Heroic and Religious Truths of "Beowulf"

William Butler Yeats stated that "Supreme art is a traditional statement of certain heroic and religious truths, passed on from age to age..." which definitely refers to Anglo-Saxon literature. Stories that have been handed down through the generations were written down and reworked by monks adding religious beliefs. These stories of the Anglo-Saxon literature contain heroic ideals and the traditions of the older Anglo-Saxon religion. "Beowulf", the first great work of a national literature, tells of a hero's quest over evil along with the Christian elements in the epic. …