Beowulf: Alliterative Verse and Oral Formulaic poetry

Q: How did Old English poets memorize 3000 line epics?
A: They didn't! They put it together from pre-existent chunks like freestyle rappers.

A short exploration and demonstration of the poetic form and style of the Old English epic Beowulf.

Oral literature, alliterative verse, formulaic epithets, and (what was it again? oh yeah) gnomic statements.

Useful for AP or IB or undergraduate university English literature.