Beowulf is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and an important example of Old English literature. In it, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of the king of the Danes whose great hall is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel bare-handed and goes on to kill Grendel's mother with a giant's sword that he recovers from her lair. Later, as king of the Geats, Beowulf confronts a Dragon that terrorizes his kingdom. J.R.R. Tolkien said of Beowulf: "(It) is in fact so interesting as poetry, in places poetry so powerful, that this quite overshadows the historical content". Translated by Francis B. Gummere.
