Essay/Term paper: Beowulf

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Beowulf

Beowulf


John Meister
92196


The early English epic Beowulf is filled with a marvelous hero , ghastly
villains , far off lands , and deeds of great valor. These are some of the
reasons why Beowulf is a great example of an early English epic. Beowulf is an
epic because it has action that consists of deeds of great valor , the setting
of Beowulf is in vast scope covering great lands and far off places , and the
hero of the story , Beowulf , is of imposing stature of international and
international importance.
One reason that Beowulf is an epic is because the action consists of
deeds of great valor. Beowulf told a story of when he killed nine sea-beasts
with his sword. He also said," I returned from a fight when I destroyed five a
family of giants ," which proves the great strength that Beowulf had. When
Beowulf talked about going to fight Grendel , he denied himself the use of a
sword because he wanted a fair hand-to-hand fight with Grendel. When one of
Hroathgars' coast guards set eyes upon Beowulf he said ,"I have never set eyes
on a more noble man , you are no mere retainer."
Although the action in Beowulf consists of great deeds , the setting of
the story is vast scope covering great lands and far off places. Beowulf said
that his father was favored far and wide because he was a very noble lord. "The
swift current , the surging water carried me to the far off Land of the Lapps ,"
said Beowulf as he told a story to one of Hroathgars' retainers. When Beowulf
talked of where Grendel lived he said ,"These two live in a little known country
with wolf-slopes , windswept headlands where a mountain stream plunges."
The protagonist of Beowulf , Beowulf , is a figure of national and
international importance with great historical and legendary significance. "Then
he who feared no man , the proud leader of the Geats," said the author about
Beowulf before he went to seek Grendel. Another example the narrator uses to
show the importance of Beowulf is ,"Truly , the leader of the Geats fervently
trusted in his own strength and in Gods grace." Once more the narrator said this
of Beowulf ,"One of the Hygelacs thanes , Beowulf by name , renounced among the
Geats for his great bravery."
Since Beowulf contains action that consists of deeds of great valor , the
scope is in vast setting covering great lands and far off places. Also the hero
of the story is a figure of imposing stature of national and international
importance , we can conclude that Beowulf is a great example of an early English
epic.