The early English epic Beowulf is filled with a marvelous hero , ghastly villains , far
off lands , and deeds of great valor. These are some of the reasons why Beowulf is a great
example of an early English epic. Beowulf is an epic because it has action that consists of
deeds of great valor , the setting of Beowulf is in vast scope covering great lands and far off places , and the hero of the story , Beowulf , is of imposing stature of international and international importance.
One reason that Beowulf is an epic is because the action consists of deeds of great valor. Beowulf told a story of when he killed nine sea-beasts with his sword. He also said,' I returned from a fight when I destroyed five a family of giants ,' which proves the great strength that Beowulf had. When Beowulf talked about going to fight Grendel , he denied himself the use of a sword because he wanted a fair hand-to-hand fight with Grendel.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in al...
An illustration of Grendel by J.R. Skelton from St...
English: An illustration of Beowulf fighting the d...When one of Hroathgars' coast guards set eyes upon Beowulf he said ,'I have never set eyes on a more noble man , you are no mere retainer.'
Although the action in Beowulf consists of great deeds , the setting of the story is vast scope covering great lands and far off places. Beowulf said that his father was favored far and wide because he was a very noble lord. 'The swift current , the surging water carried me to the far off Land of the Lapps ,' said Beowulf as he told a story to one of Hroathgars' retainers. When Beowulf talked of where Grendel lived he said ,'These two live in a little known country with wolf-slopes , windswept headlands where a mountain stream plunges.'
The protagonist of Beowulf , Beowulf , is a figure of national and international importance with great historical and legendary significance. 'Then he who feared no man , the proud leader of the Geats,' said the author about Beowulf before he went to seek Grendel. Another example the narrator uses to show the importance of Beowulf is ,'Truly , the leader of the Geats fervently trusted in his own strength and in Gods grace.' Once more the narrator said this of Beowulf ,'One of the Hygelacs thanes , Beowulf by name , renounced among the Geats for his great bravery.'
Since Beowulf contains action that consists of deeds of great valor , the scope is in vast setting covering great lands and far off places. Also the hero of the story is a figure of imposing stature of national and international importance , we can conclude that Beowulf is a great example of an early English epic.