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The Epic Poem, Beowulf: An Honorable Hero

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The Honorable Hero
The epic poem Beowulf describes a famous heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon period. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly unstoppable person with all the inhuman traits required of a hero. He uses his courage and …show more content…

There is a tone of suspense and terror when Grendel attacks Herot Hall and kills Hrothgar’s men, and a gloomy tone when the men view the aftermath the next day. Hrothgar and his people are weary of the constant attacks and show a cautious tone of relief when Beowulf announces he has come to battle Grendel. During the battles with Grendel and Grendel’s mother the tone becomes tense and exciting. After the battles the tone is joyful, Hrothgar and his people are relieved and happy that Grendel’s reign of terror is over. When Beowulf dies from his fatal wound the tone becomes dark and mournful, but at Beowulf’s funeral there is a praiseful tone over the people as they honor their fallen king and mourn his passing. Though Beowulf is an Epic poem, it contains similar characteristics to an elegy. This poem uses descriptive words and phrases to create emotions in the reader towards the main characters. One of the most striking features of Beowulf is the extraordinary richness of the vocabulary, many words appears only in

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