to serve himself. Beowulf seeks fame, glory, treasure, and the immortality of a death in combat to secure his legacy. The Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf," which is believed to

text, a supernatural force, and the celebration of the hero. Structurally speaking, an epic is "a long narrative poem on a great and serious subject" (Lucas). A primary epic

serve the king and save the Danes, who appear to be senselessly slaughtered. He may have been drafted into the contest, but he undertakes the task as his own.

offers a rather broader depiction of the society of his time: society has become more diverse, since Chaucers pilgrims represent numerous different lifestyles and degrees of social standing. The warrior

and heroism and "Beowulf" is such a story. Its narrative is actually two stories that are separate in origin, but considered as one in that they both picture Beowulf as

bravery and loyalty in Anglo-Saxon culture, will become the primary focus of the entire work. To understand the mechanism of this change, it is first necessary to understand the role

was the devil incarnate: "At the dawning, as day was breaking, / the might of Grendel to men was known; / then after wassail was wail uplifted, /

are representative of the earnest attempts required for such characters of this particular genre to assert their worthiness; indeed, when one looks carefully at the inference of such supreme power