Significance

(For some history on Beowulf, read here.)

Beowulf is considered one of the most important pieces of English literature. Not only is it important because it is the first piece of English literature, it also gives us an insight into what life may have been like in the 6th century. Beowulf can be used as an example of:

-Christian influence on Pagan societies
    -how the pagan tribes dealt with the coming of missionaries and Christianity
-kennings
    -a literary device that describes an object; most often two words connected by a hyphen
-alliteration
    -a literary device in which words begin with the same consonant sound in order to provide emphasis or significance
-epic poetry
    -a really long poem that tells of the incredible deeds of an epic hero
-a hero's journey/epic heroes
    -the journey that every hero undergoes in literature/heroes of incredible strength and size who do what no other human can do
-Danish/Geatish culture and history


(See 1) under credits for citation)