Characters and Places
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Beowulf: The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. His boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. He is the nephew of Hygelac and the son of Ecgtheow.
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Hrothgar: is the king of Herot (the place he rules over) and Danes. And like I mentioned before, is the uncle of Beowulf. He's sort of like a role model for Beowulf. He wants to become like the kind of king Hrothgar is someday. In the story, he's too old to defend his land and his two sons are too young to take his place so that serves as a threat to his people. But to his luck, Beowulf comes to his rescue.
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Grendel: Grendel is one of the monsters that Beowulf fights. the only person we know related to him is his mother whom's name is unknown. But we do know he is a descendant from Kane. (Kane is the first murderer in the Bible who murdered his brother,able, out of jealousy.) He is a man eating monster who lives in Herot at the bottom of a foul mere,
or mountain lake and attacks the Danes and Hrothgar's mead hall every evening. This is the reason Beowulf was needed. He slaughters more and more Danes every evening and feeds on their corpses after tearing them limb from limb. Although he can't be harmed by the blade of any edged weapon, Grendel finally meets his match when Beowulf takes him on in a wrestling match.
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Grendel's mother: Grendel's mother is the water witch that seeks revenge because Beowulf kills her son. She attempts to avenge her son's death by attacking the Herot Hall. Although she manages to kill one man( Esher -Hrothgar's most trusted advisor), she is alarmed by the strength and prowess of the Geatish warriors, and retreats to her lair, a cave underneath a lake filled with blood and sea monsters.
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Shild- the old and deceased king of the danes. He is a legendary Danish king from whom Hrothgar is descended, and is the mythical founder who inaugurates a long line of Danish rulers and embodies the Danish tribe’s highest values of heroism and leadership. The poem opens with a brief account of his rise from orphan to warrior-king, concluding, “That was one good king”. It was clear that he was a great leader and very loved.
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Unferth: is a warrior of the Danes. He tells everyone about a story he heard about Beowulf. Apparently, he lost a swimming contest to someone named Brecca, and claims if he can't even do that, there's no way he can defeat Grendel. He tries to make Beowulf look like a fool and to make himself look greater. But that doesn't work out because Beowulf points out how if Unferth was such a great leader, he wouldn't even be there and that Grendel would be dead. Beowulf also tells he killed his own brothers so basically he has no room to talk.
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Wiglaf: Wiglaf, one of Beowulf’s kinsmen and thanes, is the only warrior brave enough to help the hero in his fight against the dragon. Wiglaf conforms perfectly to the heroic code in that he is willing to die attempting to defeat the opponent and, more importantly, to save his lord. Beowulf names him king right before he dies.
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Hygelac: Hygelac is the ruler of the Geats and the is married to queen Hygd. He is also Beowulf's uncle. He later dies in a battle.
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Dragon: the fire-breathing dragon who is the protector of treasure. It terrorizes the Geats after someone steals a golden cup from his cave of treasure. (The poet explains that the thief wasn't just greedy; he was a poor slave on the run from his cruel master.) Beowulf hears about this and fights it. But he's so old, and ends up dyeing. Wiglaf comes and helps Beowulf fight this dragon. It dies after being cut in the middle by Wiglaf.
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Hrunting: this is the sword that Unferth gave Beowulf before going into the lake/home of Grendel's mother; which actually did nothing for him.
Settings
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Herot(hall): the
golden guest hall built by king Hrothgar where warriors were gathered to
celebrate.
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Grendel's mother's lair: This is the place where Beowulf goes to fight and kill Grendel's mother. It's filled with blood, sea dragons and poisonous snakes.