Can Beowulf be called an epic ? Discuss.
Beowulf is the single greatest story of Old English
literature and one of the greatest epics of all time. Ironically, no one can
lay claim to being the author of this amazing example of literature. The
creator of this poem was said to be alive around 600 A.D. and the story was,
since then, been passed down orally from generation to generation. When the
first English monks heard the story, they took it upon themselves to write it
down and add a bit of their own thoughts. Thus, a great epic and the beginning to
English literature was born.
To be considered and epic, a piece of literature
must exhibit quite a few specific, literary techniques. Some of the main
criteria points include being a long, narrative poem, having an epic hero, and containing rhythm, alliteration, and imagery.
Beowulf can be considered an epic because it contains all of these
criteria.
Beowulf, first and foremost, is a long narrative
poem. It contains 3,182 lines and has been divided into forty-three sections.
It has been written in a way that formulates a concentrated imaginative
awareness of experience and arranged so that the language stimulates an emotional response, the basis of why a piece
of writing would be considered a poem.