BEOWULF
The first work of English literature is Beowulf. It is the heroic epic of England and the origin of English literature, yet it belongs to everyone since it is essentially human. After the Romans departed England in the fifth century, Northern European tribes, including The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, invaded the country. Their tribal history is contained inside the poem.
It is a history of festering pride, boisterous discourse, intoxicated violence, spies, bloody borders, and raids. In contrast to this gloomy backdrop, the poem offers a different type of history. It is a history in which a foreigner comes openly to aid rather than surreptitiously to kill and plunder, in which eating, drinking, conversing, and gift-giving are natural customs; bringing together young and old, and in which heroic power is wise and kind. It is a history of possible ideals.
The lone surviving copy of Beowulf dates to roughly the year 1000, but the poem was likely written in the ninth century. The poem, which describes the deeds of Geats and Danes from the third or fourth century, is undoubtedly based on oral traditions passed down from generation to generation. The Anglo-Saxons of Britain shared a set of heroes with other Germanic peoples, and Beowulf's roots may be traced back to an earlier, pagan age. It appears that the author of the written version that has reached us was a Christian. This version is written in Old English. The Modern English version you will read is by the poet Burton Raffel.
As with all epic poetry, Beowulf is about a hero who becomes the leader of his people. The action is spectacular, and the protagonist is gigantic. The introduction of the poem describes the ancestry of Hrothgar, king of Denmark. In combat, Hrothgar attains an enormous reputation and money. In honor of his achievements, he constructs a mead hall named Herot. The mead hall derives its name from the fermented liquor created from water, honey, malt, and yeast known as mead, which was served during banquets and festivals. Additionally, Herot is meant to be a haven of peace and community. It represents the devotion and dependency between the lord and his devoted troops. However, fate has in store for the Danes the monstrous Grendel.
SUMMARY OF BEOWULF’S LAST TWO ADVENTURES
The Battle with Grendel’s Mother
Beowulf and his followers celebrate the victory over Grendel
by eating, drinking, and giving each other gifts. That night, Hrothgar's
followers return to Herot and stay there for the night. But peace doesn't last
long. Grendel's mother comes to get revenge for her son while the thanes are
sleeping. She grabs Hrothgar's best friend and pulls him away. She also finds
the bloody arm and claw of her son. Hrothgar is desperate, so he goes to
Beowulf for help. Beowulf gets ready to chase the female monster to her
underwater home. When Beowulf and his followers get to the scary wilderness
where the monster lives, they see the head of Hrothgar's thane at the bottom of
a cliff. Bloody foam on the surface of a pool shows that the body of the thane
has been taken down to the monster's lair.
Sea serpents are horrible creatures that swim around on the
water's surface. Beowulf sends them running with a blast from his horn and
kills one of them with a shot from his bow. Afterward, he jumps into the
whirlpool. He has full armor and is carrying Hrunting, a famous sword that
Unferth gave him. It takes him a long time to reach the bottom, but when he
does, he meets the sea hag. She tries to hurt him with her claws, but his chain
mail protects him. Hrunting swings his sword at her head, but he can't hurt
her. He finally beats her, and when he sees a magic sword, he grabs it and,
with one strong blow, cuts off her head.
The Fight with the Fire Dragon
Beowulf becomes king of Geatland, which he rules for a long
time. When he is an old man, a fire dragon that has been guarding a huge
treasure destroys his land. Even though Beowulf knows he will die, he goes out
to fight the monster.
Beowulf goes to the cave where the monster lives and
challenges it to a fight. The dragon is coiled up and ready to jump at the
entrance. Beowulf raises his sword and slashes at the dragon's scaled skin, but
the blow does nothing but make the dragon mad.
They fight very hard. Beowulf's friends watched the fight
from a distance and ran away in fear. Beowulf's closest friend and servant,
Wiglaf, is the only one who rushes to help his lord. Armor and weapons don't do
much good. The dragon comes at Beowulf and sticks its tusks in his throat for
the third time. Then, from below, Wiglaf strikes the dragon. Beowulf sticks his
dagger through the creature's coils and cuts it in half.
The warriors worked together to kill the monster. The cut on
Beowulf's neck starts to hurt and get bigger. Wiglaf takes the king's helmet
off and puts water on the wound, but Beowulf knows he is dying. He is sad that
he has no children who could take over his weapons. He tells Wiglaf that the
Geats should get the treasure from the dragon. He wants his funeral pyre to be
built near the sea and a big tower to be built there to help sailors find their
way in the future. The spirit of Beowulf leaves.