Beowulf

The National epic of England which appears in

the Nowell Codex
manuscript from the 8 to 11 century. It is the
th th

most notable example of the earliest

English poetry, which blends Christianity and
paganism.
· Epic is a long narrative poem written about the exploits of a
supernatural hero.
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. Although
originally untitled, the poem was later named after the Scandinavian hero
Beowulf, whose exploits and character provide its connecting theme. There
is no evidence of a historical Beowulf, but some characters, sites, and
events in the poem can be historically verified. The poem did not appear in
print until 1815. It is preserved in a single manuscript that dates to circa
1000 and is known as the Beowulf manuscript
Plot
Beowulf falls into two parts. It opens in Denmark, where King Hrothgar has a splendid mead hall
known as Heorot, a place of celebration and much merriment. However, the joyous noise angers 
Grendel, an evil monster living in a nearby swamp. For 12 years the creature terrorizes Heorot
with nightly visits in which he carries off Hrothgar’s warriors and devours them.
After learning of the Danes’ trouble, young Beowulf, a prince of the Geats in what is now
southern Sweden, arrives with a small band of retainers and offers to rid Heorot of its monster.
Hrothgar is astonished at the little-known hero’s daring but welcomes him. After an evening of
feasting, much courtesy, and some discourtesy—at one point, one of Hrothgar’s men insults
Beowulf—the king retires, leaving Beowulf in charge. During the night, Grendel comes from the
moors, rips open the heavy doors, and devours one of the sleeping Geats. He then grapples with
Beowulf, who refuses to use a weapon. Beowulf grips one of Grendel’s hands with such force that
the monster finally wrenches himself free only when his arm is torn off at the shoulder. Mortally
wounded, Grendel returns to his swamp and dies. Beowulf then displays the monster’s arm in
Heorot for all to see.
The next day is one of rejoicing in Heorot, and a feast is thrown in Beowulf’s honour.
However, as the warriors sleep that night, Grendel’s mother, another swamp monster,
comes to avenge her son’s death, and she kills one of Hrothgar’s men. In the morning
Beowulf dives into her mere (lake) to search for her, and she attacks him. They struggle
in her dry cave at the mere’s bottom, and Beowulf finally kills her with a sword. In the
cave, Beowulf discovers Grendel’s corpse, whose head he cuts off and takes back to
Heorot. The Danes rejoice once more. Hrothgar makes a farewell speech about the
character of the true hero, and Beowulf, enriched with honours and princely gifts,
returns home to King Hygelac of the Geats.
The second part passes rapidly over Hygelac’s subsequent death in a battle (of historical
record), the death of his son, and Beowulf’s succession to the kingship and his peaceful
rule of 50 years. However, the tranquility ends when a fire-breathing dragon becomes
enraged after a man steals from its treasure-filled lair. The creature begins ravaging
Geatland, and the brave but aging Beowulf decides to engage it, despite knowing that he
will likely die. The fight is long and terrible—a painful contrast to the battles of his youth.
Painful too is the desertion of all his retainers except for his young kinsman Wiglaf, who
comes to his aid. They ultimately kill the venomous dragon, but Beowulf is mortally
wounded from a bite in the neck. Before he dies, he names Wiglaf his successor. Beowulf
is cremated on a funeral pyre, and his remains are buried in a barrow built by the sea. As
his people mourn his death, they also express the fear that, without Beowulf, Geatland
will be invaded by nearby tribes.
Analysis
Beowulf belongs metrically, stylistically, and thematically to a heroic tradition grounded in 
Germanic religion and mythology. It is also part of the broader tradition of heroic poetry. Many
incidents, such as the tearing-off of the monster’s arm and the hero’s descent into the mere, are
familiar motifs from folklore. The ethical values are manifestly the Germanic code of loyalty to chief
and tribe and vengeance to enemies. Yet the poem is so infused with a Christian spirit that it lacks the
grim fatality of many of the Eddaic lays or the sagas of Icelandic literature. Beowulf himself seems
more altruistic than other Germanic heroes or the ancient Greek heroes of the Iliad. It is significant
that his three battles are not against men, which would entail the retaliation of the blood feud, but
against evil monsters, enemies of the whole community and of civilization itself. Many critics have
seen the poem as a Christian allegory in which Beowulf, the champion of goodness and light, fights
the forces of evil and darkness. His sacrificial death is seen not as tragic but as befitting the end of a
good (some would say “too good”) hero’s life.
Analysis
That is not to say that Beowulf is an optimistic poem. English writer and Old English scholar 
J.R.R. Tolkien suggested that its total effect is more like a long lyrical elegy than an epic. Even the
earlier, happier section in Denmark is filled with ominous references that would have been well
understood by contemporary audiences. Thus, after Grendel’s death, King Hrothgar speaks
sanguinely of the future, which the audience would know will end with the destruction of his line and
the burning of Heorot. In the second part the movement is slow and funereal: scenes from Beowulf’s
youth are replayed in a minor key as a counterpoint to his last battle, and the mood becomes
increasingly sombre as the wyrd (fate) that comes to all men closes in on him.