Beowulf Critical views •One of the oldest and most important remains of the Anglo-Saxon literature is the epic poem of Beowulf. Its age is unknown; but it comes from somewhere between the 7th and the 10th centuries. It is like a piece of ancient armour; rusty and battered, and yet strong. The style of the epic poem is likewise simple- perhaps one should say, austere. […]

Beowulf Movie Critic Do you envision a strong female role or a male role as your hero? In my opinion the Beowulf movie was a thumbs up, due to Angelina Jolie’s use of seduction and female wiles. Angelina is a critical character who drives the plot. In the movie, her character of Grendel’s mother overshadows Beowulf‘s character as a hero. This is in drastic contrast […]

Beware of Grievous Grendel! We have all heard of the great epic poem Beowulf; one of the first major works in English literature. Grendel is a monster in this epic poem, in which he terrorizes people. He is a huge, powerful descendant of the biblical Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. In the same way as […]

Beowulf is one of the oldest and most extensive poems in the history of literature today. It is also considered to be one of the pioneers of the “good versus evil” theme. While the poem revolves around the adventures and battles of Beowulf, the message of the story consistently conveys the concept that good would always defeat evil. The plot itself is already evidence enough […]

As the Mighty Fall In Hrothgar’s speech to Beowulf, Hrothgar gives Beowulf a warning meant to be words of wisdom, so Beowulf will not overestimate his mortality. Hrothgar was once a mighty and fierce warrior, who himself fought many battles and defended his land, but the one foe he could never defeat was time. Age seems to be every great warrior’s downfall. As Hrothgar states […]

Nick Paine 3/11/13 Beowulf Literary Analysis In the poem Beowulf, the issue of whether or not this particular period is more barbaric or is more civilized. The author of Beowulf is trying to present a certain message in the poem. The message that can be pulled from Beowulf is that even within a society of thought to be malicious and barbaric, there is still room […]

Author The Beowulf manuscript survives in one codex, the British Museum MS. Cotton Vitellius A. XV. In 1731 the codex was scorched, damaging the last two thousand lines of the poem. The manuscript itself seems to be scribed by two different monks, the first scribing the first two thirds of the poem and the second abruptly taking over for the last third. The true author […]

Beware of Grievous Grendel! We have all heard of the great epic poem Beowulf; one of the first major works in English literature. Grendel is a monster in this epic poem, in which he terrorizes people. He is a huge, powerful descendant of the biblical Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. In the same way as […]

The answer to whether Beowulf is sophisticated or crude lies in establishing its historical origins. Therefore, it is important to examine the author, perhaps more so than the text. However, an examination of both reveals that author and text are anything but crude. Beowulf, the oldest surviving English epic, dates between the eighth and tenth centuries. Despite the 200-year p when the work could have […]

Question 1 What is the name of the castle where the first few sections of the poem take place?     Heorot Camelot Wulfing Hrothgar Question 2 Who is the king at the beginning of the poem? Unferth Hrothgar Heorot Beowulf Question 3 Grendel is a descendant of what Biblical figure? Samson Cain Lucifer Noah Question 4 Where do the people make offerings to try […]