-        the oldest surviving epic poem in Old English preserved in its entirety, its author is unknown

-        the date of origin is unknown as well (scholars provide arguments for anything from the sixth to the eleventh century)

-        written from a Christian perspective despite its pagan subject matter

-        the people and the setting are Germanic, it mentions several historical figures

-        each line is divided into two halves, often by a caesura (pause), linked by the similar sounds of the beginnings of words or syllables, creating a special rhythm suitable for performing during the ages when storytelling was the main way of spreading literature

-        contains a lot of kennings, it is a metaphorical device which employs a figurative compound noun instead of a less poetic single word, for example: hronrad (OE) (whale-road = the sea), banhus (OE) (bone-house = human body)

-        its themes include the battle of good and evil, loyalty, brotherly love, the danger of pride and arrogance, the importance of a hero, betrayal and mortality

-        a story about the life and exploits of a Geatish warrior, Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, to rid the land of the monster Grendel and then his revenge-seeking mother

-        Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats and his final battle is to save his own people from a dragon

-        provided inspiration for a lot of other authors, even J. R. R. Tolkien

-        translated into Modern English by Seamus Heaney in 1990s, it became a bestseller

-        adopted for a famous film from 2007

• characters: Beowulf, Hrothgar, Grendel, Grendel´s mother, a dragon, Wiglaf