Beowulf's Ageless Savior

The Ageless Savior

The epic Beowulf has been passed down from generation to generation for 1,300 years by scobs and bards until an unknown christian-monk decided to write his version down. Writing poetry during this time, 449-1066 AD, writing poetry as a profession was as respected as being a warrior. The story begins in a land called Geatland where our hero, Beowulf, hears of a horrendous monster living in the land of the Danes. Geatland today is believed to be southern Sweden and the Danes would be from Denmark and parts of Germany. The tale of Beowulf is to England what Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey is to ancient Greece. Beowulf portrays life lessons such as Christianity versus paganism, good versus evil, and that loyalty to good people is beneficial. During the Anglo-Saxon era build on the concept of wyrd, wergild, and commiticus. The story of our

The writer portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by using hyperboles such as Beowulf chasing the giants race from the earth because of the five deaths he dealt alluded in lines 153-155. Hrothgar is often described with metaphors pertaining to his status, appearance, and mannerism. Lines 340-341 represent both Hrothgar’s status and appearance by saying “gray haired and brave...the famous ring-giver sure, at last...” Another imagery tool used in Beowulf is personification. Lines 712-713 says that Beowulf’s sword was waiting; a sword cannot physically wait, so the writer is giving a human quality to a lifeless gadget. Due to the author's impeccable use of imagery, the lake is also easy to imagine because it is heavily described by a short anecdote saying “Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds,/ A stag with great horns, though driven through the forest/ From faraway places, prefers to die/ On those shores, refuses to save its life/ In that water” in lines 555-559. These examples of imagery is one of the reasons Beowulf remains