Beowulf | Genre

This is a difficult poem to classify since it has no predecessors and nothing like it has survived. While usually considered an epic poem, Beowulf has also been labeled an elegy, perhaps for Beowulf himself or perhaps for the heroism of the past (and obviously admired by the Christian poet) pagan era. Others have felt it to be solely historical poetry about paganism.

One reason not to consider it an epic is that Beowulf has no specific tragic flaw which precipitates his downfall. He is an excellent, deeply religious, pagan warrior who does precisely what his culture...

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