BEOWULF: AN EPIC

Beowulf: An Epic
Kayla Marie Banaag, Jerome Emmanuel Ouano, Niccolo Anton Padro
Jane Saga, Geilah Tabanao
Grade 9- Potassium
Philippine Science High School- CMC

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Introduction

Beowulf is an epic poem that tells about the hero named Beowulf and his achievements. The
story consists of three parts: first is Grendels domination of Heorot Hall, second is the
vengeance of Grendels mother after Grendel is slain and third is the rage of the dragon after a
thief steals a treasure that it has been guarding. The story was written in 700-1000 AD and still
lives until today. The poem contains many historical events in Denmark and Sweden because the
places in the poem took place there. The poem is full of fantasy since there are giants like
Grendel. The Anglo-Saxon period brought us a tradition that make this poem still lives on many
peoples lives. Overall, the poem is really full of history for many people to learn.

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Presentation Discussion

To start off the discussion, we presented a summary of the poem of Beowulf:

King Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named
Grendel. Every night, Grendel attacks King Hrothgar's wealthy mead-hall, Heorot, killing Danish
warriors and, most of the time, eating them. Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now
he's an old king and can't seem to protect his people. Fortunately, a young great warrior named
Beowulf travels to Heorot Hall from his own lands overseas to help.
After explaining that he owes Hrothgar a favor because Hrothgar helped out his father,
Beowulf offers to fight Grendel himself. King Hrothgar gratefully accepts his offer. The next
time Grendel attacks Heorot Hall, was the time when all the soldiers were asleep, except
Beowulf, who was just pretending. After eating the first man, he came to Beowulf and prepared
to eat him. Grendel, unknowing that Beowulf was just feigning sleep, was suddenly taken aback
when Beowulfs hand shot out and suddenly got a strong grip on the abomination. Choosing to
fight Grendel with no weapon, Beowulf wrestles with the demon. The men who came with him
to Heorot immediately woke up because of all the commotion and tried to help Beowulf by
fighting Grendel with their weapons. Unbeknownst to them, Grendel apparently had some sort of
power that enables him to be immune to weapons, even if it were made of the truest steel, so all
the mens efforts have still been in vain.
Beowulf forces Grendel into submission and eventually tears off his arm at the shoulder.
Mortally wounded, Grendel flees into the wilderness and dies, leaving a bloody trail behind him.
Beowulf then hangs the demons hand in the hall for everyone to see. Tourists from different
places then visits Hrothgars kingdom to behold the hand and the bloody tracks of Grendel.

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However, those who beheld the tracks and the hand didnt feel even the smallest amount of pity
for Grendel, for he was truly evil, as the demon was a descendant of Cain, the very first sinner.
The epic poem of Beowulf was written in 700-1000 AD in England which took place in
Denmark and Sweden. The author is an Anglo-Saxon and still until now, nobody knew who he is.
The language is in Old English and many have translated it for our own use. It is in the third
person view. The narrator is very enthusiastic about Beowulfs defeats but often sounds in a
sense of doom. It is in past tense. The publication of this poem was only in manuscript form.
The Anglo-Saxon oral tradition is evident in Beowulf. Like other oral art, it was handed
down, with changes and embellishments, from one story teller to another. To aid the retelling of
the story, several poetic devices are incorporated into this epic poem
The three most common literary elements present in Anglo-Saxon poetry (like Beowulf)
are kennings, alliteration, and caesuras. All of them lend a helping hand to the bard/scope or
story-teller. They are memory devices used in even the most modern poetry--music.
Alliteration is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds in two or more words.
Common, exaggerated examples are children's tongue twisters. Alliteration in literature is usually
more subtle, and in "Beowulf", nearly every line utilizes the device. Instead of rhyme unifying a
poem, the Anglo-Saxon poet used alliteration to connect the narrative structure of the epic.
Examples found in the epic are line 126 ("Then as dawn brightened and the day broke") and line
130 ("the storied leader, sat stricken and helpless").
A kenning is a figurative literary device, usually a compound expression used in place of
a name or noun. Kenning is an Old English poetry function in much the same way as epithets in
classical epic poetry. The earliest and simplest kennings are compound words formed from two

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common nouns. Later, kennings became much more elaborate. Once a kenning was formed, it
was used over and over by the oral poets. This form of figurative language has been used and
associated with Anglo-Saxon poetry. Beowulf is an Old English poem done by an anonymous
poet of Anglo-Saxon origin, and thus, it is expected that there is use of Kennings within the
poem. Kennings often consist of two words separated by a hyphen and some of the example in
Beowulf include line 10 ("each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road (sea/ocean)
had to yield to him") and line 168 ("the treasure-seat (throne) he was kept from approaching").
All of the examples come from the 2000 Seamus Heaney bi-lingual edition.
Often, the verse is divided into two halves separated by a rhythmical pause, or caesura. In
one half, two words would commonly alliterate; in the other half, one word alliterates with the
two from the other half. Caesura is used to pause for a moment and emphasize something. An
example of caesura is, "Then, when darkness had dropped," in "The Wrath of Grendel." It is
stressing the setting by emphasizing that it just became night. This aids in the passage by setting
the stage of Grendel's arrival. The caesura gives an image of the setting as well. The caesura
helps show motion in the passage which is, now that it is night, Grendel is coming.

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Conclusion

In a sense, one of the oldest works of literature by mankind that seemed to survive for centuries.
An archetype, used today by most hero stories, fables and epics. Basically a masterpiece that has
survived like a cockroach brought to the modern world. It is a portal to the past leading us to a
tradition and a history of the Anglo-Saxon people. More so, this supports the fact that it is the
most important Anglo-Saxon poem. It has an unknown author until today, he may have not
realized it but he made a masterpiece of a literary work, alive until this day.

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Bibliography

Alliteration, Kenning, and Caesura.(n.d.) . Retrieved October 13, 2015 from

http://www.anderson1.k12.sc.us/cms/lib04/SC01000609/Centricity/Domain/1318/Alliteration
Kenning and Caesura.pdf
Sparknotes (2015). Beowulf: Key Facts. Retrieved October 13, 2015 from
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/facts.html
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Beowulf Summary. Retrieved October 13, 2015
from http://www.shmoop.com/beowulf/summary.html
The History Behind Beowulf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2015, from
http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf20004d/History.html