Like all legendary stories, Beowulf mixes elements of fact and fiction, and there is historical evidence for many of the events that the poem depicts. However, there has been no evidence discovered of a real Beowulf, and scholars speculate as to whether or not the ‘Beowulf poet’ completely invented him or not.

The titles of poems are generally placed in quotation marks. However, like many aspects of written English there are some exceptions. If you are referring to an epic poem, such as The Iliad, Beowulf, or Paradise Lost, the title is italicized.

Beowulf is a heroic poem, considered the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European vernacular epic. It deals with events of the early 6th century CE and is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750.

How does Beowulf die? Why did Beowulf ask Wiglaf to be the next leader? Because he stands with him to fight the dragon; He stayed with him until the end. Which is a universal theme in the epic Beowulf?

Dæghrefn – a Frankish warrior killed by Beowulf. The Dragon – beast (Old English, wyrm) that ravages Beowulf’s kingdom and which Beowulf must slay at the end of the poem. It is the cause of Beowulf’s death. Eadgils – a Swedish king also mentioned extensively in the Norse sagas.

Beowulf strikes the dragon in the head with his great sword Naegling, but the sword snaps and breaks. Wiglaf rushes to Beowulf’s aid, stabbing the dragon in the belly, and the dragon scorches Wiglaf’s hand. In desperation Beowulf pulls a knife from his belt and stabs it deep into the dragon’s flank.

Why does Hrothgar commit suicide? He felt extremely guilty about screwing Grendel’s mom. This action of his lead to his wife hating him, birth of Grendel (Devil’s spawn), drinking problem, and the hundreds of people who died at Grendel’s hand.

Grendel is unable to attack Hrothgar’s throne because he didn’t have God on his side. Hrothgar has protection from God, as he is the king. The speaker says that God opposes Grendel, so Grendel was unable to touch Hrothgar’s throne.

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf insists on battling Grendel with his bare hands, instead of using a weapon, because, he says, Grendel doesn’t use one. Beowulf sees using a weapon against a beast that uses no weapon as dishonorable. He will fight Grendel on equal terms.

Beowulf summons even greater strength and rips Grendel’s arm completely out of its socket. Fatally wounded, Grendel slinks back to his swampy home to die. Back in the mead-hall, Beowulf holds up his gory trophy in triumph. He proudly hangs the arm high on the wall of Heorot as proof of his victory.

Grendel’s Mother is the unnamed deviant from the feminine domestic code, refusing to assume the role of a passive peace-weaver or meek matron; she is the “Other” who defies the status quo of the war- rior code as an exclusively masculine domain.

Why did Beowulf go to Heorot? Beowulf wants the glory of killing Grendel to rid the Danes of the monster. Why was it harder for beowulf to kill grendel’s mother than grendel himself? Grendel’s mother was an underwater swamp sort of monster.