Beowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the English language. Originally written in Anglo-Saxon, it has been translated to give readers the opportunity to enjoy this colorful, heroic poem of England's epic age. It has been declared as a heroic-elegaic poem because of the various characteristics it clearly possesses. An epic consists of a hero who is larger than life. Beowulf is unquestionably a perfect example of this hero because of the amazing acts of heroism he commits. Epic characters also give numerous speeches that revel something about the past or the speaker's characteristics. Beowulf does not give...
a kenning would be "...after nightfall, when Hrothgar withdrew from the/Hall" Raffel 1234-1235. Kennings are compound words that describe something by its characteristics.

These literary techniques make the language of an epic a rather elevated, formal language. Beowulf clearly contains the elements needed to classify it as an epic. Not only does it contain a larger than life hero that delivers numerous speeches that reveal his character and a higher class language, but it also possess many other characteristics that are important to an epic.

Originally written in Anglo-Saxon, Old-English , it has been translated for all to enjoy.