Beowulf Before Beowulf, Essay Example

Beowulf is one of the longest epic poems that were traditionally written in old English which is mostly spoken by Anglo-Saxon individuals in England (Battles 2). The poem is around three thousand lines in length and was written between early 700 A.D to late 1000 A.D. The poem relates to the Scandinavian hero and involves a number of historical elements, as well as various supernatural behaviors in the history of England (Battles 3). According to several literary writings, it is clear that Beowulf may have been composed primarily as an elegy for a king who died during the seventh century (Battles 4). This is because there are various burial rituals and activities that are depicted in the poem.  Furthermore, a number of handwritten materials indicate that the story has evolved over many years and have involved many retellings by different people in the society (Battles 7).

The setting of the poem is based in Scandinavia and is mainly written in third person point of view (Neidorf 556).  The narrator in the poem is a Christian, and he carefully tells the story based on pagan early periods in the society (Battles 6). The third person point of view used in the poem involves detailed narration and general objective standpoint that illustrates the behaviors and characteristics of various characters in the poem. There are various styles and conflicts that are raised in the poem in order to make the story more appealing and interesting (Battles 8).  In that sense, this paper will provide a careful description and analysis of the major themes, settings, styles and narrator point of view based on Beowulf poem.

Analysis of Beowulf Epic Poem

Beowulf is one of the ancient surviving epic poems that were traditionally written in Old English of the Anglo-Saxon people in England (Battles 11). The poem depicts and illustrates about a hero of a Germanic tribe in Southern Sweden of the Geats. The hero had traveled to Denmark in order to help in defeating a monster named Grendel (Battles 10). The poem also depicts a number of historical events and elements in England including the history of Danish and Swedish kings and heroes (Battles 14). It also describes various Germanic based tribes in the ancient England society such as the Jutes, Saxons as well as the Angles. According to the story, the Saxon, and the Jutes mainly originated from Denmark and Germany and the Beowulf story is mainly based on their traditional activities and practices (Battles 12).

Although the poem is literary work of fiction, it illustrates and involves a number of historical events in the past England including King Hygelac raids into Frisia (Battles 17). There are also various characters and unique personalities that are described in the Beowulf such as Hrothgar, Ohthere as well as Hrothulf (Battles 13). There are also description and illustration of various historical events in the poem including the battle on the ice that was common in early Scandinavian society.  Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum and legendary historical events of various clans in England are also described in the poem (Battles 18).

In addition, the majority of characters depicted in the poem are probably real and provides great source of information about the traditional personalities in Scandinavian such as Eadgils as well as other Germanic based personalities such as Offa, the king of continental Angles (Battles 20).  From the analysis of the story, it is clear that Beowulf was a hero of the Geats, and he managed to help Hroogar, the king of Danes when he was attacked by Grendel the monster. Beowulf slayed Grendel and killed him, but later Grendel’s mother also tries to attack Hroogar. Grendel’s mother is also defeated and due to such success Beowulf goes home in Geatland where is made the king of the Geats. Several years later Beowulf also managed to defeat the Dragon although the fight between them left Beowulf with some injuries and damages. Later Beowulf died, and he is buried in a tumulus in Geatland by his attendants (Battles 22).

In that sense, Beowulf is a classical literary writing that depicts heroic success over evil plans of various characters in the poem (Drout 226).  Grendel is a monster and is terrorizing various individuals in the society over power and kingdom issues (Battles 21). Beowulf later killed him especially by ripping off its arm.  This brings a lot of joy and unity to among the Danes. We can also see in the story how Beowulf is later rewarded with many gifts after killing Grendel’s mother including making him the king of Geats (Drout 228).   Beowulf is also faced with a dragon that he also manages to defeat after entering a dragon’s mound. However, he also sustains a number of injuries and damages that later result in his kingly and heroic death (Battles 30).

The story of the Beowulf also illustrates several Christian traditional values and echoes that were common in traditional England society (Drout 224). It is also clear from various literary based reports and writings that Beowulf medieval manuscripts have been housed, preserved and kept in the British Library in London (Battles 29). There are also various literary scholars who argued that the Beowulf original manuscript was written around ten century. Furthermore, others also posit that the manuscript was first published around 1016 to 1035 in England (Battles 31).

There are various medieval texts including homily issues of St. Christopher, the marvel of the East as well as the letter of Alexander to Aristotle among many other medieval scholarly writings (Neidorf 553).

Moreover, Beowulf story has been used today in various societies in making films, plays, computer games as well as in making graphic novels (Neidorf 572).  It has also been translated and versed in several languages including Dutch language, modern English, German language as well as Italian and French languages among many other languages used in various countries globally (Neidorf 563)

In early 1993, the British Library started an Electronic Beowulf project with the aim of spreading the global readings of the book, and this was achieved through the production of electronic images of the story manuscripts. (Battles 28).

From the analysis of the story, it is true that it depicts the beginning of the transition from paganism to Christianity in early England society as well as in the medieval Britain (Drout 225). It is also true and evident that the poem is narrated in the third person point of view, and the narrator provides a careful illustration of various events in the story (Battles 27).

In conclusion, it is clear from this paper that Beowulf is one of the earliest and traditional epic poems that were written in Old English of the Anglo-Saxon. The story setting is based in Denmark and mainly depicts the heroic activities of Beowulf. Furthermore, the story depicts various historical events in England including traditional rituals. The story also set in around eighth and eleventh century in the Scandinavia society that is currently including various countries such as Sweden and Denmark.  The story also depicts the ruling activities of various kings and tribes in Scandinavia past society such as the Geats, the Danes as well as the Swedes ruling activities and procedures. Jutes, Saxons and Angles activities in past England society is also described in the poem.  The three main conflicts in the poem include Grendel domination, Grendel’s mother vengeance activity and the rage of the Dragon.  The story also depicts how warriors can be used in order to eliminate bad behaviors and promote good values in the society. This is seen in the activities of Beowulf in the story.  The major themes that can be depicted in the poem include conflicts and heroic tensions; identify formation as well as other moral values that can be applied in order to promote good values in the society.  There are also various styles used in the poem including the use of foreshadowing and symbolism among many other styles.

Works cited

Battles, Paul. “Toward a Theory of Old English Poetic Genres: Epic, Elegy, Wisdom Poetry, and the “Traditional Opening.” Studies in Philology 111.1 (2014): 1-33.

Drout, Michael D. C. “A Note on the Style of Beowulf Line 1864.” Modern Philology 104.2 (2006): 224-228

Neidorf, Leonard. “Beowulf Before Beowulf: Anglo-Saxon Anthroponomy and Heroic Legend.” Review of English Studies 64.266 (2013): 553-573.