Home > History Fact Finder > Culture and Recreation - Why Is Beowulf Considered An Important Work?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Why is Beowulf considered an important work?

Beowulf is an important work because it is the oldest English manuscript (dating back to the eighth century) and has given historians insight into the old Germanic way of life. A single manuscript, handwritten in the eleventh century by two scribes, has survived and is preserved today in the British Museum in London, England. The author is thought to have been a poet who lived in the vicinity of Northumbria (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England). The material in the poem comes mainly from Scandinavian history and folk tales and is divided into two main parts. The first tells the story of Beowulf, who fights against the water monster Grendel and Grendel's mother. The second part deals mainly with Beowulf in his old age and describes his funeral. All of the events in the epic (long narrative work) take place in what is now Denmark and Sweden, and...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Literacy
   1. When did artwork begin?
   2. When did people begin to write?
   3. When was the first alphabet created?
   4. Who invented paper?
   5. How old is the oldest illuminated manuscript?
   6. What was the first book?
   7. Why is Johannes Gutenberg considered the pioneer of modern printing?
   8. When was the first newspaper published?
   9. What is muckraking journalism?
2. Education
   1. When were the first schools established?
   2. How old is the idea of public schools?
   3. When did the first kindergarten open?
   4. Who was Maria Montessori?
   5. How has the separation of church and state affected public schools in the United States?
   6. When were schools in the United States desegregated?
   7. When did higher education begin?
   8. When was the first university founded in Europe?
   9. What was the first university in the Americas?
3. Literature
   1. How old are Aesop's fables?
   2. Who were the Brothers Grimm?
   3. What is known about Homer?
   4. Is Virgil's Aeneid really an unfinished work?
   5. Why is Beowulf considered an important work?
   6. Why is The Divine Comedy such an important work, and what role does the character Beatrice play?
   7. What is the importance of Canterbury Tales?
   8. Why is Shakespeare still so widely studied?
   9. What was William Shakespeare's formal education?
   10. What is a poet laureate?
   11. What does the term Machiavellian mean?
   12. What were John Milton's contributions to English literature?
   13. Why was Voltaire exiled from France?
   14. What did Johann Goethe contribute to world literature?
   15. How did a Frenchman become an influential observer of early American democracy?
   16. Which came first, the word "Scrooge" or Charles Dickens' character "Scrooge"?
   17. Who was the first person to write a modern novel?
   18. How did the novel develop?
   19. Why are Jane Austen's novels still so popular today?
   20. What is the greatest American novel?
   21. Why was James Joyce's Ulysses banned in the United States?
   22. What is Marcel Proust's claim to literary fame?
   23. Who was the first distinctively American poet?
   24. What was the Harlem Renaissance?
4. Fine Arts
   1. What are the hallmarks of Sandro Botticelli's painting?
   2. Why was the Medici family important to the Renaissance?
   3. Did Michelangelo study anatomy?
   4. Who is considered the greatest artist of the Renaissance?
   5. Why is Titian considered the father of modern painting?
   6. Why is Rembrandt ranked among the first "modern" artists?
   7. What does the term "impressionism" mean?
   8. Is Claude Monet considered the "father" of impressionism?
   9. What are some of Pablo Picasso's contributions to modern art?
   10. Why did people find Henri Matisse's work shocking?
   11. Who made photography an art form?
5. Architecture
   1. When was the Parthenon built?
   2. How was the Roman Colosseum ruined?
   3. When was Westminster Abbey built?
   4. When was the Great Wall of China built?
   5. Why is the Cathedral of Notre Dame so famous?
   6. What caused the Tower of Pisa to lean sideways?
   7. Why is the Alhambra in Spain important?
   8. Why is the Brooklyn Bridge an important American landmark?
   9. When did modern architecture begin?
   10. Who invented the skyscraper?
   11. What is the tallest building in the world?
6. Theater
   1. When did the dramatic form of tragedy originate?
   2. How old is the dramatic form of comedy?
   3. What is No drama?
   4. What are the elements of Japanese kabuki theater?
   5. What is a passion play?
   6. Why is the Globe Theater so famous?
   7. What was vaudeville?
7. Music And Dance
   1. Who was Johann Sebastian Bach?
   2. How old was Mozart when he composed his first work?
   3. Was Beethoven really deaf for most of his life?
   4. What does Wagnerian mean?
   5. Why were audiences so hostile to Arnold Schoenberg's music?
   6. Why is Béla Bartók's music important?
   7. Is Igor Stravinsky considered the most important composer of the twentieth century?
   8. Who is credited with inventing jazz?
   9. Is blues music older than jazz?
   10. When did country music first emerge?
   11. Is bluegrass a distinctly American form of music?
   12. Who was Elvis Presley?
   13. Who were The Beatles?
   14. What is rock and roll?
   15. Why is the Ballets Russes so famous?
   16. Who was Balanchine?
   17. How did modern dance begin?
   18. Who founded the Dance Theater of Harlem?
   19. How long has the waltz been danced?
8. Movies And Television
   1. When was the first movie shown?
   2. What are the milestones in motion picture history?
   3. What was the Hollywood "Black List"?
   4. What were newsreels?
   5. What was the radio's cultural impact?
   6. What was the immediate impact of television?
   7. Which was the first television network?
   8. What was the impact of network television?
   9. When was public broadcasting founded?
   10. How did cable television develop?
   11. How did CNN change television news?
   12. When did MTV first air?
   13. When was the VCR introduced and what has been its impact?
   14. What is satellite television?
   15. What is a DVD?
   16. How old are card games?
9. Games
   1. When was poker invented?
   2. What is contract bridge?
   3. What is mah jongg?
   4. Who was Edmond Hoyle?
   5. How old is chess?
   6. How are pool and billiards different?
   7. What is Go?
   8. When were the first Olympic Games?
   9. When were the first Olympic Winter Games?
   10. Have the Olympic Games been held regularly since 1896?
   11. How old is baseball?
   12. Who invented basketball?
   13. When did football begin?
   14. How old is golf?
   15. How old is tennis?
   16. When was hockey invented?
   17. What ball game is played in more countries than any other?

1. Michelangelo