Hodges 1

Erin Hodges

Dr. Harris

English 2210-006

1 March 2011-Revised

Beowulf as an Epic

The Anglo-Saxon tale Beowulf was most likely written by a single poet from a Christian background. The poem as a whole exhibits the poet’s empathy for epic heroes like Beowulf, and for how they lived and died without the hope and consolation of the Christian faith (“Beowulf” 30-31). Beowulf is an epic poem that describes various characters and events from the sixth century, in particular the story of a brave warrior named Beowulf, his many heroic adventures, and his ultimate death. This poem originated from both legends and myths from other cultures that originally were passed down orally from generation to generation and then eventually recorded. By definition, an epic poem is a “long narrative poem in an elevated style that celebrates heroic achievement and treats themes of historical, national, religious, or legendary significance.” Some common characteristics of an epic that are obviously evident in Beowulf are the use of specific types of figurative language, the fighting of heroic battles against supernatural creatures, the unusual behavior of god-like heroes, and the array of geographical settings which are often included in a long journey (“Epic”). One characteristic of epic poems is the use of certain types of figurative language. One type of this elevated language is an epic simile, “an extended simile often running to several lines used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration” (“Epic simile”). One example of an extended simile in Beowulf is
Hodges 2 the comparison of the Geats’ boat to a bird, which begins in lines 217-219 (“Beowulf”). A similar type of description, which is common to Old English poetry, is the kenning. This is another example of figurative language that is