Digressions in BeowulfAn important stylistic feature of the poem Beowulf is the number and length of the digressions. “Much of the controversy surrounding the poet's digression has arisen from the fact that we have not yet discovered or admitted why he deviates in the first place” (Tripp 63). In this essay, we hope to help answer this question. The longest digression, almost 100 verses, is Finn's story, which is explored here. In "The Finn Episode and Revenge in Beowulf", Martin Camargo states: "The allusive manner of its narrative has long strained the abilities of philologists to determine the precise meaning of the lines, while its position in the narrative has challenged testing the ingenuity of a growing number of people. of critics who have sought to establish (or question) its relevance. . . .(112) The Finn episode begins with Hrothgar's scop: the harp was plucked, good verses were sung when Hrothgar's scop in his place on the mead bench came to tell in the famous hall game [at about] the sons of Finn when the attack fell on them: Hnaef of the Scyldings, hero of the Half-Danes, must have fallen in the Frisian massacre (1065-70). We learn here that the scop sings the story of a Danish hero, Hnaef, and his band of warriors attacked by the Frisians. /Jutes, a tribe that lived on the European coast directly opposite the British island. In other words, the Finnsburh episode presents the sudden and brutal end to the peaceful existence of the Danes. This story is told by the scop on the right...... middle of paper ......ork, Robert E. "Digressions and Episodes." In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Camargo, Martin. “The episode Finn and the revenge in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Chickering, Howell D. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Greenfield, Stanley B. “The Finn Episode and Its Parallel.” In Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, WWNorton and Co.: 1975. Tripp, Raymond P. “Degressive Revaluation(s).” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Wright, David. “Digressions to Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.