Beowulf Plot Summary
Beowulf is a novel set in Scandinavia during the Anglo-Saxon era in the Middle Ages.
At the outset, the ancient race of the Danes suffers under the scourge of Grendel, a
man-eating monster that descended from the lineage of Cain. The Danes’ honorable
King Hrothgar rules over his distraught people, but he remains powerless to stop
Grendel’s raids on the lives of his men. From a country across the Scandinavian sea
comes a hero seeking his fame and fortune. Willing to sacrifice all, Beowulf offers to
take on the monster weaponless and tries to defeat him once and for all. He succeeds
but then has to suffer the wrath of Grendel’s mother. He defeats her as well and earns
great rewards from the Danes. He returns to his people, the Geats, where he
eventually becomes king and rules for fifty years. After a long time of peace, a dragon
rises up against the Geats. Gray-haired Beowulf goes out to meet the dragon’s fiery
breath, but has forebodings of his death. In the end, both the dragon and Beowulf are
inflicted with mortal wounds, and the great hero dies. All the Geats mourn their
respected leader.
At the outset, the ancient race of the Danes suffers under the scourge of Grendel, a
man-eating monster that descended from the lineage of Cain. The Danes’ honorable
King Hrothgar rules over his distraught people, but he remains powerless to stop
Grendel’s raids on the lives of his men. From a country across the Scandinavian sea
comes a hero seeking his fame and fortune. Willing to sacrifice all, Beowulf offers to
take on the monster weaponless and tries to defeat him once and for all. He succeeds
but then has to suffer the wrath of Grendel’s mother. He defeats her as well and earns
great rewards from the Danes. He returns to his people, the Geats, where he
eventually becomes king and rules for fifty years. After a long time of peace, a dragon
rises up against the Geats. Gray-haired Beowulf goes out to meet the dragon’s fiery
breath, but has forebodings of his death. In the end, both the dragon and Beowulf are
inflicted with mortal wounds, and the great hero dies. All the Geats mourn their
respected leader.
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