Summary[edit]

The protagonist Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, whose great
hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother
with a giant's sword that he found in her lair.
Later in his life, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon, some of whose
treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or
servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon to its lair at Earnanæs, but only his young
Swedish relative Wiglaf, whose name means "remnant of valour",[a] dares to join him. Beowulf finally slays the
dragon, but is mortally wounded in the struggle. He is cremated and a burial mound by the sea is erected in his
honour.
Beowulf is considered an epic poem in that the main character is a hero who travels great distances to prove his
strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts. The poem also begins in medias res or
simply, "in the middle of things," which is a characteristic of the epics of antiquity. Although the poem begins with
Beowulf's arrival, Grendel's attacks have been an ongoing event. An elaborate history of characters and their
lineages is spoken of, as well as their interactions with each other, debts owed and repaid, and deeds of valour. The
warriors form a kind of brotherhood linked by loyalty to their lord. The poem begins and ends with funerals: at the
beginning of the poem for Scyld Scefing (26–45) and at the end for Beowulf (3140–3170).

First battle: Grendel[edit]

Beowulf begins with the story of Hrothgar, who constructed the great hall Heorot for himself and his warriors. In it,
he, his wife Wealhtheow, and his warriors spend their time singing and celebrating. Grendel, a troll-like monster said
to be descended from the biblical Cain, is pained by the sounds of joy.[20] Grendel attacks the hall and kills and
devours many of Hrothgar's warriors while they sleep. Hrothgar and his people, helpless against Grendel, abandon
Heorot.
Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland, hears of Hrothgar's troubles and with his king's permission leaves his
homeland to assist Hrothgar.[21]
Beowulf and his men spend the night in Heorot. Beowulf refuses to use any weapon because he holds himself to be
the equal of Grendel.[22] When Grendel enters the hall, Beowulf, who has been feigning sleep, leaps up to clench
Grendel's hand.[23] Grendel and Beowulf battle each other violently.[24] Beowulf's retainers draw their swords and rush
to his aid, but their blades cannot pierce Grendel's skin.[25] Finally, Beowulf tears Grendel's arm from his body at the
shoulder and Grendel runs to his home in the marshes where he dies.[26]Beowulf displays "the whole of Grendel's
shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp" for all to see at Heorot. This display would fuel Grendel's mother's anger in
revenge.[27]

Second battle: Grendel's mother[edit]

The next night, after celebrating Grendel's defeat, Hrothgar and his men sleep in Heorot. Grendel's mother, angry
that her son has been killed, sets out to get revenge. "Beowulf was elsewhere. Earlier, after the award of treasure,
The Geat had been given another lodging"; his assistance would be absent in this battle.[28] Grendel's mother
violently kills Æschere, who is Hrothgar's most loyal fighter, and escapes.
Hrothgar, Beowulf, and their men track Grendel's mother to her lair under a lake. Unferð, a warrior who had earlier
challenged him, presents Beowulf with his sword Hrunting. After stipulating a number of conditions to Hrothgar in
case of his death (including the taking in of his kinsmen and the inheritance by Unferth of Beowulf's estate), Beowulf
jumps into the lake, and while harassed by water monsters gets to the bottom, where he finds a cavern. Grendel's
mother pulls him in, and she and Beowulf engage in fierce combat.
At first, Grendel's mother appears to prevail, and Hrunting proves incapable of hurting the woman; she throws
Beowulf to the ground and, sitting astride him, tries to kill him with a short sword, but Beowulf is saved by his
armour. Beowulf spots another sword, hanging on the wall and apparently made for giants, and cuts her head off
with it. Travelling further into Grendel's mother's lair, Beowulf discovers Grendel's corpse and severs his head with
the sword, whose blade melts because of the "hot blood". Only the hilt remains. Beowulf swims back up to the rim of
the pond where his men wait. Carrying the hilt of the sword and Grendel's head, he presents them to Hrothgar upon
his return to Heorot. Hrothgar gives Beowulf many gifts, including the sword Nægling, his family's heirloom. The
events prompt a long reflection by the king, sometimes referred to as "Hrothgar's sermon", in which he urges
Beowulf to be wary of pride and to reward his thegns.[29]

Third battle: The dragon[edit]

Main article: The dragon (Beowulf)
Beowulf face to face with the fire-breathing dragon

Beowulf returns home and eventually becomes king of his own people. One day, fifty years after Beowulf's battle
with Grendel's mother, a slave steals a golden cup from the lair of a dragon at Earnanæs. When the dragon sees
that the cup has been stolen, it leaves its cave in a rage, burning everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come
to fight the dragon, but Beowulf tells his men that he will fight the dragon alone and that they should wait on the
barrow. Beowulf descends to do battle with the dragon, but finds himself outmatched. His men, upon seeing this and
fearing for their lives, retreat into the woods. One of his men, Wiglaf, however, in great distress at Beowulf's plight,
comes to his aid. The two slay the dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded. After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf remains by
his side, grief-stricken. When the rest of the men finally return, Wiglaf bitterly admonishes them, blaming their
cowardice for Beowulf's death. Afterward, Beowulf is ritually burned on a great pyre in Geatland while his people
wail and mourn him, fearing that without him, the Geats are defenceless against attacks from surrounding tribes.
Afterwards, a barrow, visible from the sea, is built in his memory (Beowulf lines 2712–3182).[30]

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. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves

a wise and effective ruler.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF BEOWULF.

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. He is a father figure to Beowulf and a model for the kind of king that Beowulf

becomes.

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.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF GRENDEL.

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.

The Dragon - An ancient, powerful serpent, the dragon guards a horde of treasure in a hidden mound.

Beowulf’s fight with the dragon constitutes the third and final part of the epic.

Other Danes

Shield Sheafson - The legendary Danish king from whom Hrothgar is descended, Shield Sheafson is the

mythical founder who inaugurates a long line of Danish rulers and embodies the Danish tribe’s highest values
of heroism and leadership. The poem opens with a brief account of his rise from orphan to warrior-king,

concluding, “That was one good king” (11).

Beow - The second king listed in the genealogy of Danish rulers with which the poem begins. Beow is the son

of Shield Sheafson and father of Halfdane. The narrator presents Beow as a gift from God to a people in need

of a leader. He exemplifies the maxim, “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people

everywhere” (24–25).

Halfdane - The father of Hrothgar, Heorogar, Halga, and an unnamed daughter who married a king of the

Swedes, Halfdane succeeded Beow as ruler of the Danes.

Wealhtheow - Hrothgar’s wife, the gracious queen of the Danes.

Unferth - A Danish warrior who is jealous of Beowulf, Unferth is unable or unwilling to fight Grendel, thus

proving himself inferior to Beowulf.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF UNFERTH.

Hrethric - Hrothgar’s elder son, Hrethric stands to inherit the Danish throne, but Hrethric’s older cousin Hrothulf

will prevent him from doing so. Beowulf offers to support the youngster’s prospect of becoming king by hosting

him in Geatland and giving him guidance.

Hrothmund - The second son of Hrothgar.

Hrothulf - Hrothgar’s nephew, Hrothulf betrays and usurps his cousin, Hrethic, the rightful heir to the Danish

throne. Hrothulf’s treachery contrasts with Beowulf’s loyalty to Hygelac in helping his son to the throne.

Aeschere - Hrothgar’s trusted adviser.

Other Geats

Hygelac - Beowulf’s uncle, king of the Geats, and husband of Hygd. Hygelac heartily welcomes Beowulf back

from Denmark.

Hygd - Hygelac’s wife, the young, beautiful, and intelligent queen of the Geats. Hygd is contrasted with Queen

Modthryth.

Wiglaf - A young kinsman and retainer of Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the dragon while all of the

other warriors run away. Wiglaf adheres to the heroic code better than Beowulf’s other retainers, thereby

proving himself a suitable successor to Beowulf.

Read an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF WIGLAF.

Ecgtheow - Beowulf’s father, Hygelac’s brother-in-law, and Hrothgar’s friend. Ecgtheow 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 son’s remembrances.

King Hrethel - The Geatish king who took Beowulf in as a ward after the death of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father.

Breca - Beowulf’s childhood friend, whom he defeated in a swimming match. Unferth alludes to the story of

their contest, and Beowulf then relates it in detail.

Other Figures Mentioned

Sigemund - A figure from Norse mythology, famous for slaying a dragon. Sigemund’s story is told in praise of

Beowulf and foreshadows Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon.

King Heremod - An evil king of legend. The scop, or bard, at Heorot discusses King Heremod as a figure who

contrasts greatly with Beowulf.

Queen Modthryth - A wicked queen of legend who punishes anyone who looks at her the wrong way.

Modthryth’s story is told in order to contrast her cruelty with Hygd’s gentle and reasonable behavior.