BEOWULF

The only long literary text in Old English is the epic poem Beowulf, that recounts the deeds of the Scandinavian prince Beowulf. During the story, the protagonist comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, to defeat Grendel, that is a monster. Subsequently, he kills Grendel with his bare hands and also his mother with a giant sword that he finds in her lair. Then Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats and finds his realm terrorized by a dragon. After that, the protagonist attacks the dragon, but he doesn't succed, for this reason he follows him in his lair. In the last battle, Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but he is mortally wounded. The poem ends with the funeral of Beowulf.
In this epic poem the character called Beowulf represents the braveness, the goodness and the salvation for the society. Instead, the Dragon represents the fear of the people during that time.