Beowulf | Style
Narrative Voice
Beowulf has an omniscient ("all-knowing") narrator. The narrative voice comments on the character's actions, and knows and is able to report on what they think. The narrator is aware of things—for example, the curse on the dragon's treasure (lines 3066-75)—that are not known to the epic's characters. Beowulf shares this omniscient narration with other epics, such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid, but remains subtly different. The narrator of Beowulf makes an explicit connection with the audience, acknowledging a...
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See Also:
- - Read the Beowulf text online.
- - For teachers, the Beowulf Lesson Plan.
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