An analysis of the poem beowulf in english

The setting of the epic is the sixth century in what is now known as Denmark and southwestern Sweden.

In fact those lines from Beowulf, written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries is the oldest existing poem written in English. Still, Beowulf has come to be recognized as the foundational epic of English and British culture, in much the same way that the Iliad is a foundational epic for ancient Greece.

Beowulf is a tough mix of Big Important Ideas that, like Old English language, might be unfamiliar to you at first. Your wish is our command: Beowulf is set during a time when warring tribes populated England and Scandinavia. If you killed somebody, their relatives might demand reparation i.

Christian and Pagan values, all mixed up. The Anglo-Saxon poetry we have today was originally composed orally spoken during a time when the Anglo-Saxons were still pagan.

But it was written down after they became Christian. Beowulf is an epic poem. That means it has the stuff that makes epic such a rollicking good time—heroes and monsters! Is the death price a good system of justice?

What are its pitfalls? What makes a good king? Although it was written and recited in Britain, Beowulf is about characters in Scandinavia: Danish and Swedish warriors who battle fabulous monsters as well as each other. Because the early Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of Germanic and Scandinavian tribes that invaded Britain beginning in the 5th Century.

As a result, there was a lot of shared cultural background between the Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians, and the Anglo-Saxons looked back to their relatives across the sea when they wanted to tell stories about their own past.

And that trend continues even now. Beowulf has captured the attention of scholars and audiences alike, becoming a keystone of English literary studies as well as the basis of several popular film and TV adaptations.

Expert Answers

You know those helpful, chipper coffee cup adages that teach you how to live life to the fullest: In a bubble bath? But imagine if there were a book that was a page turner, a thrill a minute, full of gore and mayhem Beowulf, a great and glorious hero arrives from over the sea, clad in a shirt of shining mail, ready to do barehanded battle with a demonic monster.

And if that leaves you wanting more, Beowulf is ready to deliver. Although the recent Beowulf movie goes just a little bit off-script. Beowulf is also the oldest major work of literature in English.

After all, you will have read the first recorded epic poem written in English.- Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English epic poem consisting of alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature due to the fact that it is the oldest surviving epic poem of Old English and also the earliest vernacular English .

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After Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother, how long does he rule over the Geats?

AntiStudy searches popular websites like Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, Barron's Book Notes, Pink Monkey, BookRags, eNotes, GradeSaver, and Novel Guide to find you the perfect book summary. Beowulf is an epic poem originally told in the Old English between the 8th and 11th centuries. Beowulf study guide contains literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Explanatory Notes of Beowulf. (= "They played at tæfl [a chess-like board game] in the court, and were happy. They lacked no gold, until three came to them from the world of the giants, giant-maidens with terrifying power".).

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English Composition Course - In the beginning of the English Composition 1 course, I felt as if I was not a very good writer. A lot of what I learned in high school was completely different than that of my college English course.