Characteristics Of The Beowulf Poem

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libraries; since his name is written on one
of the folios, Lawrence Nowell, the sixteenth-century scholar, may have
been responsible for Beowulf's preservation."(Raffel ix) An interesting
fact that is unique about the poem is that "it is the sole survivor of what
may have been a thriving epic tradition, and it is great poetry."(Raffel
ix)
The poem was composed and performed orally. "Old English bards, or
scops, most likely began by piecing together traditional short songs,
called heroic lays; they then gradually added to that base until the poem
grew to its present size. The verse form is the standard Old English
isochronic: each line contains for stresses; there is a strong caesura in
the middle of the lines and the resultant half lines are bound together by
alliteration. Although little Old English poetry survives, Beowulf's
polished verse and reflective, allusive development suggest that it is part
of a rich poetic tradition."(Foster 501)
An aspect of the poem is the ...

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