Beowulf is the earliest and the greatest complete epic or heroic poem in English poetry. The writer of Beowulf is anonymous. It is considered the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European mother tongue epic. It deals with events of the early 6th century.
It is considered that Beowulf was composed between 700 and 750. At first, it was untitled later it was named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf. The story of Beowulf was all about the Scandinavians. The angels (a principal Germanic tribe in the Anglo-Saxon colony of Britain) brought the story of Beowulf with them to England in the sixth century The meaning of Beowulf is the bear. Beowulf is the protagonist and central character of the first epic poem Beowulf. Like many epic heroes, Beowulf is a noble-born: Beowulf’s uncle Hygelac is the king of the Geats. It is a tribe living in the south of the country now known as Sweden.
In the story of this epic poem, we can find that Beowulf arrives to help king Hrothgar, whose army was being threatened by Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel or monster. Then he also kills Grendel’s mother—because she comes to take avenge her son upon Beowulf. After defeating the monster, he became the king of his nation. Though There is no historical evidence of Beowulf, some characters, sites, and events kept it alive till now.
There were two-goal of Beowulf’s life one is to prove himself to be a great warrior and protect Heorot from monstrous threats second is to be a good king and protect his people from a dragon.
In short, Beowulf was one the most popular epic of the Anglo-Saxon period. The central theme of Beowulf is heroism and loyalty. Loyalty is the guiding virtue of Beowulf in every step of his career. Besides, it portrayed all issues of that contemporary society vividly. So, Beowulf is a landmark of the history of English literature.
