EN 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 44: Scop, Geats, King Of The Geats
Document Summary
Beowulf - the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendel"s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf"s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler. King hrothgar - the king of the danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from that exhibited by the youthful warrior beowulf. He is a father figure to beowulf and a model for the kind of king that beowulf becomes. Grendel - a demon descended from cain, grendel preys on hrothgar"s warriors in the king"s mead-hall, heorot. Because his ruthless and miserable existence is part of the retribution exacted by god for cain"s murder of abel,
