weapons trading, guerrilla warfare and tabloid television, all mashed together. Now it seems to me that growing up is governed by the will, that one can choose to become an adult, but only at given moments. The story of heroic beowulf and his battles with the monster grendel and also with grendels mother not to mention the dragon is rather awesome.
With the end of the 199192 season, the format of football in england shifted seismically. Part autobiography, part comedy, part incisive analysis of insanity, hornbys awardwinning. And each jump he did there was something covering his private area. When beowulf slays grendel it is supposed to be serious but end stead beowulf jumping around naked. Introduction main characters beowulf the epic monster slayer. Fortunately, a young geat warrior named beowulf travels to heorot hall. The bards who performed in the oralformulaic tradition, however, were evaluated for the skill with which they could weave together familiar phrases in that poetic tradition in order to tell a story that was either already known to the audience or that was an extemporaneous effort by. Find all available study guides and summaries for fever pitch by nick hornby. Beowulf sees enormous amounts of treasure in grendels mothers lair, but all he takes are the jewelinlaid hilt of the melted sword and grendels severed head. Leeds united were the last football league division one champions and in 199293 the fa premier league was born, to change forever the soccer landscape in this country. King hrothgar of denmark has a very prosperous kingdom.
Fever pitch summary and analysis like sparknotes free book. The movie beowulf is not a well developed movie because stories like this have been told so many times before. The film starts out in a castle, beowulf then comes to slay grendel. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of its contents followed by an annotated chronology of the most important books and articles on the particular topic it treats. Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now hes an old king and cant seem to protect his people.
Although beowulf is a masterpiece of early english literature, written approximately between 975 and 1025, the unfamiliar dialect makes this epic poem difficult to understand. Unexpectedly, young beowulf, a prince of the geats of southern sweden, arrives with a small band of retainers and offers to cleanse heorot of its monster. I put together a fever pitchesque collection of quotes. Nick hornby chronicles his life, growing up in a single parent family, his struggles to make it as a writer and his obsession with soccer. Sparkcharts a textbooks worth of information on an easytoread chart. Beowulf s father, hygelacs brotherinlaw, and hrothgars friend. The subject of the poem is the exploits of beowulf, son of ecgtheow. Given that this, his first book, was about his obsessive relationship with the north london soccer team, arsenal, many americans didnt hear that voice until high fidelity 1995, a novel that riffed on the broader subject of favorite bands and songs. Part autobiography, part comedy, part incisive analysis of insanity, hornbys awardwinning memoir captures the fever pitch of fandomits agony and ecstasy, its community, its defining role in thousands of young mens comingofage stories. Cliffsnotes on beowulf covers the longest and oldest surviving anglosaxon poem, an epic tale of warriors and battles, monsters and magic, treasures, feasts, and heroic action. Beowulf no fear literature series by sparknotes, paperback. Nick hornbys fever pitch was even reprinted with a new cover and included as a part of the 200506 arsenal fc membership pack for the. But in fever pitch and in tough guys dont dance, norman mailers screamingly overthetop adaptation of his own book, oneals voice quivers with seriousness.
Individual games are used as a marker as hornby recalls moments in his life from childhood to early 30s. Introduction main characters beowulfthe epic monster slayer. The geats return to heorot hall, taking grendels enormous severed head with them. In beowulfs old age, a thief finds a passageway into an old barrow. Since then, the epic poem has been estimated to have been.
He personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and ideas to. Writers block can be painful, but well help get you over the hump and build a great outline for your paper. Translation by michael alexander, first published on 1973 is very skillfully put together and admirable. The individual chapters by eighteen scholars offer both a rapid survey of scholarly trends in the study of beowulf and a more sustained exploration of selected problems. Book presentation fever pitch by nick hornby referat. Then hrothgar leaves hart, and so does beowulf also with his geats, but the danes keep guard there. Beowulf swims back to the surface of the lake, where his warriors are overjoyed to see him. The early medieval scandinavian cultures it describes are centered on values often distant from modern ones. The thief steals a cup, but the dragon discovers the theft and burns the land, including beowulf s meadhall. The first manuscript was written in the language of the saxons, old english, also known as anglosaxon. Nick begins going to every game he can, and his interest soon becomes an obsession. Tolkien was a professor of anglosaxon at oxford university, and an authority on beowulf. Which of the following statements best supports the idea that beowulf was an epic hero.
Thanks to this translation, placed right near the original text, readers can now appreciate the battle of good and evil that unfolds between the wise and heroic beowulf. Perhaps the most common question readers have is what language beowulf was written in originally. Fahrenheit 451 thug notes summary and analysis youtube. Beowulf characters from sparknotes flashcards quizlet. Navigate here prelude of the founder of the danish house chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10 chapter 11 chapter 12 chapter chapter 14 chapter 15 chapter 16 chapter 17 chapter 18 chapter 19 chapter 20 chapter 21 chapter 22 chapter 23 chapter 24 chapter. Individual games are used as a marker as hornby recalls moments in his. His novels the hobbit and the lord of the rings trilogy are steeped in the mythology and culture in which beowulf is set. Sometimes the numbered line was one or even two lines above or below the nearest multiple of 10. In this lesson, well cover a plot summary and briefly discuss a few of the books major themes and characters. A fans life is a 1992 autobiographical essay by british author nick hornby. The king praises beowulf and rewards him, and they feast in hart, and the tale of finn and hengest is told. The contents are mostly the same as described in the book. Beowulf enters into the story after the action has started. I got it at that time and have been waiting for the right time to read it.
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