Beowulf is an Old English poem that was written in 700-1000 ca. by an unknown author (Berard). The poem is split into two parts; the first part is tells the story of the main hero named Beowulf – who is the eponymous hero of the story– that helps Hrothgar, King of the Danes, kill the monsters that was terrorizing the court. The first monster Beowulf defeated was called Grendel, and after he was defeated his mother – who was known as Grendel’s mother because she is never given a name in the poem – came into play and Beowulf defeated her as well. The second part of the poem was about Beowulf killing a dragon that was terrorizing his homeland. In addition to killing the dragon, in the second part of the poem, Beowulf retells his version of how
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He addresses the audience in his diegesis in order to capture their attention once more. At one point in his narrative, he says, “I will speak farther concerning Grendel so that you might certainly know, / giver of treasure, how it turned out, / the heroic wrestling-match” (Beowulf 2070-2072). He addresses his King as the giver of treasure and this does two things. First it grabs the attention of Hygelac to make sure that he understands the full weight of his heroism, and secondly, this word play indicates that his king should reward him for his feats with the Danes. His version of the tale is internally focalized because his story indicates only Beowulf’s own perception of the events that occurred; this in turn makes him a bad narrator. His closing statement for his diegesis states that “[he] barely managed / to get away with [his] life – [he] wasn’t doomed yet –” (2140-2141). His battle with Grendel’s mother was in fact very grand and momentous but by saying that he “wasn’t doomed yet” shows how much he cares about the opinion of others’. He says that in order to remind the audience and the readers that even though he was injured he was not defeated – which is a very big distinction for him. He focuses on his own accomplishments instead of the
He addresses the audience in his diegesis in order to capture their attention once more. At one point in his narrative, he says, “I will speak farther concerning Grendel so that you might certainly know, / giver of treasure, how it turned out, / the heroic wrestling-match” (Beowulf 2070-2072). He addresses his King as the giver of treasure and this does two things. First it grabs the attention of Hygelac to make sure that he understands the full weight of his heroism, and secondly, this word play indicates that his king should reward him for his feats with the Danes. His version of the tale is internally focalized because his story indicates only Beowulf’s own perception of the events that occurred; this in turn makes him a bad narrator. His closing statement for his diegesis states that “[he] barely managed / to get away with [his] life – [he] wasn’t doomed yet –” (2140-2141). His battle with Grendel’s mother was in fact very grand and momentous but by saying that he “wasn’t doomed yet” shows how much he cares about the opinion of others’. He says that in order to remind the audience and the readers that even though he was injured he was not defeated – which is a very big distinction for him. He focuses on his own accomplishments instead of the