BEOWULF

Beowulf is an Anglo- Saxon poem, quite the longest and the greatest surviving one. Firstly composed
in Old English, it begins from a Germanic legend and is set in pagan Scandinavia. It descibes the adventures of
Beowulf, a Geat warrior that defends the Danish kingdom, and then his own, from various creatures.

The poem begins with Hrothgar- the King of the Danes, who wants to celebrate his reign by building a
grand, majestic hall- Heorot. When the hall is finished, the king holds a large feast that draws the attention of
Grendel, a monster descended from the biblical Cain. Grendel attacks during the night and this marks the
beginning of Grendel’s reign of terror.

Twelve years pass, and news of the creature and the Danes spread to another tribe, the Geats.
Beowulf, a Geat thane, decides to help them. To honor Beowulf’s arrival, Hrothgar holds another feast at
theHeorot hall. During the celebration, Beowulf promises that he will either kill Grendel or be killed. Hrothgar
is moved and swears to offer Beowulf many riches if the monster would be defeated.

Beowulf and his warriors spend the night in Heorot, making noise trying o attract Grendel , that
eventually arrives and kills one of Beowulf’s men.The hero fights the beast unarmed, managing to catch the
its arm in a strong grip. The monster leaves his arm in Beowulf’s grasp and returns to his lair, where he dies
in pain.

The Danes put the creature’s arm to the walls of Heorot as a trophy, giving Beowulf and his men
riches and they hold another feast for Beowulf, w/ith songs ans speeches. Grendel’s mother arrives, seeking
revenge. She manages to take one of Hrothgar’s counselors and eturns to her lair.

Beowulf finds Grendel’s mother. He uses Unferth’s sword but it proves to be quite useless against
the creature, so he wrestles with the monster until spots another sword, which he uses to cut Grendel’s
mother’s head. Beowulf returns to the surface of the lake carrying Grendel’s head. The men bring Beowulf
back to Heorot, where another celebration takes place.Beowulf and his men return home, telling the Geat
king and queen, Hygelac and Hygd, tales of their victory. Impressed by Beowulf’s bravery, Hygelac gives him
half of the kingdom. When Hygelac dies, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats.

During the reign of Beowulf, a new monster starts terrorizing his kingdom: a fire-breathing dragon
angry on a Geat who stole a golden cup from its lair. Beowulf decides to face the dragon. The servant who
stole the cup leads him to the dragon’s lair, where Beowulf struggles to defeat the beast. All of his warriors
run away except Wiglaf. Together, they face the dragon. But just as Beowulf manages to behead the
monster, the dragon bites him, sending a lethal poison through his body.

Beowulf, before dying, tells Wiglaf that he should inherit the dragon’s treasure. Wiglaf returns to the
Geats, declaring that nobody should inherit the treasure.

In conclusion, as a genre, Beowulf is an elegy; ilustrates heroic actions. It has a Christian narrator
telling a story of pagan times, using themes as: tensions between the heroic code and other value systems;
the difference between a good warrior and a good king with motifs as- monsters; speeches and the mead-
hall.

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