Beowulf, the Oldest and Best Poetic Epic

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Poetry is the oldest literary genre written in verse. It has the purpose of producing an illusion on the imagination of the reader, it uses different figures of speech and takes different poems forms. An epic is one of this poem forms and it is “an extended narrative poem recounting actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes where the action, often in battle, reveals the more-than-human strength of the heroes as they engage in acts of courage” and they embody the set of values of their nations. In this paper I am going to show that Beowul, the oldest English poem whose author is unknown, is an exceptional example of an epic since it displays three of the typical features of this genre: it is long, there is an embodiment of nation´s values, the main character is a superhuman hero.

To start with, Beowulf is characterized for being an extremely long narrative poem since it consists of the account of the sequence of events written in 3,182 lines. Each line has two main beats and each half-line is joined to the other by alliteration, that is , “two or more word beginning with the same sound”, for example when it says:

“...grim and greedy, he grasperd betimes...” line (121)

This repetition of sounds and its fixed rhythm helped the author narrates this long poem. The fact that there are some framed stories within Beowulf is important too, because they make the epic longer, these are: the story of Breca and the framing story of Beowulf´s battles . Another feature of this epic is that it is full of descriptions: mainly of the mead-hall and banquets, which may sound repetitive to the reader, but it is one of the most important characteristics of the genre, that make it extensive.

The story clearly reveals the m...

... middle of paper ...

... It is also demostrated when he fought against the monstersa and save the nation from them. He did it because he loved Denmark and the Danish loved and honor him and it is explicit in the story when he says:

“...we here have found

hosts to our heart: thou hast harbored us well

If ever on earth I am able to win me

more of thy love, oh lord of men,

aught anew, that I now have done,

for work of war I am willing still!....”lines (814-819)

The honorable man said that he was willing to fight for the nation when it was necessary. He said so because he was the one who represented Denmark´s values.

Beowulf is a perfect example of an epic since within the story we can clearly recognize some of the typical characteristics of the genre: it is lengthy, the main character is characterized for having a superhuman strength and for emboding the nation´s values.

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