Beowulf | Summary & Analysis

Beowulf is one of the most important works of Old English literature it has influenced many contemporary fantasy works such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and it has truly stood the test of time and delighted readers the world over Beowulf was originally created by an anonymous poet scholars are at odds regarding when the poem was composed Beowulf is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750 seee most of what is known about the author is derived from studying the time period in which Beowulf was written and the methods and the poetic form of

the piece the poet was gifted in alliteration which sets up a rhythm that begs for the poem to be performed and chanted suggesting the story's origins stem from the oral tradition Beowulf is the oldest existing old English poem the story takes place in Scandinavia arguably between the end of the fifth and beginning of the 8th century the mix of pagan and Christian traditions and values contribute to the difficulty of narrowing onto a single timeframe now in 2013 archaeologists claimed to have found the ruins of Harrow located in Denmark about 20 miles west of Copenhagen and

dating to the 6th century the poem was most likely written down by two monks in England handwriting analysis of the single medieval manuscript dated it to the early 11th century the manuscript now resides in the British Museum and is one of if not the most translated texts in human history original audience is likely set by a fire and listened to an orator give the epic story telling it deserved the plot of Beowulf begins with the king of the Danes Hrothgar whose lands have been terrorized by an evil force named Randall a young gat warrior Beowulf

comes to his aid in repayment to Hrothgar for saving his father years ago Beowulf calls on the Beast and without armor or weaponry rips off Brenda's arm the Beast returns to its home and dies seeking revenge Brenda's mother arrives the next day and kills one of Hrothgar's elders taking Grendel's on Beowulf seeks her out and attempts to fighter his sword however is ineffective against her he grabs a magical sword hanging on her wall and slices off her head Beowulf finds Grendel's corpse and takes his head as a trophy the blade of the sword melts away

and he brings Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword to Hrothgar prof gar showers him in gifts and he returns to the gates after the fall of two gay at King's Beowulf receives the crown for fifty years he maintains relative peace with the other kingdoms until a dragon torments his land after a runaway slave steals from it Beowulf goes to battle with the dragon all but one of his men flee Beowulf and we laugh to beat the dragon but not before Beowulf is poisoned by one of its fangs he sees the spoils of battle

one last time and gives his armor to faithful companion we laugh the story ends much like it starts with the death of a hero and an elaborate funeral all throughout Beowulf symbols mark critical notions of importance Grendel himself symbolizes evil and jealousy the descendants of Cain and therefore banished the dragon symbolizes greed he hoards gold and treasures seeking out a single golden goblet hale wrote hall is a symbol of happiness and pride as well as distress some of the themes throughout Beowulf include the heroic ode the basis of Beowulf's action and it consists of loyalty

pride and glory the theme of good versus evil is the contrast between Beowulf and Grendel loyalty versus pride loyalty itself is a theme the guiding force when the epic was written then there's the theme of death and defeat the inevitable truth is that no one can escape death and then hospitality visiting nobility and warriors expected hospitable feasts again while not much is known about the individual who created Beowulf it has had an indisputable and lasting influence upon literature for countless generations [Music]