Beowulf | Lines 1-370 Summary and Analysis

New Characters
Beowulf: the protagonist of the poem

Hrothgar: the Danish king who requests Beowulf’s help in slaying the monster, Grendel

Grendel: the monster who has kept Hrothgar in misery for 12 years

Wulfgar: born Swedish, now the Danish king Hrothgar’s herald

Summary
The poem opens with a genealogy of the ruling Danes beginning with Shild, moving to his son Beo, then to Beo’s son Healfdane, and on to Healfdane’s three sons—Hergar, Hrothgar, and Halga the Good—and his daughter, Yrs....


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