Beowulf

by Unknown (composed by Anglo-Saxon poet, often called the 'Beowulf poet')

"Heroism is tested against the inevitability of death, showing how courage and honor define human legacy even in the face of fate and doom."
Beowulf cover
Type:Epic Poem
Source:Anglo-Saxon England
Original Date:Oral tradition, 6th–7th century CE (Germanic heroic age)
Written Date:c. 700–1000 CE (Old English manuscript, Nowell Codex)
Length:1 books, 3,182 lines (~2.5 hours)

Summary

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that tells the story of its hero, Beowulf, a Geatish warrior who comes to the aid of King Hrothgar of the Danes. He defeats the monster Grendel and later Grendel’s vengeful mother in Heorot Hall. Years later, as an aged king of the Geats, Beowulf fights a dragon threatening his people. Though he slays the dragon, he is mortally wounded, and his death marks the end of an era. The poem is both a celebration of heroism and a meditation on mortality, fame, and the decline of tribes and leaders.

Themes

Heroism and fate (wyrd)Mortality and the search for lasting gloryGood vs. evil (monsters and chaos vs. human order)Loyalty and kinshipThe decline of tribes and kingdomsCourage in the face of doom

Major Characters

BeowulfKing HrothgarGrendelGrendel’s MotherThe DragonWiglafUnferthWealhtheow (Queen of the Danes)Hygelac (King of the Geats)

Notable Quotes

"So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness."

Line 1

"Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good."

Line 572

"After many trials, he had reached the end of all his days in this world; and so Beowulf, the Geatish lord, met death with glory."

Line 2810

Notable Translations

Francis Barton Gummere(1910)

Early modern verse translation.

Burton Raffel(1963)

Accessible and widely taught in schools.

Seamus Heaney(1999)

Nobel laureate’s celebrated verse translation, poetic and powerful.

J. R. R. Tolkien(2014)

Scholarly prose translation with commentary.

Maria Dahvana Headley(2020)

Radical modern feminist-leaning translation, using contemporary slang.