ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Beowulf was one of the first long poems in English.

Detailed explanation-2: -Beowulf is considered one of the oldest surviving poems in the English language. The author of the poem is unknown and is generally referred to simply as the “Beowulf Poet.” The date of the poem’s composition is also unknown. Arguments have been made for an origin as early as the 7th century CE.

Detailed explanation-3: -The earliest known English poem is a hymn on the creation; Bede attributes this to Cædmon (fl. 658–680), who was, according to legend, an illiterate herdsman who produced extemporaneous poetry at a monastery at Whitby. This is generally taken as marking the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Detailed explanation-4: -This is one reason why Pound referred to The Waste Land as the longest poem in the English language. I remember The hyacinth garden. Those are pearls that were his eyes, yes!

Detailed explanation-5: -Beowulf is a heroic poem, considered the highest achievement of Old English literature and the earliest European vernacular epic. It deals with events of the early 6th century CE and is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750.