Storytelling In Beowulf

Storytelling, as a form of entertainment can go back to the time of Anglo-Saxons. They left behind their literature, law and language for the whole world to make use of. The most famous form of story telling of that time period was an epic. An epic as stated in A Glossary of Literary Terms by M. H. Abrams is “a long narrative poem on a serious subject, told in a formal or elevated style and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race” (53). An epic is like the modern day movie in which you have your hero who goes on a quest and in the middle has to fight a couple battles to show his power and eventually attains victory. Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in the English

These heroes have super strength and are no less then God. “The action involves superhuman deeds in battle” (Abrams 54). Beowulf has showed his super human strength numerous times throughout the poem. “I remained near him for five long nights / … / Left it floating lifeless in the sea” (Beowulf 277-291). The time when Beowulf swam in the ocean for five days straight defeating evil sea monsters and coming out alive. He was also the only one who was able to defeat Grendel with his bare hands. He was the bravest of the thanes and was there when help was needed. He was not afraid of anything and was willing to fight anyone or anything who was a threat to his society. The traits of bravery and courage were well embodied by Beowulf. He did not back down when help was needed. He showed no mercy to the demons and was there for not only his people but for the people of nearby kingdoms as

“An epic poem is a ceremonial performance, and is narrated in a ceremonial style which is deliberately distanced from the ordinary speech and proportioned to the grandeur and formality of the heroic subject and epic architecture” (Abrams 55). Beowulf is coined an epic because of how it starts of with a problem and the story starts on that theme of kingdom needing a hero to come to their rescue. It also has a lot of gaps in it. “After fifty winters pass, Beowulf, now and old man, faces his final task: … For Beowulf, the price of his last victory will be great” (Beowulf 42). Another thing about an epic is how there are gaps in the story. After Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother fifty years pass before his next and final battle. Epics have a certain way of introducing characters. “His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son / And a good solider; his family had been Swedish” (Beowulf 752-753). Every character in Beowulf when introduced was given little background of what family they belonged to or what great deed they were able to accomplish. The Anglo-Saxons had a tradition of filling up boats with gold and sending the boats off to sea as a form of burial or tribute to the dead one. It was a sign of he great life that the thane had lived. Beowulf was able to request himself a tomb on the hill where if fought his last battle as he earned that with his heroic deeds. Beowulf embodied the greatest