CONSIDER BEOWULF AS AN EPIC

         The epic is a large narrative poem dealing with great serious subject in a noble and elevated style. The hero is much above the average run of people on whom depends the fate of a nation. He may be a quasi-divine  figure, but in any case the hero must be a man of national figure. Aristotle considers epic to be second only to tragedy although the Renaissance critics rank epic the highest literary genre.There are two types of epic-- epic of growth, traditional epic, primary epic, authentic epic or folk epic and epic of art or literary or secondary epic or artificial epic. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf may be called epics of growth. Virgil's Aeneid and Milton's Paradise Lost may be called the epics of art.
          Beowulf, an epic of more than three thousand lines in length, is work of the Teutonic race, a branch of who came to England in the 5th century. There are so many digressions in the story of Beowulf that it is almost impossible to give an adequate synopsis of the narrative. In outlines it may be said that, Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, sails to Denmark with a band of heroes and rids the Danish King Hrothgar of a terrible monster, called Grendel. Beowulf meets this monster face to face and after a terrible fight wounds him to to his death. But the monster has a mother who comes to seek vengeance for the death of her son. After a harrowing combat with the she-monster, Beowulf puts her to death.Beowulf, fitting feasted and rewarded, returns to his native land. He becomes King of the Geatas and after a prosperous reign of some forty years slays a dragon which had ravaged his land, but in the fight he himself receives a mortal wound. The poem concludes with the funeral ceremonies in honour of the dead hero.
            Beowulf is not merely a poem dealing with the adventure of the hero, Beowulf, but there are at the same time epic elements in it. An epic poem should be universal representing a panorama of life. The scope of an epic poem embraces war and peace, men and God, life and death; in a comprehensive and encyclopedic way, its representation should be objective. The scenes, events and characters form an interrelated and solid reality, being presented from a consistent and impartial viewpoint, the action of an epic resembles that of a myth. It should have its own logic and intrinsic significance. The actual progression of the narrative should in itself carry the main burden of meaning.
           If these are the qualities of an epic, Beowulf , is an epic. It comprehends life and death, peace and war, men and gods. The poem shows the life cycle of a hero, Beowulf, fond of a people. It shows us human society at peace in Heorot and at war in Sweden and elsewhere. Hrothgar's hall Heorot is the home of all that is noble and venerable in human life and society-- order, customs, complements, ceremony, feast, poetry, laughter and vows. Rightly W.P. Ker says: " The beauty and the strength of the poem of Beowulf as all true epics, depend mainly upon its comprehensive power, its inclusion of various aspects, its faculty of changing the mood of the story". Beowulf's fight with Grendel touches upon the springs of mortal terror, making us apprehensive of the real adversaries to be met in this world, while the fight with Grendel's mother touches upon the terror which is far away from the human habitations-- the terror which is accompanied with a charm and beauty.
           Beowulf is a faithful repository of the popular tradition and ideals of the Teutonic race, originally a few detached lays or ballads consisted of the adventure of Beowulf. These were dove tailed in an organic whole lay an unknown author. The Pagan story has some Christian interpolations. There are distinct references to Genesis, the Creation, the story of Cain and Abel and the day of Judgement. Christian elements are there but the customs, manners and ceremonies are equally unmistakably pagan or heathen, treasure and cremation are heathen and pagan. What we feel is that a heathen epic has been Christianised. Consistent with the pagan spirit of the epic, Beowulf emphasizes the elements of fate. Even at the point of death Beowulf speaks--
                                   "Not a pot of fly the ward of the will
                               But at the rock wall it shall be as wyrd wills
                                 Wyrd, the measures of the lives of men."
 
           The style of Beowulf is consistently dignified. The massive simplicity and sustained narrative of notable events capture popular imagination. The heroic and stirring thoughts have been expressed in grand style.
            The wealth, the variety and picturesqueness of expression have heightened the epical grandeur of Beowulf. As in the Homeric poems, we have lots of synonyms for kings, retainers, wars, weapons, and the sea. The circumlocutory words and phrases known as 'kennings' are distinctly epical for they have replaced the compound words of the traditional epics. The characterizing adjectives are however relatively absent. So are the ornamental epithets and poetic metaphors. The similes of the Homeric type do not figure prominently in Beowulf. There are just brief and single comparisons e.g. 'fugle gelicost' i.e. "most like a bird", 'liggegelicost' i.e. "most like fire", 'style gelicost' i.e. "most like steel".
            There are however critics who do not recognize Beowulf to be an epic. W.P. Ker says that it is not an epic because the story is commonplace and the plan is feeble. It is more like a nursery tale than a heroic story. S.A. Brooke holds the same view. In his opinion, it is narrative rather than epic poetry. The subject has not the weight or dignity of an epic poem. The poem lacks epic unity.
            But in the true epic manner it weaves together legend and history, things familiar with things told or dreamt or believed. The story is set not in the air, nothing or in a fabulous country, it is part of the solid world. It recreates for the modern man the world of Northern Europe in the pre-christian era. It is this chiefly that makes Beowulf a true epic poem that is a narrative poem of the most stately and serious kind.