Epic It is a long narrative poem about

Epic It is a long narrative poem about a hero of a nation and his great deeds. Anglo-Saxon Epics Anglo-Saxon poet is called scop

• • He was an entertainer in story and song. He used an harp while telling his story. He told his epic in alliterative verse He used stereotyped phrases for descriptions

The epics circulated by word of mouth for generations. These epics were written down by late Anglo. Saxon priests. All recorded English literary works dated from Christian England for the priest was the only source of literacy and learning. But these priests changed the original form of Anglo-Saxon epics. They added passages which told Christian religion and they excluded the passages which were thought sinful.

Beowulf

• Beowulf is the only complete epic in Old English, which has survived to the present. • It’s in the British museum now. • The original work was composed in another dialect. The poet is indefinite. • The Christian elements added indicate that it was recorded by a priest or a group of priests.

• The hero is a warrior, a lord belonging to a tribe called Geats. • The events in the epic tell the heroic ideals of Anglo. Saxons • The story describes three great deeds of Beowulf. • The first great deed, he fights with Grendel • The second great deed, he kills Grendel’s mother • The third great deed, he kills the dragon. But he is wounded

• The analysis of Beowulf «The Fight with Grendel» • Source: The Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol: 1