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Beowulf (/ ˈ b eɪ ə w ʊ l f /; Old English: Bēowulf [ˈbeːowuɫf]) is a legendary Geatish hero in the eponymous epic poem, one of the oldest surviving pieces of English literature.
Jun 18, 2024 · Beowulf, heroic poem, the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European vernacular epic. The work deals with events of the early 6th century, and, while the date of its composition is uncertain, some scholars believe that it was written in the 8th century.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Beowulf is a heroic poem, considered the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European vernacular epic. It deals with eve...
- Beowulf takes place in early 6th-century Scandinavia, primarily in what is known today as Denmark and Sweden.
- The author of Beowulf is unknown. It is possible that the poem was composed by and transmitted between several different poets before it was preser...
- Upon his return to Heorot, Beowulf presents to King Hrothgar Grendel’s decapitated head and the jeweled hilt of the sword he used to kill Grendel’s...
- There is no evidence of a historical Beowulf, but other characters, sites, and events in the poem can be historically verified. For example, the po...
Beowulf (/ ˈ b eɪ ə w ʊ l f /; Old English: Bēowulf [ˈbeːowuɫf]) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature.
- Beowulf. The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around.
- King Hrothgar. The king of the Danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from that exhibited by the youthful warrior Beowulf.
- Grendel. A demon descended from Cain, Grendel preys on Hrothgar’s warriors in the king’s mead-hall, Heorot. Because his ruthless and miserable existence is part of the retribution exacted by God for Cain’s murder of Abel, Grendel fits solidly within the ethos of vengeance that governs the world of the poem.
- Grendel’s mother. An unnamed swamp-hag, Grendel’s mother seems to possess fewer human qualities than Grendel, although her terrorization of Heorot is explained by her desire for vengeance—a human motivation.
Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. The poem explores his heroism in two separate phases—youth and age—and through three separate and increasingly difficult conflicts—with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.
Apr 28, 2017 · The poem concerns the legendary figure Beowulf, a hero of the Geats who were a North Germanic people inhabiting modern-day Gotaland in southern Sweden. Beowulf fights a series of monsters and also rules as King of the Geats for approximately 50 years.
It tells the story of the Scandinavian hero Beowulf, who gains fame as a young man by vanquishing the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother; later, as an aging king, he kills a dragon but dies soon after, honoured and lamented.
