Early versions of Beowulf were necessarily oral because the Scops were illiterate. All versions of this classic poem consisted of phrases or “formulas” repeated from generation to generation between purposes. These formulas were a common source for all ancient poetry, from which all poets drew the language used in their extemporaneous poetic creations. Francis Magoun, in his “Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry,” states: “An oral poem until written does not and cannot have a fixed text, a difficult concept for literate people” (Magoun 84). With each tale of oral poetry there is some variation from the previous tale. Consider from the poem when Hrothgar honored Beowulf for his victory over Grendel; the king had his scoop, against the background of a harp, he sang poetic verses relating to the famous Finnsburh episode: there was tumult and singing, melodious noise, before the commander of the battle of Healfdene; place or...... middle of the sheet ......uage in Beowulf is formulae (88-89). Thus it is seen that the early versions of Beowulf were necessarily oral, due to the illiteracy of the scops, and necessarily stereotyped due to the scope or immensity of the unmemorized poetic creations. Works CitedCollins, Roger and McClure, Judith, editors. Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Cronaca Maggiore; Bede's letter to Egbert. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. Magoun, Frances P. "Oral-Formulaic Character of Anglo-Saxon Narrative Poetry." In The Beowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. Fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge history of English and American literature. New York: Sons of G. P. Putnam, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000