Beowulf
Geatish monster-fighter
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem, the earliest major work of English literature.
The hero Beowulf defeats the monster Grendel, then Grendel's mother, and finally a dragon that mortally wounds him.
The name is used for the poem itself, its protagonist, or as shorthand for foundational literary works: the Beowulf of science fiction.
Extended heroic narrative
- poemMetrical literary composition
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
bard · epithet · caesura · elegy · lay · formulaic · recitation · half-line
Legendary hall-raiding fiend
Norse drinking hall
- thanesFeudal Scottish nobles
- comitatusChieftain's band of warriors
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
- kinshipState of being related
Old English · runes · codex · illuminated manuscript · Alfred the Great · Northumbria
Fortitude facing danger
- braveryBoldness before danger
- valorCourage in danger
- prowessOutstanding skill or valor
- boastSpeak with excessive pride
glory · fame · honor · loyalty · duty · sacrifice · protector · champion
Combat against legendary beast
Ancient Greek war epic
- OdysseyEpic of homecoming
- AeneidRoman founding epic
- GilgameshMesopotamian epic protagonist
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
saga
Extended heroic narrative
- poemMetrical literary composition
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
manuscript · bard · epithet · caesura · elegy · lay · formulaic · recitation · half-line
Grendel
Legendary hall-raiding fiend
mead-hall
Norse drinking hall
- thanesFeudal Scottish nobles
- comitatusChieftain's band of warriors
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
kinship · Old English · runes · codex · illuminated manuscript · Alfred the Great · Northumbria
courage
Fortitude facing danger
boast · glory · fame · honor · loyalty · duty · sacrifice · protector · champion · defender
dragon fight
Combat against legendary beast
pyre · burial mound · Ravenswood · shield
Iliad
Ancient Greek war epic
Mahabharata · Ramayana · Táin Bó Cúailnge · Song of Roland · El Cid
- myth & legendquest, hero journey, dragon slaying, treasure hunt, epic voyage
- PoemsThe Raven, Ozymandias, Invictus, Paradise Lost, Annabel Lee
- folk literaturefolk tales, folk sayings, folk literature, folk wisdom, oral histories
- heroic literatureepic poetry, epics, mythic heroes, legendary figures, sagas
- Literary CanonShakespeare, Homer, Dante, Tolstoy, Dickens
- Myth TextsTheogony, Iliad, Odyssey, Epic of Gilgamesh, Mahabharata
BeowulfGrendel
Legendary hall-raiding fiend
monster · villain · antagonist · Mordred · Loki
BeowulfOdysseus
Ithaca's long-wandering monarch
Loki · Anansi · Brer Rabbit · Hermes · Prometheus