Is Beowulf an Heroic Elegy or an Epic Narrative Essay

Is Beowulf an Heroic Elegy or an Epic Narrative? There is considerable debate as to whether the poem Beowulf is an epic narrative poem or an heroic elegy. Which is it. This essay intends to present both sides of the story. Some great literary scholars think that the poem is an heroic elegy, celebrating the fantastic achievements of its great hero, and also expressing sorrow or lamentation for the hero’s unfortunate death. In â€Å"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics† Tolkien states: We must dismiss, of course, from mind the notion that Beowulf is a â€Å"narrative poem,† that it tells a tale or intends to tell a tale sequentially. The poem â€Å"lacks steady advance†: so Klaeber heads a critical section in his edition.†¦show more content†¦The occasion for this was the unfortunate situation which Grendel had created in the court of King Hrothgar, Heorot, where there was considerable sorrow due to the uncontrollable ravaging of the monster: So Healfdene’s son brooded continually over his sorrows; the wise men could not ward off the trouble. The strife was too great, hateful, long-lasting, that had come to the nation, cruel spirit’s envy, gigantic night-evil.(189-93) Fortunately Beowulf was ready and willing to sacrifice himself to repay the debt of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father, to Hrothgar. This Geat warrior possesses almost miraculous qualities: â€Å"He was the strongest of men alive in that day, mighty and noble.† Upon spotting Beowulf approaching, the sea-guard of the Danes says, â€Å"Never have I seen a greater man on earth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King Hrothgar of the Danes says of Beowulf, â€Å"Seafarers who took gifts to the Geats say that he has the strength of 30 men in his hand grip.† Beowulf chooses to fight Grendel by himself and without shield or weapons; previously the hero slew nine sea monsters with his sword. And he is fully willing to sacrifice his very life for this: â€Å"†¦ I alone will fulfill the wish of your people †¦ or die in the foe’s grasp.† Beowulf consciously chooses to act in a superhuman manner: â€Å"I shall perform the deeds of a hero or I have passed my last dayShow MoreRe latedEssay Beowulf: Epic or Elegy?763 Words   |  4 PagesWriting Lab III Beowulf: Epic or Elegy? Beowulf is a poem written in manuscript form created in England sometime between the years 700 and 1000AD. The author is unknown to this day. Is Beowulf an epic poem or an elegy? An epic is â€Å"a long narrative poem in elevated style presenting characters of high position in adventures forming an organic whole through their relation to a central heroic figure and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race† (HarmonRead MoreThe Epic of Beowulf is an Heroic Elegy Essay3261 Words   |  14 PagesBeowulf is an Heroic Elegy   Ã‚  Ã‚   There is considerable debate as to whether the poem Beowulf is an epic narrative poem or an heroic elegy, a poem celebrating the fantastic achievements of its great hero, and also expressing sorrow or lamentation for the hero’s unfortunate death. This essay intends to show that the poem is an heroic elegy.    In â€Å"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics† Tolkien states:      We must dismiss, of course, from mind the notion that Beowulf is a â€Å"narrativeRead MoreAnglo-Saxon Heroic Poetry5673 Words   |  23 Pagesthe Heroic, the sources of which are pre-Christian Germanic myth, history and custom; and the Christian. Heroic, or Epic Poetry belongs to one of these two types and refers to long narrative poems celebrating the great deeds of one or more legendary heroes, in a grand, ceremonious style. In its strict use by literary critics, the terms Heroic Poetry or Epic are applied to a work that meets the following criteria: such a poem must be related in an elevated style, and centered upon a heroic or quasi-divineRead MoreThe Pessimism of Beowulf in the Epic Poem, Beowulf Essay2837 Words   |  12 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚   Anticipation of catastrophe, doom, gloom are present in Beowulf rom beginning to end, even in the better half of the poem, Part I. Perhaps this is part of what makes it an elegy – the repeated injection of sorrow and lamentation into every episode. In his essay, â€Å"The Pessimism of Many Germanic Stories,† A. Kent Hieatt says of the poem Beowulf: The ethical life of the poem, then, depends upon the propositions that evil. . . that is part of this life is too much for the preeminent manRead MoreThe Sonnet Form: William Shakespeare6305 Words   |  26 Pagesin a line of verse. There are four basic kinds of meter: Accentual (strong-stress) meter: The number of stressed syllables in a line is fixed, but the number of total syllables is not. This kind of meter is common in Anglo-Saxon poetry, such as Beowulf. Gerard Manley Hopkins developed a form of accentual meter called sprung rhythm, which had considerable influence on 20th-century poetry. 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