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Beowulf: Key Facts and Analysis

The poem Beowulf consists of three main conflicts: Grendel attacking Heorot Hall, Grendel's mother seeking revenge, and a dragon defending its treasure. The poem follows the protagonist Beowulf as he defeats both Grendel and his mother, establishing himself as a great warrior. Later in life, Beowulf becomes king and faces a final conflict defending his people from an angry dragon. The poem explores themes of identity, heroism, and kingship through these epic battles between warriors and monsters.

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479 views1 page

Beowulf: Key Facts and Analysis

The poem Beowulf consists of three main conflicts: Grendel attacking Heorot Hall, Grendel's mother seeking revenge, and a dragon defending its treasure. The poem follows the protagonist Beowulf as he defeats both Grendel and his mother, establishing himself as a great warrior. Later in life, Beowulf becomes king and faces a final conflict defending his people from an angry dragon. The poem explores themes of identity, heroism, and kingship through these epic battles between warriors and monsters.

Uploaded by

Spring Athenz Camp
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Key Facts about Beowulf major conflict The poem essentially consists of three

parts. There are three central conflicts: Grendels


full title Beowulf domination of Heorot Hall; the vengeance of Grendels
mother after Grendel is slain; and the rage of the dragon
author Unknown after a thief steals a treasure that it has been guarding.
The poems overarching conflict is between close-knit
type of work Poem warrior societies and the various menaces that threaten
their boundaries.
genre Alliterative verse; elegy; resembles heroic epic,
though smaller in scope than most classical epics rising action Grendels attack on Heorot, Beowulfs
defeat of Grendel, and Grendels mothers vengeful
language Anglo-Saxon (also called Old English) killing of Aeschere lead to the climactic encounter
between Beowulf and Grendels mother.
time and place written Estimates of the date of
composition range between 700 and 1000 a.d.; written climax Beowulfs encounter with Grendels mother
in England constitutes the moment at which good and evil are in
greatest tension.
date of first publication The only manuscript in
which Beowulf is preserved is thought to have been falling action Beowulfs glorious victory over Grendels
written around 1000 a.d. mother leads King Hrothgar to praise him as a worthy
hero and to advise him about becoming king. It also helps
publisher The original poem exists only in manuscript Beowulf to transform from a brazen warrior into a
form. reliable king.

narrator A Christian narrator telling a story of pagan themes The importance of establishing identity;
times tensions between the heroic code and other value
systems; the difference between a good warrior and a
point of view The narrator recounts the story in the good king
third person, from a generally objective standpoint
detailing the action that occurs. The narrator does, motifs Monsters; the oral tradition; the mead-hall
however, have access to every characters depths. We
see into the minds of most of the characters symbols The golden torque; the banquet
(even Grendel) at one point or another, and the narrative
also moves forward and backward in time with foreshadowing The funeral of Shield Sheafson, with
considerable freedom. which the poem opens, foreshadows Beowulfs funeral
at the poems end; the story of Sigemund told by the
tone The poet is generally enthusiastic about Beowulfs scop, or bard, foreshadows Beowulfs fight with the
feats, but he often surrounds the events he narrates with dragon; the story of King Heremod foreshadows
a sense of doom. Beowulfs eventual ascendancy to kingship.

tense Past, but with digressions into the distant past


and predictions of the future

setting (time) The main action of the story is set


around 500 a.d.; the narrative also recounts historical
events that happened much earlier.

setting (place) Denmark and Geatland (a region in


what is now southern Sweden)

protagonist Beowulf

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