Beowulf
Anonymous (Old English poet) (1000)
“The oldest surviving epic poem in English — a warrior kills monsters, becomes king, fights a dragon, and dies asking whether any of it mattered.”
Short Summary
Beowulf, a young Geatish warrior, sails to Denmark to help King Hrothgar, whose mead-hall Heorot has been terrorized for twelve years by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands, then dives into a cursed mere to slay Grendel's mother. He returns home a hero, eventually becomes king of the Geats, and rules wisely for fifty years. When a dragon threatens his kingdom, the aged Beowulf fights it and wins — but the dragon's venom kills him. His people burn his body on a great pyre and mourn, knowing that without him, their nation will fall.
Detailed Summary
The poem opens with a genealogy of the Danish royal line, culminating in King Hrothgar, who builds the great mead-hall Heorot as a monument to his prosperity and generosity. But the celebrations in Heorot — the singing, the harp-playing, the recitation of creation — enrage Grendel, a monstrous desce...