The Book - Beowulf

Beowulf

The book Beowulf has an unknown author who is believed to be Northumbrian. Burton Raffel translated Beowulf into poetic form, as written in the Elements of Literature. Beowulf, a strong warrior, has set out to defeat the monster that plagues Herot.

The story of Beowulf was developed sometime in the sixth century, but was not written until later. Because of this the actual time of the story is also unknown. The majority of the story takes place in the mead- hall. Each character that is important has a little information about which they are written before the story starts. The personalities of the characters and the roles they play are revealed through their actions during the battles and conflicts that occur. The poem Beowulf is very descriptive and the events are explained in very descriptive detail. The story was written in Old English who uses detail and elaborate visuals to make each scene imaginable and comprehensive. Beowulf is one of the greatest warriors in the land and he is sent to kill Grendel. Grendel is a monster that kills many of the men in the mead- hall and preys on sleeping families. Beowulf has massive hand strength that matches that of Grendel's. Beowulf eventually kills Grendel by ripping off his arm, and then Grendel's mother seeks revenge by killing Hrothgar's best friend. Beowulf in return hunts her down and kills her too. Beowulf, now old, leaves to slay an angry dragon that is killing his people. Beowulf defeats the dragon, but in the process gets wounded and eventually dies leaving Wiglaf with the throne. The author's message is that people cannot change their destiny. Everything happens for a reason and cannot be prevented no matter what is done to avoid it.

Beowulf is a story that teaches a lesson of fate, but also has many battles and struggles that the characters went through to get them to their final decisions. Grendel kills people, Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel's mother kills a man, Beowulf kills her, Beowulf kills the dragon and dies himself. The story shows that there's someone or something always stronger or better than you, but defeat what can be defeated and give your all trying to defeat what you cannot.