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About Beowulf being a part of English Literature

posted 13 years ago by angussu
3 replies | jump to latest

One of the things I find odd about the Beowulf epic poem is that it is one of the earliest pieces of English literature written in Old English, yet the story is not even set in the British Isles, as the place where the Danes live is modern day Denmark, while the Geats reside in present day Scandinavia.

What I want to ask is, why is this poem considered a part of English literature when the story itself is not even set in the British Isles?

[–] jigglysquishy 13 years ago

It's written in Old English (Anglo-Saxon), the precursor to modern English. It was likely written by an Anglo-Saxon that used present Denmark as the setting because its the ancestral homeland.

Much like how Hamlet takes place in Denmark and is considered an English play. English author, English language, English culture, English history.

[–] garybatmanbusey 13 years ago

also a similiar thing is the story of king arthur, set in england? but written by the french if im not mistaken.

Fenton!! Fenton..Oh Jesus Christ..FENTOOON

[–] pol-edra 13 years ago

Written by the French, the English, the Welsh, the Bretons (no, they weren't French at the time), the Germans, the Italians, the Norwegians... and all of the earliest sources for King Arthur (if you exclude that pesky one line in a poem that may or may not date back to the 7th century) were in Latin, regardless of where the authors were from.

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."