Beowulf (Annotated)

Beowulf, the great Old English heroic poem, recounts the deeds of the Geatish warrior who defeats the monster Grendel, Grendel's vengeful mother, and, in old age, a treasure-guarding dragon. Composed in alliterative verse, it fuses Germanic legend with a grave Christian moral imagination, creating a world of mead-halls, gift-giving kings, feud, exile, and fame shadowed by mortality. Its style is e...