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Tolkien said, "Beowulf is a half-baked native epic which was killed by Latin learning, it is feeble and incompetent as a narrative. "(Crossley.9-17). Tolkien also said much more on behalf of Beowulf's poet. It is not the fault of the poet but the result of our ignorance of the conventions in which Anglo-Saxon poems were written. We do not know who wrote Beowulf, not even where it was first heard and when exactly. What the author took for granted about the knowledge of the reader will never be known. What is known is that the fundamental assumptions that cannot be proven and established on these elaborate theories cannot be verified and are therefore assumed. The only thing that can be acknowledged is what has been left behind. Beowulf is a work of fiction, centered on a character and his fights with monsters. The hardships and problems that Beowulf undergoes can almost be compared to the fights that people are put through in life. Giant monsters of course do not eat people, but the basics of what a person may stand for, loyalty, honor, chivalry, and courage are constantly being put to the test. As in the poem Beowulf is constantly put to the test of his morals. .
Many historical and legendary characters and events are mentioned in the poem, and the Danes, Swedes, and Geats provide the necessary background for Beowulf's long and eventful life. Both history and legend place the Danes and Swedes within the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. The North Germanic "Heroic " ages reflect much of the medieval Icelandic prose and poetry. The Danes lived in what is now called Denmark and the southern tip of Sweden. Hrothgar, whose great hall was somewhere on the island of Zealand, is their king in the beginning of the poem. Other characters are accounted for in the course of the narrative in the rest of the poem. The Swedes, whose hostilities among themselves and against the Geats through three generations are featured in the installments during the final third of the poem, live in Sweden north of the Great Lakes.
Beowulf, in our eyes. ... The most important factor that contributes to the overview of the poem being larger-than life is the great strength that is expressed throughout the poem. ... By doing this Beowulf has now cleansed the hall of Herot from evil. ... Some readers believe that another trait of evil is Beowulf's pride. ... In both Anglo-Saxon and Beowulf culture gold was a status symbol. ...
