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The Epic of Beowulf

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"Beowulf" is the oldest anglo-saxon poem written in English. The poem describes the heroic deeds of Beowulf in his fight against monsters. Even if the events narrated in the poem take place in Denmark, the poem was transmitted by oral language between the anglo-saxon even 200 years after its creation. Anglo-saxons did not consider themselves british, but vikings, and their heroes were always from Scandinavia.
The author of "Beowulf" is anonymous. The original poem was written on sheep tanned leather. "Beowulf" is not only the story of a young man that gains glory against monsters or of an old king that dies fighting a dragon, but it is the story of a brave man who, once young and invincible, chooses to fight against the dragon though he knows that he's going to have a tragic end.
"Beowulf" meets all the features of an epic poem: it is a long narration of a national hero ( he is recognized, rewarded and glorified by the king himself and his people), his travel on the sea, his adventures and the heroic episodes he's the central figure in. Moreover, the main protagonist, Beowulf, is a brave young man, like Gilgamesh, Achilles or Hercules, with more-than-human strength and wiser, more courageous than others. Unlike the other epic heroes we have studied untill now, Beowulf is giving us a detailed self-description when he meets the king :"In my youth I have done many glorious deed.
The episodes of the poem are moving ahead step by step; this literary procedure is called
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