Beowulf is the oldest surviving Old English epic poem, telling of the hero Beowulf who defeats the monsters Grendel and Grendel's mother, and later sacrifices himself fighting a dragon. Tolkien's essay 'The Monsters and the Critics' restored its reputation as a great poem.
Foundational text of English literature; model of the Germanic heroic tradition; its monsters (Grendel) reflect the evil that lurks at the margins of ordered civilization.
No conceptual posterity found.
Discussing
Ask anything about Beowulf — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.
Sign in to start a conversation.