Introduction

In this Myths and Legends episode, you will learn about the story of the hero Beowulf, his fighting the monsters Grendel and his mother, and the dragon in the second part of the epic.

Audio Podcast

Beowulf

Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, the most important work of Old English literature. Although the date of the poem is unknown, the earliest surviving manuscript is believed to date from the late 10th century. The manuscript, written in the West Saxon dialect, is in the British Library in London. On the basis of this text, Beowulf is generally considered to be the work of an anonymous 8th-century Anglian poet who fused Scandinavian history and pagan mythology with Christian elements.

The poem consists of 3182 lines, each line with four accents marked by alliteration and divided into two parts by a caesura.

The somber story is told in vigorous, picturesque language, with heavy use of metaphor; a famous example is the term “whale-road” for sea. The poem tells of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, half man and half fiend, and Grendel’s mother, who comes that evening to avenge Grendel’s death. Fifty years later Beowulf, now king of his native land, fights a dragon who has devastated his people. Both Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded in the fight. The poem ends with Beowulf’s funeral as his mourners chant his epitaph.

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13 Comments

  1. lanyards

    Thanks for your marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed
    reading it, you are a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will come
    back someday. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a
    nice holiday weekend!

    Reply
    • Danny Ballan

      Thank you very much for your heartwarming words. There is nothing like feeling that the work you do is appreciated, and for that I do thank you one more time. I would definitely love to see you again on my blog, and please reach out anytime you like if you have any questions or suggestions.

      Reply
    • Danny Ballan

      Thank you very much. I am very happy that you like it. Hope to see you again here; I’ll make sure to keep posting things you will like to make it worthwhile for you.

      Reply
  2. zyrosite.com

    Wonderful post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic?
    I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further.

    Appreciate it!

    Reply
    • Danny Ballan

      I will definitely look into dedicating another episode to talk about Beowulf in more depth. Thanks for the tip.

      Reply
  3. launchaco.com

    Superb blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
    I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest.
    If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

    Thanks a lot!

    Reply
  4. www.geschenkefur.de

    The stories are well written, and the characters are very memorable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes myths and legends.

    Reply
  5. lanyard24.com

    Good job. Keep it up, it helps other people get more information about the myths and legends of this world.

    Reply
    • English Plus

      Thank you very much. I’m happy to know that you share my love for myths and legends.

      Reply

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